A couple of years ago, I bought a new roll of Grafix drafting film, 4 mil, 36" x 10 yards, still shrink wrapped, for something like $5 at an estate sale. Not having an immediate need, I stashed it behind the furnace and temporarily forgot it. Needing to do some bridge layout work this weekend, I remembered it and dug it out. It's a polyester film, matte finish on one side, and it's absolutely terrific for this use. Transparent enough to see through easily. The matte surface accepts pencil lines very nicely and erases easily (except for those antique shop pencils with the erasers that have turned to pink goo or bricks). At 4 mil, it's stiff enough to meet you half way and stay put as you pin it to a long bridge and start transferring hole and angle positions. Depending on the project, there's maybe a dozen pianos worth in a roll. The down side is that I looked it up to see what it really cost, and it was somewhere around $70 retail. Still not at all bad per piano, and the stuff is sturdy enough to archive as a more or less permanent record of what you did to the bridge on that particular make and model, for future entertainment. So for anyone looking to be spoiled in the pattern making category, this is way uptown stuff. I just thought you'd like to know. Ron N
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