Large Shadowbox

Pictures are easy enough to hang for display: they're flat and lightweight, so there's no issue putting them in a frame on the wall. The same can't be said for larger items or memorabilia. Most people would simply put them on a shelf or a bookcase and call it a day, but that seems so lackluster. A shadowbox can give you the best of both worlds: a large frame for displaying sizeable objects, which is also hangable without shelving units. In this instructable, I'll show you how to construct a very customizable and impressive shadowbox, including a space for flush mounting and plenty of room inside for displaying whatever you may need.

The dimensions I list are what I used to create the shadowbox you'll see, but you can use whatever dimensions you want to create the shadowbox of your dreams. You don't need to follow all of the dimensions strictly, feel free to make any adjustments you want to.

This is a great project for beginner woodworkers and above. It requires a little bit of skill and know-how, but these can easily be attained during the course of the project. For instructors looking at this project, it is a great opportunity to teach students some basic ideas found in the Standards of Technological and Engineering Literacy, including:

Core:
Integration of Knowledge, Technologies, and Practices
Nature and Characteristics of Technology and Engineering

Practices:
Systems Thinking
Creativity
Making and Doing

Contexts:
Material Conversion

Materials:
2"x6" Pine board
1/8" thick plywood
Wood glue

Tools Used:
Miter saw
Table saw
Sandpaper
Strap clamp (aka band clamp)
Tape measure
Pencil

The thickness of the wood will determine the end thickness of the frame, so the measurement I'm focusing on here is the 2-inch dimension of the board. If I don't make any changes to the wood, then the frame would be 1.5" thick (which is the actual thickness of a nominal 2" thick board). I want my frame to be half that thickness, so first I'll cut the boards in half lengthwise to get two boards that are 3/4" thick.

To do this with a table saw, you can use two different passes to get the correct thickness. First, set the fence of the table saw to be the correct thickness that you want, in my case 3/4". Next, raise the blade so that it is just over half as tall as the board. While pushing the board against the fence, feed it through the blade along its entire length. Once that is done, flip the board along its length. This will put the channel that you just cut on the top of the plank while keeping the correct width and position of the blade. Feed the board through the table saw again, and you'll have the correct thickness of wood for the frame.

If the board is rough in any area or if you need to make any small adjustments, you can use the sandpaper to get it as even as you want. Repeat this step for any boards you need.

Now that the wood is the correct thickness, we can work on getting the lengths of the sides correct.

The way I'm making the frame is to use a miter joint on the four corners. This is made with two 45-degree cuts on the wood that, when placed against each other, create a neat and fairly accurate 90-degree angle. Because of the 45-degree cut, you need to be sure that you're taking your measurements and making your cuts with respect to the outside edge of the frame.

My shadowbox will be 28" tall by 22" wide, measured from the outside. Using the miter saw, make the first cut close to the end of the board, getting the first 45-degree angle. Then, measure from that cut along the outside of the board the correct length of the side you're cutting, here it's 22". Make a mark at the measurement across the width of the board.

Before you make the next cut, make sure your miter saw is set for the correct angle. The mark you made is the desired length of the outside of the frame, so the cut should be made going AWAY from that line. You may have to change the angle of the miter saw to face the opposite direction to get the correct cut.

Once you've double-checked and triple-checked the saw, and have placed the mark you made where the blade is, make your second miter cut.

Repeat this for all four sides.

Now that all four sides have been cut, you should test to see how well everything fits before moving on. Clamping miter joints is not as easy as clamping other joints, but there are tools out there that make it easier. I think the easiest way to do it is to use a strap clamp (pictured). This is a long strap with four different right-angle brackets on it. Simply wrap it around the boards, place the brackets on the joints, and tighten it down.

The design of the frame should force the wood into place as you tighten the band. You can make little adjustments at the joint to get the seams as close as possible. Small gaps are ok, as these will be filled with the wood glue later. Any small overhangs that you see can be sanded flush at this point.

Once you're satisfied with the fit, release the strap clamp. It may help to mark the boards with "top," "bottom," "inside," etc, in order to keep the same orientation later.

The back panel is slightly recessed into the frame. This gives you some space on the rear of the box that allows you to hang it against the wall completely flush, instead of having it lean slightly away from the wall as sometimes happens with other frames.

First, there are three measurements that are important here:

1. How far from the back the groove is
2. How wide the groove is
3. How deep the groove will be

You want to ensure that there is enough contact area between the back panel and the frame so that nothing breaks when any weight is added.

Mark those three measurements directly on the board exactly where you want them to be. You should also take the deepness of the groove, measurement 3, and mark it along the side of the board. This will let us easily set the table saw to the correct height.

Now, place the board you're cutting next to the blade with the inside facing down. Raise or lower the blade so that the top is lined up with the mark you made along the side of the board. This will cut the groove at the exact depth that you measured. Then, set the fence so that the blade is lined up with either measurement 1 or 2, and lock it into place there. Once those two settings have been set, DO NOT CHANGE THEM until you've cut all four boards. If you have any scrap wood, now is a good time to make a test cut to ensure everything is how you want it.

After making sure everything is lined up and locked into place, make the cut along the length of the board. Do this for all four boards to ensure that the cut is consistent for all of them. Depending on the width of the groove, you may need to make a second pass to remove more material. To do this, unlock the fence and move the board over so that the blade is lined up with the edge of the groove that you just cut. The fence should be the only thing that needs to change here. Lock the fence in place again, and cut all four boards again. Do this as many times as necessary to cut the entire groove out.

Test the groove against the plywood to ensure they fit snuggly.

Now that the grooves are there, dry fit your frame again as you did in step 3. Make sure all cuts and grooves line up and sand down any areas that need adjusting. Once that's done, you need to measure the length and the width of the groove to fit the back panel. There are two ways to do this:

1. Measure the inside width and length of the frame, then add two times the depth of the groove
2. Measure the length of the groove along the board where it meets the miter cut

Whatever your measurements are, this will give you the MAXIMUM width and length of the back panel -- any larger and it wouldn't fit into the frame once it's assembled

Take a little bit off of these measurements, such as 1/16", and mark the plywood at these points. Cut the plywood with a table saw along those marks, and sand down any rough edges.

All that's left is to assemble and glue the pieces you've cut. If you want to stain or seal the wood, now is the time to do this. Don't wait until after gluing to do this.

Layout the four boards near where they'll be when finished. Wrap the strap clamp around the boards but don't tighten yet. Take the two long sides and one short side and apply glue to the miter joints. Once the glue is on, you usually have a few minutes to make adjustments before it starts to bond tightly. Press all four sides together and tighten the strap clamp. Before the glue starts to set, adjust the joints so everything is square and straight.

Let the glue dry for about an hour, until it can hold on its own without the strap clamp. Then, loosen the clamp and remove the unglued board. Fill the grooves with a thin layer of glue and slide the back panel into place. Glue up the remaining two miter joints, put the fourth board back in place, and tighten the strap clamp again. Take this time to make any final adjustments you need, including wiping away any glue that squeezed out.

Let the shadowbox dry for at least 24 hours before loosening the strap clamp. Once it's all dry, you're done!

Feel free to customize it however you want. Put more shelves in there for displaying smaller items, mount items to the back panel for a floating display, use it to create a diorama, the shadowbox is now your creative canvas. You can use any method you want to mount it flush to the wall using the gap behind the back panel as well.

With some paint and additional accoutrements, I turned mine into a display for one of my most prized possessions: the seat I watched football games from for almost twenty years.