waltervj@dartvax.UUCP (walter jeffries) (10/03/85)
It was mentioned that Nylon I makes a good cheap mouse pad...
An even cheaper and possibly better mouse pad is the material used to cover
drafting boards. It only costs $0.013 per square inch ($20 per yard by 42 in.)
compared with $0.05 for Nylon I. I bought it at a local art supply store.
Unfortunately I can't give you a fancy name for it as the sales clerk didn't
even know what it was called! It is rubbery, smooth, firm, green on one side,
white on the other, and about a 1/16th of an inch thick. I bought enough to
cover my whole desk for $13.50. Now I have an excellent writing surface as well
as a safe place for my mouse to run around... (They claim it is also self-heal-
ing, what ever they mean by that.)
( o> < o>
_\ -Walter.
-==- "Run them little micies into the ground!"
iiii -a crazed programmer.rico@oscvax.UUCP (Rico Mariani) (10/05/85)
In article <3662@dartvax.UUCP> waltervj@dartvax.UUCP (walter jeffries) writes: >(EDITED) >An even cheaper and possibly better mouse pad is the material used to cover >drafting boards. I bought it at a local art supply store. >Unfortunately I can't give you a fancy name for it as the sales clerk didn't >even know what it was called! It is rubbery, smooth, firm, green on one side, >white on the other, and about a 1/16th of an inch thick. >Now I have an excellent writing surface as well as a safe place for my >mouse to run around... (They claim it is also self-healing, what ever >they mean by that.) That stuff seems like a good choice for a mouse pad. It is very good for writing on so you can cover your desk with it, it cleans pretty well, and the surface would provide plenty of friction for even a smooth mouse ball. I don't know what it's called either, but by self-healing they mean that if you stick a compass point in it (like a draftsman would, not like you're trying to murder your desk :-) ) the hole that you make will close up when you remove the compass (or whatever), you may see a small mark if the hole was a big one but in any case the surface will be smooth. I've never done anything that left a "pothole" in that green-stuff. Sorry that was a little unappropriate, but I couldn't resist... Maybe we should start a new newsgroup net.drafting.green-stuff.uses? -Rico [allegra , ihnp4, watmath]!utzoo!oscvax!rico
bill@crystal.UUCP (10/05/85)
> An even cheaper and possibly better mouse pad is the material used to cover > drafting boards. It only costs $0.013 per square inch ($20 per yard by 42 in.) > compared with $0.05 for Nylon I. I bought it at a local art supply store. > Unfortunately I can't give you a fancy name for it as the sales clerk didn't > even know what it was called! It is rubbery, smooth, firm, green on one side, "Drawing board cover" is the standard name. One brand/additional name is "Vinyl-Flex" . Standard widths are 36, 37-1/2, 43-1/2, and 48 inch. Great stuff. Blueprint and technical drawing shops usually have it as well. > white on the other, and about a 1/16th of an inch thick. I bought enough to > cover my whole desk for $13.50. Now I have an excellent writing surface as well > as a safe place for my mouse to run around... > (They claim it is also self-healing, what ever they mean by that.) Self-healing refers to a resealing when a knife (e.g., Exacto) is used on the surface in making paste-ups. I didn't know of any drawing board covers that are self-healing, only [very] expensive smaller cutting boards. -- William Cox Computer Sciences Department University of Wisconsin, Madison WI bill@uwisc ...{ihnp4,seismo,allegra}!uwvax!bill
dar@sdcsvax.UUCP (David Reisner) (10/06/85)
"Borco" is one brand name for the plastic sheeting used to cover drafting tables. 'Self healing' means that, if you poke a small hole in it or cut it lightly, it will close up and the hole or cut will disappear. This stuff can be bought in many color combinations, but one side is almost always white or "putty" green (a light grey-ish green). At a local art supply store, they sell Borco in precut sizes. 31" x 42" costs $25. The stuff is great to draw on (summer job as a draftsman once) and I can readily believe that it would make good mouse pad. I'm going to try it (although I'd like to find a place that sells it by the inch). -David sdcsvax!telesoft!dar
crs@lanl.ARPA (10/07/85)
> > (They claim it is also self-healing, what ever they mean by that.) > > Self-healing refers to a resealing when a knife (e.g., Exacto) is used on the > surface in making paste-ups. I didn't know of any drawing board covers that > are self-healing, only [very] expensive smaller cutting boards. I think in reference to the drawing board covers, the term "self healing" means that holes produced by compass points, and, perhaps, by thumbtacks, *tend* to close up when the offending object is removed. Actually, I don't think they *fully* close but become small enough to be less of a problem. -- All opinions are mine alone... Charlie Sorsby ...!{cmcl2,ihnp4,...}!lanl!crs crs@lanl.arpa