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
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