CurtPalme.com Home Theater Forum

[jeffslife]

I know there are plenty of great minds here. As I posted before I have a burn in line because of the difference between my aspect ratios. I want to use the system I have now. I plan on raising the 2.35 AR to the top of the 1.185 AR like Craig suggested. The way my current system works is I pull the top mask down and raise the bottom mask up to mask the image on the 2.35 AR. When I change it I wont need to lower the top any longer but I will need to raise the bottom a lot more. The problem I am having now is that the material I was using for the bottom started to bow. It worked fine for months but not any longer. What I need is a material that I can purchase locally that is laser straight, can be supported on each end by cables ( to raise up and down) and will not bow in the center. I plan to drape black velvet over it kinda like a curtain. So the width isn't really an issue, actually less width would work out better. Weight really isn't an issue as the counterweight solves that problem easily. I considered using angle iron but I am not sure if it would bow. I also considered cement board but it only comes in 8 foot lengths and I would prefer not having to bolt on metal to get the extra 6 inches I need, that seems to create issues over time. Any and all ideas are appreciated. I really need to get this done in the next 4 days. Thanks in advance. Jeff.

[ecrabb]

How long of a piece do you need, Jeff? Could you use a piece of aluminum? It's very soft and easy to drill. I think it's easier to work with than wood. You can easily cut it with a circular saw, either with a metal-cutting blade, or even wood blade if you're careful and move slowly. In fact, I have a cutting guide that might work perfectly. It's in two pieces with a steel connector in the middle, so it totals just over 96 inches. You could put two of them together to get 12 feet, then cut off what you don't need.

This isn't the one I have, but it looks very similar.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Johnson-98-in-Aluminum-Cutting-Guide-J4900/100188970

Not the cheapest route. If you have a metal supplier nearby, you can probably get a piece of aluminum 10 feet long, and 3/16 of an inch think for half that price. Just an idea, though.

SC

[draganm]

a small piece of angle Aluminum, like 1" x 1" x 1/8 or even 1/16th, is nice because if you screw it down to something it makes the effective thickness of the underlying material a full 1"+ in terms of it's resistance to bowing without adding all that weight or expense of buying a massive piece of material.
in other words screw it down to the backside on your existing mask and straighten it out