Purpose

The intermediate storage box holds the optical fibers. It is lined with black fabric to keep out as much ultraviolet light as possible.

Construction

Relining

The first version of the intermediate storage box was lined with a soft, stretchy fabric. However, this fabric produced a lot of lint, fouling the light guides, and making it difficult to weld the scintillating fibers to the light guides. So I (Micah Warren) relined it.

We bought fifteen yards of a silky black cloth from Jo-Ann Fabrics. I lay it down in three panels from the front rim of the box, each panel lying along the bottom, to the hinge in the back, and up the lid to the rim again. Because the fabric did not come in one full, fifteen-yard piece, I was unable to do the rightmost panel with a single piece of fabric. I had to use two pieces.

I used a staple gun to hold the fabric in place, and if a staple didn't go in far enough, I tapped it with a hammer.