While I was in our shop today I recalled the thread on dark slides and began to wonder whether a source of metric material could help anybody. I can probably get this and I am willing to do so if the person desiring it is willing to pay the price of the material and shipping and has the patience to wait for me and the post office!
I believe I can get 0.5 mm, 1.0 mm and maybe even 1.5 mm. I cannot ship you a whole sheet intact but I could shear it to a single size plus the left-over odds and ends. To suggest a possibility, I could cut to a little over what you need for your favorite format with a small allowance for finishing the edges. The above thicknesses are rather too thin for the huge format film holders which have been getting much attention lately! The 0.5 and 1.0 mm bracket 1/32 inch (0.02 and 0.04 inch compared to about 0.03125). I do not know the exact postage and would have to look it up after knowing what size you want because weight does go into the amount. However, you should not expect to get by for less than 30 Euro and probably it will be somewhat more. Also, if you are in the USA, you might be able to do better getting material shipped from Canada where such sizes are likely to be common and the postage might be less. Conversely, if all else fails and only one or two persons wants this stuff badly enough, I will try to help. I think the alloy we use mostly is 3% Mg. The material comes protected on one side by a plastic film. It is not polished but more-or-less semi-gloss. Again, I have never bought any so I do not know the price of the raw material either. This alloy can be anodized. The sheets are probably 1 meter x 2 meters, enough for several dark slides. You can estimate shipping weight from the thickness and area 100 cm x 200 cm x 0.1 cm = 2000 cubic cm and at 2.7 grams / ccm, about 5.4 kg. That probably costs something around 35 to 44 Euro (the latter covers up to 12 kilograms) for postage but you might be able to get two sheets shipped at the same price, most interesting if a friend wants some, too. I do not expect to be overwhelmed by requests and I surely hope it doesn't happen, but if somehow I have stuck an unwanted resonance I will have to limit this to the first couple persons who need it. Sorry! Bob _______________________________________________ Cameramakers mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://rmp.opusis.com/mailman/listinfo/cameramakers