The author has started a new hobby/obsession: fountain pens, ink, and paper. Part of this is an effort to improve his handwriting. A part of this is handwritten letters to and from penpals. This may be a little out of place, maybe, for someone so immersed in technology, but in many ways it's because of it rather than in spite of it, trying to get away from the screen occasionally and doing something more artistic. There's something almost magical about your words taking form under the tip of a pen skating across a page.

Therein lies the problem: not only is my handwriting well out of practice, so is the ability to write in a straight line. The usual solution is to place a heavily lined ruled guide sheet under your paper. The problem is that with good paper, it's not always very visible. Technology to the rescue! Oh the irony.

This guide describes how to build what's commonly called a light table. It places a light behind the guidesheet and writing paper, making it much easier to see the lines through the paper. Light tables are also handy for slide photography, tracing, and reading film x-rays!

You can buy a simple one fairly inexpensively, or a professional quality one for much more. But that's not what Makers do; we build our own!

This guide uses the Feather nRF52840 Express as the controller for the project. It provides plenty of processing power to work in CircuitPython and, more importantly, it has a solid Bluetooth capability.

In addition to being able to 3D print the pieces (or have them printed), you'll need some basic soldering skills: soldering wires and attaching headers. You should also be comfortable working with superglue as it is used extensively to assemble the frame.

Parts

The parts required are listed below. 

Additionally, you'll need some superglue to assembly the 3D printed pieces.