How to Secure Heavy Items in a Shadow Box
When visiting our grandparents, we often see a box containing medals and other honors hanging inside. These are boxes to showcase their live long achievement. These boxes are termed shadow boxes. Shadow boxes are specifically designed to showcase the essential aspects that a person values in his life.
There are pipes, medals, booties, scout badges, coronets, and many more. These are hung inside the box, and the full package is glass plated. This arrangement makes the box strong and protects the inside elements.
But preparing a shadow box and installing these items inside the shadow box is quite different. You can easily prepare them using wooded materials, but you must be very sensitive and sure about the items’ weight while hanging them. When the importance of the things you want to secure inside the shadow box is comparatively high, you must follow some specific instructions.
For this reason, today, we will discuss a chronological process that will help you quickly secure heavy items in a shadow box. The process is explained below.
Procedure
Step One
For this process, you will need some necessary elements. At first, you will need a shadow box, which is already prepared. Then you will need a drill machine and some metal fasteners.
The metal fasteners should be sturdy enough to hold the weight of the items. It would be best if you chose the shadow box’s dimension, which will easily accommodate all of your belongings. And the backing wood of the shadow box must be thick because heavy objects tend to transmit the load through the fasteners to the backing wood. Thus thick wood will be suitable for this purpose.
Step Two
You will have to manage a glass plate, which will be used to seal the box, and there should be enough adhesive for the joints. You will need to choose a suitable background fabric for the package. We highly suggest you look at the items you want to hang and then select the background color for the fabric. You will also need some hooks, and you can use some wire to make you hang the items to the hooks. Once you manage all these listed elements, you can secure the heavy objects inside the shadow box.
Step Three
Now you have to start with cleaning the shadow box. For this, you can use wood cleaners. This is very important because if the box’s background is not debris-free, the fabric will not get appropriately attached. There will be small air bubbles in the background, which is aesthetically ambiguous.
So you have to take a soft cloth, spray some wood cleaner along the background of the wood, and then wipe it with the fabric. You also have to use glass cleaner to clean the glass plate because it will allow you to get a good view from outside the box.
Step Four
You must attach the background cloth to the box in this step. But before that, you need to make holes in the fabric. Sometimes drilling after attaching the material to the back of the box might rupture the backdrop’s integrity. So we will provide you with an easy technique that will allow you to use the backdrop without hampering the structure of the backdrop.
After you’ve decided on the backdrop and placed it on the wood, take a marker and mark the places you want to hang the items. This will give you access to all the points. Once you’ve marked the place, take the carbon paper and place it on the wood, allowing you to transfer the dots onto it.
Thus you have equidistant points which are superimposed on each other. Now you can start the drilling process.
Step Five
Now you must take the cloth and place it on a cutting mat. You have to take the hooks, and with the pointy end of the hooks, you have to make small holes in the marker-marked places. Then you must take the drill machine and start drilling the wooden board. You can take metal fasteners to drill the holes in the wood.
Once the wooden board is drilled, you must take the backdrop and attach glue. You have to place it on the wooded board, gently push the ends, and then move it along the center of the fabric. In this manner, the material will get attached.
Step Six
Once you have drilled the holes in the wooden board and the entire backdrop is placed correctly, you must start attaching the hooks. For this, you will take the drill machine, and you have to change the tip and place the ring holder on.
You have to gently go through the holes that are already made on the backdrop and start putting the hooks. You will attach all the clips to the backdrop and the wooden board in this manner. After this process, you must take some hot glue and pour it into the drilling holes to seal all the gaps and make the connection firm.
Step Seven
This is the last step of this process. Once you have attached all the hangers in the box, you have to start suspending the items. For this, you need to use a tapa and some wires. The wires will be taped at the back of the bulky items.
And then they will be hung on the hooks. So you have to take the tape, place it on the back of the items, and then connect the wire. You must attach the tape at the center of the thing to maintain the balance. Then you have to take all the items and hang them. Thus the load will be evenly distributed.
Conclusion
Lastly, we hope the process mentioned here will be highly advantageous for securing heavy items inside the shadow box. You must maintain proper safety while drilling the wooden board and using the hot glue gun. Thank you for your precious time. Have a nice day!
Elizabeth Davis
Elizabeth is a creative writer and digital editor based in the United States. She has a passion for the arts and crafts, which she developed from a young age. Elizabeth has always loved experimenting with new mediums and sharing her work with others. When she started blogging, she knew that DIYquickly would be the perfect platform to share her tutorials and tips. She's been writing for the blog from the beginning, and her readers love her helpful advice and easy-to-follow instructions. When she's not writing or editing, Elizabeth enjoys spending time with her family and friends.
