I see that B&H sells these for $240.
Anyone made their own out of something cheaper?
Seems like kind of a lot for a rubber mat.
I see that B&H sells these for $240.
Anyone made their own out of something cheaper?
Seems like kind of a lot for a rubber mat.
Maybe a felt saddle pad? Or a piece of rubber horse trailer floor matting covered with felt?
Maybe something like this?---
https://www.statelinetack.com/item/m...ner/SLT901243/
or this
https://www.statelinetack.com/item/c...nch/SLT900704/
"I would feel more optimistic about a bright future for man if he spent less time proving that he can outwit Nature and more time tasting her sweetness and respecting her seniority"---EB White
All picture framing wholesale suppliers carry em. You could shop around. I'm sure John K. could give you a discount on a used horse blanket; but it might get kind smelly heated up. It would lend some authenticity if your darkroom is an old barn, like my brother's was. But back to being serious - not every kind of foam rubber will stand up to repeated heating. Seal uses a special blend, plus a covering. Nothing is worse than when a pad starts breaking down and all kinds of little rubber spots get embedded in your work. An industrial supplier like McMaster-Carr carries a wide range of rubber sheeting along with full specifications; so you could look there too. I won't gamble, so I bought the real deal replacement just to have on hand. Haven't actually needed to replace my original one quite yet. But back when I did buy it from B&H, it was only $100.
I picked up a 500 press a while back, it came with a felt pad. I think it may have been original. Sadly the press had been more missed used rather than used. It shows little signs of use but looks like things were dropped on it. The lamp housing broken and temp knob cracked and loose. Works fine just needed a little TLC.
I also own this press and will likely need to face the same issue someday.
Hmmm...maybe try going to the Porsche 944 Online Forum - getting onto their Parts and Accessories menu, and entering "Hood Pad" into their search function.
I'm thinking that you might be able to craft something out of a 944 hood insulation pad (I'm a 944 owner/addict) - which seems to me to be very similar to the Seal press pad (heat resistant, about the same thickness, compressibility, etc.). The Porsche version is about 135 bucks...but the aftermarket (also available from the 944 Online site) is just about half that price.
Give me a moment to go out to my garage and pop the hood to measure....
OK I'm back. The pad is in two sections - neither of which is large enough to cover the 26x34 that you would need for your press - but you could get this area from two pieces - which should be viable for this (dry mount press) use...especially as the Porsche pad has a self-stick side which you could affix to the bottom surface of the press opening and it would remain stable.
felt carpet under pads. they can be found in 1/4" thicknesses.
Thanks Everyone! Some good ideas/thoughts here. Suggestions like John K's and John L's Rubber Horse trailer floor matting and Porsche 944 hood insulation pads are what keep me here.
In the past I've just crammed more 8 ply rag boards in there to increase the pressure....not sure why B&H would increase the price so much for the original...still mulling it over. I think the person who had the press before me 'crushed' the pad, maybe by leaving it in the closed position. it still works, but is much thinner than others I've seen. Also strange that it's covered with yellow felt and the replacement ones don't seem to be.
totally agree
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Duuuh. Some things like replacement parts sell slowly. A dealer might choose to leave their asking price alone just to assist turning over old inventory, then be forced to raised the price substantially to maintain a realistic profit margin, once they themselves have to purchase that item anew. More popular items turn over a lot faster, so tend to get adjusted in price, whether up or down, more often. The materials which go into these pad have gone up at least 200% in the past 20 years. But its hard to trace it to the cycle of just the raw materials, because we don't know the manufacturer's own rate of turnover. And in this case, Seal itself (or whatever its current company name is) is not the actual maker, but relies on some kind of subcontractor specializing in these kinds of products.
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