The author of Instructables under the nickname lonesoulsurfer is better known to readers as a developer homemade using electronics, but he also collects vintage matchboxes. For the most interesting of them, he makes do it yourself small shop windows.
The master selects from vintage matchboxes those that he wants to put in mini-displays:
Parses broken baby cots, gets a wooden profile of rectangular cross section. friends quite often do this.
For each mini-showcase, the master cuts from this profile, after polishing it, the following details: 3 pcs. about 300 mm long - top, middle, bottom, 2 pcs. about 200 mm long - side walls, 4 pcs. 90 mm each - vertical partitions.
Makes nails rusty after holding them for 24 hours in vinegar. Assembles the following construction on PVA glue and these nails:
Prepares a composition for aging a tree, holding a steel washcloth in vinegar for 24 hours. It turns vinegar with rust floating in it. Treats the wood with this compound, then waxes it.
Cuts small rectangles from plywood or plexiglass. Closes the frame on the back side with a sheet of plexiglass cut into its size. Glue rectangles, and matchboxes to them. Closing the structure with the same sheet of plexiglass in front is optional, but this will protect the boxes from dust.
The master suggests using a double-sided tape to place a mini-showcase on the wall. But for this method of attachment, it is too heavy. It is better to use specially designed "ears" for this purpose, as, for example, on columns.
From the translator: the reverse side of the box from gluing will be damaged, it is better to make horizontal shelves with limiters on the sides of the same plexiglass. If the front wall is removable (for example, on self-tapping screws, aged in the same way as nails) or missing, the boxes can be changed by exposing different parts of the collection in turn.