Custom Work

Woodworking ยท 2025

Backlit Belt Display Case

A deep framed wall case with a clear front and a lit back panel, made for Alexandre "Soca" Freitas of Soca Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Two belts are tied and mounted one above the other, under a round raised Soca logo and a framed photo from the 2022 World Master championship.

A line of white LED runs around the edge of the back panel, so everything in the case sits against a soft glow. With the room lights off the panel does all the lighting.

The build started as a tablet sketch of a framed box 40 inches tall, 28 wide and 3 deep. The frame boards were sanded, painted gloss black and grooved with a trim router. The frame edges were then faced with wood veneer banding: glued, taped, ironed down, trimmed at the mitred corners and sanded flush. The logo, photo and belts were laid out on the back panel on small standoffs before anything was fixed in place.

It was presented to him on the mats at the academy in November 2025.

Made for
Alexandre "Soca" Freitas, Soca Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
Materials
Painted wood frame, veneer edge banding, clear front, LED-lit back panel
Process
Sanded, painted, routed, edge banded, assembled and lit

Photos

  • Three-quarter view of the lit case on a draped table, showing the depth of the dark frame. The finished case, lit
  • Wider three-quarter view of the case from its left side, the frame edge and the lit panel both visible. Three inches deep, lit around the back panel
  • Close view of the round raised Soca Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu logo beside a framed World Master 2022 photo of a man in a white gi wearing a medal. Raised Soca logo beside the framed World Master 2022 photo
  • Close view through the case front of a knotted black belt with a red bar and red-and-white stripes, SOCA embroidered in red, above a second knotted belt. The two belts, tied and mounted
  • Angled close-up of the two knotted belts inside the case, with a round Soca patch and a line of white LED light along the bottom. Belts behind the clear front, with the LED line below
  • Steep side view of the round raised Soca logo in black, red and white, with halftone dots and the words EST. 1993. The logo stands off the panel
  • Very close shallow-focus view of the red belt knot and the red embroidered lettering. Knot and embroidery up close
  • The case in a dark room, its back panel glowing white behind the logo, the framed photo and the belts. Lights off: the panel does the lighting
  • Low angled view across the lit case in the dark, the bright LED line running around the panel edge. The LED line around the panel edge
  • Three adults in black gis standing on the academy mats behind the finished display case, smiling, hands resting on its frame. Presented at Soca Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, November 2025
  • Tablet sketch of a framed box with a lamp on top, marked 40 inches tall, 28 inches wide and 3 inches deep, with a logo, a photo and belts drawn inside. Where it started: the tablet sketch
  • Frame boards painted gloss black, drying on a bench outdoors. Frame boards in gloss black
  • A trim router running along a black frame board clamped to the bench. Routing the groove
  • A stack of grooved black frame lengths on the bench. Frame lengths, grooved
  • A coil of wood veneer banding held against the corner of the black frame, with blue tape holding it in place. Veneer banding going onto the frame edge
  • A gloved hand running a clothes iron along the taped frame edge, a glue bottle standing on the panel. Ironing the banding down
  • Scissors trimming the veneer banding at a taped corner of the frame. Trimming at the corner
  • Close view of a mitred frame corner faced with fresh wood banding. A mitred corner, banded
  • The case on a stand outdoors, its edge banded, with the banding roll and a foam brush on top. Frame banded, on the stand
  • The contents laid out on the back panel: the round Soca logo, the photo, a folded belt and small standoffs. Test layout on the back panel

Have something in mind?

Tell us what you are picturing. We reply with a design, a price and timing, and nothing is made until you say yes.

Start a custom request

Music in the videos: "Almost Bliss", "Inspired", "Montauk Point", "Wallpaper" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0.