[sbouldin]

After many months of reading this and the construction forums, I've finally come to the point where it's time to construct my screen. I'm planning on starting it tonight. I've read a lot of good tips and suggestions and I just want to lay out my plan to all of you to see if there's any last minute tips/opinions/suggestions that may help me.


Here are my materials:


4' x 8' sheet of DW

4' x 8' sheet of 1/4" plywood

french cleat (metal, purchased from Home Depot)

contact cement

1" x 2" lumber for frame

Black Velvet for frame


I'm constructing a 92" screen. I will first pencil in the lines on the plywood. My plan is for it to be a 92" screen with a 2" border, so the dimensions that I will draw out will be 49" x 84" (a 92" screen is 45" x 80"). Then, I will locate the center of that and attach the one side of the french cleat to the plywood. This will be the back of the screen. I will make sure that the screws are flush on the front screen side of the plywood.


I will then roll contact cement over the back side of the DW as well as the plywood (the side that doesn't have the french cleat). I'll let the cement dry the recommended amount of time and then very carefully (with the help of my wife) lay the DW down onto the plywood. I've heard that once the contact cement sides touch, there's no going back, so I'm a little bit scared about this part. I purchased some dowel rods to help me out, but we may just go for it. I'm not too concerned in that I'll be cutting the DW/plywood once they are affixed.


I will let the DW/plywood sheet dry overnight. The next day I plan to cut along the lines that I had drawn the previous day to obtain the screen size that I need (keeping in mind of the extra 4" for my border.


I will construct a frame out of the 1" x 2" lumber and wrap it in fabric. I'll secure the frame to the DW/plywood sheet (Not sure how yet). Once completed, I'll secure the other side of the french cleat to my screen wall and hang the screen.


So, what do you think? Does anyone of any tips/suggestions/opinions? Thanks in advance.

 

[bud16415]

Your dimensions are correct.


Don't even think of gluing the two together without placing the sticks / dowels between them first. I would every 8 inches along the length.


You have to have the plywood on as flat a surface as you can find also. Don't do the two-sawhorse method. The reason being if the plywood is curved at all and you skin it with the laminate it will then remain in that curve shape forever.


Put contact glue on both halves and let dry 100% then lay plywood on a flat floor or workbench etc and place sticks, then align laminate and start at one end and one at a time remove sticks and press working your way to the next stick. Get all the air bubbles out by doing it like this.


The best method to cut it together is a router but saws can work also. You will see the edge of the plywood from the side after you put the wrapped frame on. You might want to paint the edge black before doing the velvet frame.


I'm not sure what you are using for the .25 plywood. Around here there is a product called Luan that is used for underlay on flooring. I personally wouldn't use this for what you are doing. It's a nice looking product but the inner layers are full of voids and the gluing isn't what you would want between layers in the material, when you go to saw it, it likes to fall apart. There is a .25 underlay material that is OSB material that may work better. I know .50 is heavier but I would be using .50 (4 ply). Or MDF.


I would attach the French cleats high on the screen in the area of the trim also and do them after the laminate and be covered by the trim. The trim can be mounted from the back using .75 long drywall screws.


Good luck and post some pics.


By the way what projector are you using and have you tested it yet on just the laminate? If not I would do that before I started the screen.

 

[sbouldin]



Quote:
Originally Posted by bud16415 /forum/post/0


Your dimensions are correct.


Don't even think of gluing the two together without placing the sticks / dowels between them first. I would every 8 inches along the length.


You have to have the plywood on as flat a surface as you can find also. Don't do the two-sawhorse method. The reason being if the plywood is curved at all and you skin it with the laminate it will then remain in that curve shape forever.


Put contact glue on both halves and let dry 100% then lay plywood on a flat floor or workbench etc and place sticks, then align laminate and start at one end and one at a time remove sticks and press working your way to the next stick. Get all the air bubbles out by doing it like this.


The best method to cut it together is a router but saws can work also. You will see the edge of the plywood from the side after you put the wrapped frame on. You might want to paint the edge black before doing the velvet frame.


I'm not sure what you are using for the .25 plywood. Around here there is a product called Luan that is used for underlay on flooring. I personally wouldn't use this for what you are doing. It's a nice looking product but the inner layers are full of voids and the gluing isn't what you would want between layers in the material, when you go to saw it, it likes to fall apart. There is a .25 underlay material that is OSB material that may work better. I know .50 is heavier but I would be using .50 (4 ply). Or MDF.


I would attach the French cleats high on the screen in the area of the trim also and do them after the laminate and be covered by the trim. The trim can be mounted from the back using .75 long drywall screws.


Good luck and post some pics.


