Pressure box window

Continuing work on the pressure box, I wanted to attach the lexan window in place, but realized there were several things I had to do first.

First off, my 7" diameter lexan circle was just a little too large to fit in place between the strengthening strips on the underside of the pressure box lid. Armed with my 100 grit sanding block, I filed down a couple of edges so I could fit it in. Then, using a printout from the original scrollwork pattern, I marked some drilling marks for the pilot holes for the mounting screws. I drilled holes through the lexan then, holding a tiny drill bit between my thumb and forefinger, I "hand drilled"into the underside of the pressure box lid using the piece of lexan as a guide.

Using a variation of an idea suggested by Steve Toyne on the forum, I next cut out a ring of chamois to act as a gasket between the lid and the lexan. At this point I had to put the window on hold as I realized that I needed to complete the exterior finishing of the lid before affixing the window, as it wouldn't do to have stain, sanding dust, shellac, etc. falling down onto the window. Even though the window would be screwed in place rather than glued, I didn't want to wear out the holes by working the screws repeatedly (the panel plywood is only about 3/16" thick).

I'd been planning on doing some ornamentation of the window scrollwork, and I thought about doing some gilding around the edges. I've never done any gilding before, but I thought I'd give it a try.

I first used a Krylon "leafing pen", but it really just looked like gold paint. I figured it would make a good base to the metal leaf in case I had some spots where the leafing didn't stick.

It took me a couple of attempts to get the hang of the metal leafing, and it left a lot to be desired upon close inspection, but the difference in reflectance from the gold pen was pretty dramatic when angled around under lights.

Next, I shellacked the top with 3 coats and baked it for an hour in the oven at about 175ºF in order to even out the brush marks a little. Once it was dry and cooled down, I set to work attaching the lexan window.

Since the chamois gasket/seal passes under the mounting holes, I used a push-pin to punch through the chamois and mark the holes.

Here's what it looks like with everything in place on the underside:

And here are a couple of views of the top side:

(Click here to view this build and others at the John Smith Busker Forum)