Here are some sketches of the ultimate (?)  light box for embossing reeds. The idea here is to take a piece of plastic pipe, cut it into a half-round and then put on a flat top with a slot cut into it. You could then change the angle of the slot you look at when embossing. The slot would have a hair line above and below it that lines up with a cube that has cross hairs on it. the cross hairs line up when you have your eye centered.

Inside, you have an LED light bulb.

About the “cube”… This is plexiglas cube 1″ x 1”. I used a dial caliper to scrape cross hairs on it in the front and back, centered. Then I rubbed in black ink from a sharpie pen. It is centered above the slot that the light shines through. When you move your eye from side to side, the cross hairs tell you if you’re eye is centered. When your eye is centered The cross hairs line up and it looks like one line. When your eye is centered you see the slot more accurately.

Study the drawings to get the main idea. I am sorry – I tried to make the drawings bigger, but could not get the technical process to work with me…

Here is what I am thinking: If you want to take this idea and want to make this box, I will help you sell it. I just don’t have time to build this thing myself, but i think the idea is a winner. Plenty of people have asked me if I can make them a light box, so I know there is a market.

If you can improve on this concept, I am all for it. So – that is the contest – the winner (s) get to make some money by building light boxes for people who want to hot rod harmonicas.

Questions? – rrsleigh@gmail.com