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Oak Wood In Display Cases - Damages Invert Fossils?


Wendell Ricketts

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Poplar is a wood that is and has been used as a secondary (inside, side, back of drawers) wood. It isn't the prettiest when stained but takes paint well and is far less expensive than other hardwoods. I can buy it here from a saw mill for .60 a board foot or go to a store and pay around $3.30 a board foot. It is benign as far as I know plus very easy to work. Used in conjunction with a known safe furniture grade plywood it will make some very nice cabinets. Hmm, guess I will have to make a couple to put all the stuff around here in.

Anyway, I would think the tannic acids found in oak could very well cause damage to certain items. Nothing to think about when you build a coffee table or chair but an enclosure changes the equation. I just told someone I wouldn't build them an enclosed display case out of cedar because I had no idea how bad the gases would effect his model car collection.

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Poplar is a wood that is and has been used as a secondary (inside, side, back of drawers) wood. It isn't the prettiest when stained but takes paint well and is far less expensive than other hardwoods. I can buy it here from a saw mill for .60 a board foot or go to a store and pay around $3.30 a board foot. It is benign as far as I know plus very easy to work. Used in conjunction with a known safe furniture grade plywood it will make some very nice cabinets. Hmm, guess I will have to make a couple to put all the stuff around here in.

Anyway, I would think the tannic acids found in oak could very well cause damage to certain items. Nothing to think about when you build a coffee table or chair but an enclosure changes the equation. I just told someone I wouldn't build them an enclosed display case out of cedar because I had no idea how bad the gases would effect his model car collection.

Wow! .60 bf is a great deal. I actually like the color of poplar , if I could get poplar as cheap as youre getting it I would be buying a lot less pine ;)

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I'm lucky to live near several small family owned mills. I can always find a deal at one of them or have lumber cut to order if needed. Poplar is common here so it is very cheap. Some of it has great colors if the mineral content s high in the soil. Great purples and such can come out.

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Cedar on models...good call. No way does he want that! It will cause tarnish and toning on any and all metal parts and can really mess up the paint job.

The cabinets I have for my display cases are old government book cases. Not sure the wood they are made of to be honest. But, they are nowhere near air tight and when set up they ar ein my house which does not get anywhere near warm enough to get the effects mentioned in that article.

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  • 4 years later...

Would there be harmful effects from storing fossils in a display case with a composite wood frame and glass siding? Composite wood being a combination of wood and plastic with something binding it together.

I'm in need of a second case and I found a composite wood display case I liked. The environment I'm storing my fossils in doesn't get over 50% RH and stays between 68-75 degrees Fahrenheit so I don't believe the environment is hot enough to the point where gases given off by materials become a huge issue.

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