[LargeFormat] Deardorff black stuff

[Craig Koshyk]

Hello,

I am currently restoring a no-name (probably F-Schwing) 8x20 camera. It 
has a mechanism for front rise that is similar to my Deardorff 8x10. 
There is a wooden plate to which the lensboard is attached. This plate 
can move up or down a few inches by loosening a knob, thus allowing 
rise and fall. On the fixer-upper it looks like the back of this wooden 
piece was once painted black. On the deardorff the same piece is 
painted black and there is some sort of felt-like material attached as 
well. I suspect that at one time the fixer-upper had a similar material 
affixed but in the 80 odd years since the camera was made the material 
has more or less vaporized.

So, what modern material will suffice?  It seems to be a fairly short, 
sturdy felt like material on the Deardorff. Any suggestions for the 
type of stuff I should be looking for?

Thanks

Craig Koshyk