Build A Projection Screen

If you want to set up a movie room in your home or have a need for a projection screen at work, your first instinct may be to purchase a projection screen. While you can purchase a projection screen, it is fairly simple to build a projection screen on your own. Building your own projection screen will be much less expensive than purchasing a projection screen. You will not even notice a quality difference in the projection screen that you have built.

Instructions

1. Purchase the wood. Go to a lumber yard or local home improvement store and get four pieces of 1-by-4 inch poplar board. Ask to have two of the boards cut to 55 1/4 inches and to have the other two boards cut to 93 1/2 inches.

2. Get your hardware. At your local home improvement store or hardware store, purchase 24 flat-head wood screws that are 3/4-inch in length and four 6-inch "L" brackets. You will need these to put together your frame later.

3. Prepare the wood. Lay the wood on a flat work surface and cut the ends at a 45-degree angle using a triangle and a wood saw.

4. Purchase 3 yards of black velveteen fabric. Use the fabric scissors to cut the fabric into four strips that are 6 1/2 inches wide. Two of those strips should be 58 inches long. These will be for the sides of the frame. You will need two of the strips to be 96 inches long. These will be for the bottom and top of the frame.

5. Attach the fabric to the wood. On a flat surface, lay out the fabric strips and place the wood sections that correspond to the fabric size on top of each strip. Center the wood on the fabric strips and take the fabric and wrap it around the board. Stretch it tight and staple it in place, leaving around 2 inches of wood visible in the center of each part of the frame. At the 45-degree angles, you will need to trim your fabric ends and then glue the fabric to the wood so that it will stay in place.

6. Join the wood together to make the frame. Take your fabric-covered pieces of wood and lay them out on a flat surface, in a rectangle, face down. Move around the frame, corner by corner, attaching the pieces together with an L bracket and six screws for each corner.

7. Add white seamless paper. You can buy a 53-inch roll of white seamless paper from a local camera supply store. Use white if you do not want to compromise image quality. Roll the paper over your frame. Use the staple gun to attach the paper. Begin at one of the shorter sides of the frame and staple the paper to the exposed wood. Work your way around the frame, applying staples every 10 inches. When you get to the last side of the frame, trim the paper to fit the frame before finishing stapling.

Tags: projection screen, projection screen, will need, around frame, boards inches