Material for Custom-Made Darkslides ?

[Ernest Purdum]

Any time I want to find some material or some gizmo I can't buy in the local stores, I automatically think of McMaster- Carr.

[C. D. Keth]

In hobby shops, you can get plastic sheets in various thicknesses from about .001" to .25" or so in .005" increments. They come in most colors including black and aren't painted, but are dyed the same color throughout so you could cut them and still have black edges.

[David A. Goldfarb]

When I've done this, I've just used a spare darkslide from a defunct holder or purchased an extra darkslide, which comes with the convenience of a handle.

[Ken Lee]

You might find posts about it in the archive. Various plastic covers available in paper shops can be used - they are semi rigid, black, easy to cut, cheap. Not so rigid as metal ones but usable.

I stopped by the local office supply store and bought a black plastic presentation cover. I will cut it down and give it a try. For 99 cents, it seems like a good first step. If I am careful, I can make another copy and place it over the ground glass, for use when composing the photo.

[GPS]

Ken, let us know how it worked for you, for the future reference. Good luck.

[Ken Lee]

I tried the plastic from the "report cover". It works as a dark slide, but it's a bit flimsy, once I cut out a rectangular portion.

I now better appreciate the choice of materials that go into modern holders.

[Colin Myers]

Beware. The plastic used for Dark Slide sheaths is of a special, anti-static type.
They are normally strange thicknesses for the regular formats. Careless withdrawal of a slide made from regular plastic, could result in a quite a firweorks display inside the holder, with resultant film fogging. Why not cut down a regular slide to make your custom mask. This would be certainly be anti static and probably the correct thickness.
Colin Myers

[GPS]

I tried the plastic from the "report cover". It works as a dark slide, but it's a bit flimsy, once I cut out a rectangular portion.

I now better appreciate the choice of materials that go into modern holders.

Not everything is lost yet. Try to put scotch on both sides of the cut version. Will not increase the thickness, only the stiffness.