eBay Screen material (1 Viewer)

[Talkturkey]

Has any one ever bought screen material from eBay and built there own screen frame and used it. They claim it is just like the material used In other screens. I was wondering if any one has tried it and does it work well. Thanks and eat more turkey.

 

[Jim Mcc]

Save your money and just buy blackout cloth from a fabic store. That's all they're selling. Then you just need a 1X4 frame, a staple gun and a helper.

 

[Jason Charlton]

I agree with Jim - blackout cloth can be a great way to make a decent screen for little $$$. But there is a limit in how large a screen you can make with it. I think the width limit on the cloth itself is about 55". If you count on reserving a few inches of the cloth to wrap around the frame for stapling, you can expect to max out the screen size at just under 100" diagonal (roughly 98" x 48") for a 16:9 aspect ratio.


Be sure to check the width of the fabric, and use a calculator to know just how big a screen you can make.

 

[Jim Mcc]

Jason, I must correct you. Sorry. Blackout cloth is available in much larger sizes than 54" width. EDIT: Carlofet.com is recommended at Avsforum and they sell blackout cloth up to HUGE sizes. You can also buy it by the foot in 110" width.

 

[Jason Charlton]

Interesting. Doing a quick search, I can't find any locations that offer anything more than 59" wide. Most seem to fall into the 54" or 55" size.


Are you saying you can make a seamless screen of virtually any size with blackout fabric? I'd be really curious to see some sources for that, and to know for certain if it's as cost effective as the $8-15/ yard fabric that's readily available.


Edit: OK, it took a bit of looking, but I did find some places that offered it in widths of 72" (here) and there were older references to 80" wide materials available at Wal-Mart, but all links I found the product was listed as "no longer available".


Anyway, thanks for the correction.