Does wood damage fossils?

[Jurassicz1]

I found this online and its free. I want to store fossils in this but i have heard that some wood damage fossils. Is that true?

And will this cabinet work? I asked the seller what type of wood it is but they don't know.

 

[FossilDAWG]

I believe Oak has been known to cause problems.  Museum curators prefer metal cabinets because they are completely chemically inert.  That being said, most of us do not have to worry about very long term storage (centuries).  The cabinets show look great, and they don't look like Oak.  If the price is reasonable I would say to go for it.

 

Don

[Ludwigia]

The answer is very simple from my experience: No.

[LabRatKing]

Looks like standard plywood to me. Actually better construction than what we have at the University.Good thing about plywood and laminates is they are more epoxy resin than wood these days.

 

for stuff from the wood damaging fossils, oak, and sometimes conifer wood with sap still in it can cause issues, but as others have said, this takes longer than most of us live.

 

Metal cabinets are nice, but they can rust and flake paint over time.

 

The one tip I can share is when you line the drawers, use wool felt or archival paper. I learned the hard way that many consumer grade plastic solutions will break down over time and stick to your specimens. I learned this with extant arthropods rather than fossils, but a giant deep sea isopod exo is ruined because the shelf liner got gummy after a decade or so. Thankfully I wasn't around then and thus responsible!

[jpc]

Oak offgasses acids which can harm limestone, but is more harmful to any paper labels you might have in there.  But this does not look like oak.  I think you will be OK with this free cabinet.  

[LabRatKing]

30 minutes ago, jpc said:

Oak offgasses aciuds which can harm limestone, but is more harmful to any paper labels you might have in there.  But this does not look like oak.  I think you will be OK with this free cabinet.  

Yup, specifically tannic acid, and a few other organics. Certain pine and cedars off gas a mélange of VOCs (volatile organic compounds for those unfamiliar) which can react with some preservatives and stabilizers used for fossils which can result in severe discoloration. Knotty pines and such can of course leak sap which makes for a sticky mess. I am a bit paranoid, so I keep our few specimens of amber and copal in nitrogen gas, as there is always a certain amount of formaldehyde and related chemicals around due to our very old archive of wet preserved biologicals. I was able to only convert to more modern preservatives for those as some of them are so old they are in hand blown glass with asphalt sealed Bakelite (and a few so old it is asphalt sealed wood!)

 

I had to build a number of archival racks of boxes for our (I should say mine as I collected every single specimen personally for these jokers...) botanical and entomological collections and ended up choosing a melamine coated composite, in which I installed silicone seals on the lid and polycarbonate windows. Obviously, overkill for the purpose of geologic specimens, but they are air and humidity tight and incorporate "hidden" compartments for anti-insect stuff and desiccants. This was needed as we have an issue with Dermestids and humidity due to the age and location of the buildings that house my labs.

 

I have yet to come up with a solid, cost effective method for archival storage and display of our vast collection of geologic specimens, but that is on the ever growing Sisyphus Boulder I call my "to do list".

 

As for the OPs cabinet, if it is free, jump all over it! (I missed that detail earlier) I spent over 25k USD on cabinet work this last year between work and home, and still wasn't able to get something like this for a fair price. Real cabinet makers are becoming as rare as T-rex teeth! The stuff I purchased for home had a "parts drawer" option, which being large, only a few cm deep and grided with dividers, but I couldn't afford it at 300 USD per drawer.

[erose]

Being a bit of a cabinet maker the fact that these are free is crazy. Hope you snagged it quickly.  Flat files, even old crappy ones, never go cheap.

 

The acid issue is real but, as mentioned, probably a bigger deal for artifacts and minerals then sedimentary rocks.  I have wood cabinets that are plywood and poplar with polyurethane finish. I add desiccant to the drawers that hold the pyrite specimens.

[fossilselachian]

FREE! Jump, ask questions later

[Jurassicz1]

11 hours ago, fossilselachian said:

FREE! Jump, ask questions later

Already got it

[Jurassicz1]

14 hours ago, erose said:

Being a bit of a cabinet maker the fact that these are free is crazy. Hope you snagged it quickly.  Flat files, even old crappy ones, never go cheap.

 

The acid issue is real but, as mentioned, probably a bigger deal for artifacts and minerals then sedimentary rocks.  I have wood cabinets that are plywood and poplar with polyurethane finish. I add desiccant to the drawers that hold the pyrite specimens.

