I don't know about pure aluminum foil (the kitchen kind), but there are several types of aluminized or laminated materials that should work. I'm thinking of the material used for gum wrappers, or potato chip bags.
I don't know about pure aluminum foil (the kitchen kind), but there are several types of aluminized or laminated materials that should work. I'm thinking of the material used for gum wrappers, or potato chip bags.
To test your idea, take a piece of foil and make a few folds in it and then repeatedly fold and unfold the piece. I have a feeling that it would eventually rip at the fold. Kind of like bending a piece tin back and forth until it breaks. Just a thought...
I once used aluminum foil to light-proof a darkroom window. After a while pinholes developed.
Jon
my black and white photos of the Mendocino Coast: jonshiu.zenfolio.com
Apart from the fact that loose cut stiffener strips maintain the crisp fold best, it sounds like a doable project.
Best to use paper coated aluminium foil (kitchen use) as it would be easier to handle/cut/glue etc.
It will not become a particle accelerator!
The wikipedia article on "Metalized Foil" shows a table which indicates that this material is transparent or semitransparent to UV. The table shows the comparison to regular foil which is very effective at blocking UV.
I would still use the stiffener strips. The sandwich would be: outer material, stiffener strips, aluminum foil, and inner material, all glued together with spray adhesive or contact cement.
I need a very thin bellows for this camera so I'm trying to find good material for the stiffener strips. Card stock is too thick and regular paper seems too thin to be useful.
Science is what we understand well enough to explain to a computer. Art is everything else we do.
--A=B by Petkovšek et. al.
That must be the idea of somebody who is the exact opposite of your nick name.Originally Posted by BetterSense
My thought is that bellows holes usually form in the corners. Foil will form holes when bent a few times. So most likely the foil will not add much to the bellows as far as making them light tight. If your bellows cloth has holes to begin with I would just find another source of material.
I have cut up the thin plastic used to make index dividers in folders. You know A, B, C etc or !, 2, 3....
Does the "occasional pinhole" come from only looking through one layer of the fabric or two layers? If one layer, you probably won't have problem once you double up the two layers of fabric. If you still need something, you might consider black plastic rather than foil. I would think that it might work better for folding the bellows in the corners than aluminum foil. I use thin card stock like the material for file folders.
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