By the way what projector are you using and have you tested it yet on just the laminate? If not I would do that before I started the screen.

Thanks for the tips. I appreciate it. I have an Epson Cinema 400 and I have tested it out, looks great. I don't have a router, but have a fairly new blade on my circular saw. I've read to cut with the DW facing down, but I'm afraid I'll scuff up the DW. I'm not to concerned with the outer edge since it will be covered in the trim. I just purchased a regular sheet of .25" ply, nothing special. I plan to do the cementing on a flat floor, and after your post, I'll make sure to do the dowel rods.


So, you're saying attach the trim to the screen by screwing in through the back using .75 long screws? As far as the french cleat, I just want to make sure that I don't screw it far enough into the screen that it pops out the other end.

 

[sbouldin]

Well, the screen is up. I was really nervous about the contact cement part and aligning the plywood and the DW, but it turned out to be not that bad. I used the dowel rod method (thanks for convincing me to do that) and it worked like a charm.


As for mounting, I bought a piece of 1/2" thick pine board (4" wide) that was 2 ft. in length. I secured that to the top of the back of the screen with some 3/4" screws. I screwed them in from the front of the screen (the screws will be covered by border tape). I then screwed in the screen side of the french cleat into the the pine board. Next, I lined up and screwed in the wall side of the french cleat and hung up the screen. The screen wall side of the french cleat had a handy built-in level which helped a lot. It's a thing of beauty. What's cool about adding that 1/2" pine board is that the screen now has a floating affect from the screen wall. The screen wall is wrapped in black GOM, so that helps.


I've ordered some Black Border tape, should be here tomorrow. Plus, I couldn't resist and fired up the projector (Epson CinemaLite 400) for the first time. Simply amazing picture.


There was one little mishap though. In cutting the DW/ply sheet, I chipped off a corner of the DW. This isn't that big a deal since it'll be covered by the border tape.


Just want to thank this forum for having such great advice and tips. I wouldn't have even known that this option (DW) was available and probably would have spent hundreds of $$ on a pre-built screen. The picture on the DW is awesome.

 

[bud16415]

Good to hear things worked out.

You really have a very bulletproof screen now, not much will harm that laminate.

Good luck and enjoy.

 

[CMRA]



Quote:
Originally Posted by sbouldin /forum/post/0


I've ordered some Black Border tape, should be here tomorrow. Plus, I couldn't resist and fired up the projector (Epson CinemaLite 400) for the first time. Simply amazing picture.


.

Ok, now for my two pennies worth.


You may wish to rethink your borders approach. Fine for 16x9 but 'grey bars' city for scoped 2.35 films.

Like all digitals your PJ will throw 'light bleed'. It's very distracting. You may wish to consider a movable masking approach. To me it's much MO betta.


That's what I would do. And, did.

 

[sbouldin]



Quote:
Originally Posted by CMRA /forum/post/0


Ok, now for my two pennies worth.


You may wish to rethink your borders approach. Fine for 16x9 but 'grey bars' city for scoped 2.35 films.

Like all digitals your PJ will throw 'light bleed'. It's very distracting. You may wish to consider a movable masking approach. To me it's much MO betta.


That's what I would do. And, did.

Not sure I follow. Are you saying that movies scoped for 2.35 will have more bleed than 16:9? I was watching a scene from Batman Begins last night that had the bars on the top and bottom. Didn't bother me too much. I'm more concerned with being able to notice any bleeding onto my back screen wall.

 

[bud16415]



Quote:
Originally Posted by sbouldin /forum/post/0


Not sure I follow. Are you saying that movies scoped for 2.35 will have more bleed than 16:9? I was watching a scene from Batman Begins last night that had the bars on the top and bottom. Didn't bother me too much. I'm more concerned with being able to notice any bleeding onto my back screen wall.

Black bars seem to cause more distraction to some people than others. I just put up with them and 2 minutes into the movie I'm engrossed (if the movie is good) and I never think about them. Others like a nice clean black frame. And I have seen people that like a curtain like edge that shows scallops around the image. That is one I personally don't like.


Below is a picture that shows at the bottom about the worst case gray bars I get. For comparison.

 

[sbouldin]



Quote:
Originally Posted by bud16415 /forum/post/0


Black bars seem to cause more distraction to some people than others. I just put up with them and 2 minutes into the movie I'm engrossed (if the movie is good) and I never think about them. Others like a nice clean black frame. And I have seen people that like a curtain like edge that shows scallops around the image. That is one I personally don't like.


Below is a picture that shows at the bottom about the worst case gray bars I get. For comparison.

Yeah, I don't think that it will bug me that much either. I'll have to wait and see, but I've put up with them on my old rear projection TV, so I think that I can live with them on my projector set-up.