Small town water tower shadow box SVG
A small town under its water tower: the tank on its legs high above the roofs, a church on the far hill, a general store and a shop front on the main street, an old truck at the kerb, a street lamp, and a picket fence, a mailbox and a sunflower at the front. 6 sheets of card, cut and stacked with a gap between each, make the picture. The files are free, and every part of the scene can be moved, swapped or resized below before you download.
6 sheets at 8 × 8 in, zipped, with a note on putting them together.
Free for personal and commercial use, no sign-up. What you can do with it.
The 6 sheets
Sheet 1 is the back and sheet 6 is the front. Each one is a single piece with the same frame round its edge, so they line up when stacked. The colours shown are the “Forest green” set; cut them in any card you like. Cut sheet 6, “Fence and flowers”, the slowest: at 0.9 mm it has the thinnest part in the scene, and sheet 6, “Fence and flowers”, fills the most of the view, 26% of it.
| Sheet | What is on it | Narrowest part | Seen from the front |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Sun and cloud | A whole sheet with holes for: Plain disc and Long flat cloud | over 2 mm | 28% |
| 2. Far hills | Rolling ground, with: Three trees and Church with a steeple | 1.7 mm | 6% |
| 3. Water tower | Rolling ground, with: Water tower on steel legs and Village row of five houses | 1.2 mm | 15% |
| 4. Main street | Flat ground, with: General store with a porch and Storefront with a striped awning | 1.1 mm | 11% |
| 5. Truck and lamp | Flat ground, with: Old farm truck with stake sides, Lantern on a lamp post and Round tree with leaf cut-outs | 1.4 mm | 12% |
| 6. Fence and flowers | A gentle slope, with: Picket fence with pointed tops, Mailbox with the flag up and Sunflower silhouette | 0.9 mm | 26% |
Measured from the files at 8 × 8 in. The narrowest part is the thinnest neck of card that holds anything on; sharp tips are not counted. “Seen from the front” is the share of the picture that sheet fills once the sheets in front of it are in place.
Will it cut at your size?
The download is 8 × 8 in. The scene maker above makes the same scene at any of these sizes; the thinnest part scales with it.
| Frame opening | Each sheet | Narrowest part | Depth needed | Fits a 12 × 12 in mat | Rule of thumb |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 × 6 in | 152.4 × 152.4 mm | 0.7 mm | 20 mm | Yes | Fine detail: sharp blade, slow speed |
| 20 × 20 cm | 200 × 200 mm | 0.9 mm | 20 mm | Yes | Fine detail: sharp blade, slow speed |
| 8 × 8 in | 203.2 × 203.2 mm | 0.9 mm | 20 mm | Yes | Fine detail: sharp blade, slow speed |
| 23 × 23 cm | 230 × 230 mm | 1 mm | 20 mm | Yes | Cuts easily |
| 25 × 25 cm | 250 × 250 mm | 1.1 mm | 20 mm | Yes | Cuts easily |
Depth needed allows 3 mm of foam between sheets and 5 mm for the card itself and the backing.
Making this one
The side of the tank is plain, so it can carry the name of any town: write it on by hand or cut it in vinyl before you stack the sheets. The legs and braces of the tower are sturdy, at 1.2 mm or more at 8 inches. The windows of the two shops and the stem of the sunflower are the finest cutting, at about 0.9 to 1.2 mm. Nothing hangs on a thread.
- Cut all 6 sheets from 160 to 220 gsm card at the same size.
- Lay them out in order, sheet 1 at the back.
- Put strips of 3 mm foam tape round the border of sheet 1 and press sheet 2 onto it with the edges level. Carry on to sheet 6.
- Fit the stack into a deep frame with the front sheet against the glass. For a light box, run a strip of warm white LEDs round the inside of the frame behind the stack.
The zip includes these steps as a text file, each sheet as its own SVG and all 6 side by side in one SVG. More on paper, frames and lights is on the shadow box page.
The parts, on their own
Everything in the scene comes from the free SVG library, where each has its own page and file:
- Long flat cloud
- Three trees
- Church with a steeple
- Water tower on steel legs
- Village row of five houses
- General store with a porch
- Storefront with a striped awning
- Old farm truck with stake sides
- Lantern on a lamp post
- Round tree with leaf cut-outs
- Picket fence with pointed tops
- Mailbox with the flag up
- Sunflower silhouette
Questions
Can I add the name of our town?
Not inside the maker yet. The side of the tank is plain card about 5 cm wide at 8 inches, which is room for a short name written by hand or cut in vinyl.
Can I change the tower?
Yes. Select it in the maker and choose Swap: a round tank on a single pedestal and a second lattice tower are under Buildings.
Can I sell boxes I make with it?
Yes. Finished pieces are yours to sell. The files themselves may not be sold or shared; send people to this page. See the licence.
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