Wooden film holder: neoprene instead of felt?

[argus]

I'm making a wooden film holder atm.
When looking for some nice felt (filt?) to glue where the dark slide goes in, I stumbled on 1.5mm thick black neoprene. It looks dense enough to function as a light trap.
It looks useable to me as it won't get worn as quickly and will not keep dust.

Has anyone already tried this?

G

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

I don't know about that. I have some really old filmholders with perfectly good felt light traps and things made of neoprene that have started to crumble in less than five years. I don't know if neoprene lasts longer in the dark, so that might be a consideration. I think felt might be a better choice in case of high humidity, when neoprene might cause the darkslide to get stuck on the way in or out.

 

[argus]

I think felt might be a better choice in case of high humidity, when neoprene might cause the darkslide to get stuck on the way in or out.

You have got a point there.

G

 

[John Koehrer]

Argus,
Many of the older holders(poetic, Yes?) used velvet for the light trap material. You can purchase velvet ribbon by the yard at fabric shops.
Also it is available in different widths.

 

[rjr]

Argus,

12 month ago I decided to try neoprene as a lightseal in my Kiev back (old type) - I cut a strip of 0,5mm thick foam to size, installed it, inserted the darkslide and let it rest for a week. After that the foam adapted to the slide and sealed the slot tightly.

It worked very fine, better than the original Kiev/Hasselblad seals with foam and mylar foil - until last week. I lost a whole roll due to a light leak, the neoprene shrunk lengthwise and opened a tiny leak, just enough to fog the negative diagonal. :-(

I remember when I cut the stuff that I wanted to check the seal after 12 months... I didn´t, and I paid for it. <g>

 

[barzune]

A few years ago, I replaced a few felt and velvet traps with thin leather, dyed black, fleshside out.
So far, so good.

 

[paul ron]

Argus,
Many of the older holders(poetic, Yes?) used velvet for the light trap material. You can purchase velvet ribbon by the yard at fabric shops.
Also it is available in different widths.

+1

velvet is the best choice for that type of seal. neoprene is for a compression type seal.

 

[guangong]

My 4x5 film holders have lasted 4 or 5 decades for me, and I bought most of them used at Ken Hansen’s. Felt ribbon is so cheap, why experiment ? You wouldn’t be using film if you didn’t have some confidence in traditional materials. Just Want to add, never had a problem with my Hasselblad backs as far as light leaks,and several date back to my unlamented 1000F days although some have died from mechanical failure. When that happens I replace with the more modern later backs, which are now affordable.
.