Yeah i already got it

[Wrangellian]

Lucky you! I agree with the others - don't sniff at a set of flat drawers. Strike while the iron is hot, especially if it's free! They're hard to find. Whenever I see them (not very often) they are usually either way too expensive or already spoken for. Even if they require some repair/refinishing, it may be worth it. I spent $100 on this unit some years ago and it was covered in ugly grey paint over top of other paint layers, all marked up with jiffy marker etc. I should have taken a 'before' photo. It took a lot of elbow grease from me and my father, but I'm happy with it now. It holds quite a few fossil/mineral specimens. I have other units which were built by my dad and a friend, and one or two that were refurbished like this one.

 

[FranzBernhard]

3 hours ago, Wrangellian said:

I spent $100 on this unit some years ago

That was really a bargain and now also a beauty! Congrats!

 

19 hours ago, erose said:

Flat files, even old crappy ones, never go cheap.

Yeah, how true is this!

 

I got this one about 6 years ago. It was 500 Euro, about 650 USD, not a bargain. It was delivered from 200 km away for free, but I gave a good tip, especially they helped my carrying it to the first floor. It measures ca. 90x80 cm at the outside. I am using only every 2nd drawer. Quite ingenious full extensions mechanism.

 

About the same time ago, I got these ones new for quite cheap, 20 Euro each. Small drawers, only 35x25 cm, but still very useful:

 

And I build some "drawer cabinets" out of stackable boxes for free. Drawers are 30x20 cm. Not very nice, but also very useful.

Franz Bernhard

[Wrangellian]

21 hours ago, FranzBernhard said:

That was really a bargain and now also a beauty! Congrats!

It would have been better if it were free, given the condition it was in, but I considered it worth $100. I might have hemmed and hawed if he wanted more.

 

You do what you can with what you have available. I gather this was an old pie safe and someone added the drawers. I've had my eye out for something like an old dresser that I could replace the deep drawers with a series of shallower ones, but that might be almost as much work as making a whole one from scratch, and besides, it seems hard to find an old dresser that someone wants to get rid of for cheap!

[JohnBurrows]

Oddly enough I was reading a book last night that specifically mentioned oak being bad for certain fossils. 0-565-00852-8.

 

To paraphrase, certain hardwoods and glues contain acids that can affect calcareous fossils, with the first signs of damage being 'whiskery crystals' on the surface. 

[Wrangellian]

I've been going through my drawers lately to glue cotton batting down in them, and I came across this worrisome sight.... It seemed more like mould than crystals, as it appeared fluffy rather than crumbly when I brushed it off.. But I was not expecting to come across either! The wood is not oak. It was the only piece in the drawer with these growths - the other things were fine. The only thing I can figure is it's on the bottom drawer (close to the cool floor) in the basement where all of my collection is (other than stuff out in the shed), but I keep the place heated so I wouldn't think it was too damp in here... or else I washed it and it didn't dry thoroughly when I put it in the drawer, but I thought I saw it some time long after putting it in there and it was fine - until now! 

 

[Bob Saunders]

desiccants? I always thought that they are for short time use, like placed in pill bottles or in electronics packing.  There are some made that can be placed in a warm oven and reused. What is your time lie for replacement?  Some furniture may have oak sides on drawers.  Does this effect crinoids and Brachiopods too?  I know people that use oak Gerstner machinist chests but I would very Leary of the imported ones like at Harbor Freight etc. 

[Johannes]

I think it's mould. I have just seen similar structures on a Paradoxid I have found in the 90ties (which I have treated with hair fixing spray in the field). None of other fossils in the box (from the same rock, from the same site, storaged under same (dry & cold) conditions) shows such blurs.

[Wrangellian]

On 3/10/2021 at 3:11 AM, Johannes said:

I think it's mould. I have just seen similar structures on a Paradoxid I have found in the 90ties (which I have treated with hair fixing spray in the field). None of other fossils in the box (from the same rock, from the same site, storaged under same (dry & cold) conditions) shows such blurs.

You mean the one piece that you treated with hairspray developed mould, but none of the others did? I would think hairspray would inhibit mould, if anything!

Mine was not treated with anything except water, but I think that was some time before the mould showed up.