Thanks for the google tip!! Sometimes you have to learn to ask the right
question. My previous searches only ended up with products for sale.

"J. Clarke" wrote in message
...
Dick Snyder wrote:

My wife wants me to make a shoji screen but I would really call it a room
divider as it will be about 8-9 feet in width. It will be made up of
individual panels about 24" side. She wants it to have the area inside
the frame of each panel covered in a fabric that won't let much light
through. I'm trying to decide if the better way to stretch the fabric
which must look nice on each side of the room divider would be over a
solid piece of maybe 1/4" plywood or if it would be better to do it over
a
rectangular frame that is empty in the middle (imagine the frame being
made up of 4 1" wide pieces. The best way I think would be a solid piece
of plywood but we both worry about weight. This room divider will not be
up all the time but will only be put up when the space it is dividing
needs to be closed off for some temporary sleeping arrangements. I know
the rectangular frame over which the fabric is stretched would be lighter
but I wonder if it would be strong enough.

I can't find anything that gives me a clue by using google. I'm
guessing
that one or more of you have made something similar. What would you
advise?

Google "shoji howto" and "shoji paper" and you may have more luck.
There's
a 92 page book on shoji that goes for around 20 bucks that you might want
to take a look at.

Before you get started, learn how the Japanese make them--you may decide
that you don't want to do it in the traditional way, but the traditional
way has worked for a very long time. Among other things, they use paper
or
in recent times acrylic, not fabric. This eliminates the whole
"stretching
the fabric" issue.

TIA.

Dick Snyder

--
--John
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