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Moose
Joined: 09 Mar 2006
Posts: 788
Location: Minnesota
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| Posted: Mon Sep 24, 2007 9:54 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: | | I used some aluminum U-channel - also from Home Depot - along each edge to hold everything straight. |
I'm considering foam insulation board for backing and cutting another in strips and gluing them perpendicularly for stiffening. A whole lot cheaper than aluminum U-channel. I'll be making a frame also so I can hang it out in the room and have something to attach pulleys to for a varible aspect ratio mechanism.
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In the real world, I am alan halvorson, King of the Wild Frontier and Swell Guy.
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Moose
Joined: 09 Mar 2006
Posts: 788
Location: Minnesota
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| Posted: Tue Sep 25, 2007 4:58 am Post subject: |
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| Quote: | | Then, I used some aluminum U-channel - also from Home Depot - along each edge to hold everything straight. |
Sometimes I'm pretty dense. It took me awhile before I realized what you did. You inserted the foam into the U-channel, right? That's a better idea than I had. So, off to look for some U-channel tomorrow!
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In the real world, I am alan halvorson, King of the Wild Frontier and Swell Guy.
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winduptoy
Joined: 25 Nov 2006
Posts: 187
Location: Lunenburg, Nova Scotia
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| Posted: Tue Sep 25, 2007 9:44 am Post subject: |
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| ADRIANKELLY wrote: | | My Gatorfoam is 1/4 in . I found it in Anchorage in a art supply store . If we have it here you should be able to locate it anywhere . Maybe call your local museum they tend to use it to back their mounted pictures . |
I used to work in the sign industry, and gatorfoam was often used for interior stuff when strength and light weight were important. Up here (Canada) $100 would buy a sheet 1" thick. It is available in thicknesses from .25" to 2" in brown craft or white surface. It will stay flat but it must be cut with a saw. I would recommend .5" craft surface. (should cost around $50) and weigh around 10lb.
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GEBrown
Joined: 08 Mar 2006
Posts: 729
Location: Denver
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| Posted: Tue Sep 25, 2007 3:05 pm Post subject: |
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| Moose wrote: | | Quote: | | Then, I used some aluminum U-channel - also from Home Depot - along each edge to hold everything straight. |
Sometimes I'm pretty dense. It took me awhile before I realized what you did. You inserted the foam into the U-channel, right? That's a better idea than I had. So, off to look for some U-channel tomorrow! |
Alan,
Yep, you've got it now!! The WilsonArt is about 1/16" thick and pretty stiff on it's own. But if the total thickness of the foam and WilsonArt isn't quite enough, you can get some of that rubber bead that you use to mount screens to patio doors or screen windows and squeegee that into the back of the screen, between the foam and the inside of the U-channel to snug everything up.
Glad you found this idea useful.
Gary
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Rdean
Joined: 13 Oct 2006
Posts: 258
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| Posted: Tue Sep 25, 2007 3:59 pm Post subject: |
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Gary,
How do you adhere the c-channel to the edges of the foam/laminate? Is it only the tension of the "fit" (with or without the rubber), or is it glued/screwed to the edge?
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GEBrown
Joined: 08 Mar 2006
Posts: 729
Location: Denver
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| Posted: Tue Sep 25, 2007 5:04 pm Post subject: |
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| Rdean wrote: | Gary,
How do you adhere the c-channel to the edges of the foam/laminate? Is it only the tension of the "fit" (with or without the rubber), or is it glued/screwed to the edge? |
I depend on the black tape that I used. Now, in my particular case, I used black duct tape,  but I didn't mention that initially, because the right way to do it would be with the black velvet tape (or with black velvet over the top of the duct tape). The U-channel is about 1/2" deep, so if you use 2" wide tape, you've got 1 full inch on the screen, 1/2" on the channel edge, and 1/2" wrap around onto the side. And I do that on the front and the back all the way around.
The whole screen - 83"x 48" in my case (with an 80"x45" viewing area) only weighs about 10 - 15 lbs - I should have weighed it.
Mine is suspended from the wall with two small French cleats that catch under the top lip of the U-channel (no tape overlap in those areas).
I know, I know, it sounds cheezy using duct tape for screen construction. I wasn't sure how well it would work at first, so I wanted to put together something I could salvage the WilsonArt out of in case of failure, but it's been hanging up there for 6 months or so with no sag.
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Rdean
Joined: 13 Oct 2006
Posts: 258
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| Posted: Tue Sep 25, 2007 6:16 pm Post subject: |
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No worries on the cheese factor. I think there are 3 ways to do something: the right way, the wrong way and some other way that works just fine. I have been known to employ all 3 of these methods.
Thanks for the ideas.
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winduptoy
Joined: 25 Nov 2006
Posts: 187
Location: Lunenburg, Nova Scotia
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| Posted: Tue Sep 25, 2007 9:37 pm Post subject: |
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I forgot the saving some $ part. Instead of buying gatorfoam at an Art Supply Store. Look up Sign / suppliers/wholesale in the yellow pages and see if they will sell it to you. It will be far less than anywhere else. If they won't or pickup is a problem, check and see if a signmaker near you will bring it in for you. I used to get mine from EM Plastics in Dartmouth, NS. I believe they have office/warehouses in most large metro areas in Canada. For U.S. try the same route; looks for sign supplies and phone a few that carry acrylic, cor-x, plexiglas, lexan. Hope this helps.
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