mrieder79 Posted October 23, 2015 Share Posted October 23, 2015 It's a good problem to have-my tooth collection is outgrowing my storage space. I've been using some drawers in my dressers but I will soon need a separate cabinet. I've looked on the internet but not found anything satisfactory in my price range (100-200 us dollars). Does anyone have any suggestions? Luck is the most important skill of a fossil diver. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Runner64 Posted October 24, 2015 Share Posted October 24, 2015 Maybe try IKEA? I got my display cabinet within your price range and it's great for display and storage. Everything from IKEA is pretty cheap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ridgehiker Posted October 24, 2015 Share Posted October 24, 2015 I'm a neatness nut and have everything organized in cabinets. I'll drop by the Goodwill stores...they can have all sorts of items that can be used to nicely store or display fossils.....map cabinets, tool chests, artists chests, etc. I like to use something with a bit of character. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossil Claw Posted October 24, 2015 Share Posted October 24, 2015 (edited) Monitor craigslist in your area. I see drafting drawers/flat files/art cabinets fairly regularly. Since they are made for storing drafting paper and art the pull out drawers are great for fossils. This is a little more than you want to spend but would set you up for years to come. I bet you could talk them down some also. https://gainesville.craigslist.org/fuo/5230854256.html Edited October 24, 2015 by Fossil Claw Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FossilDAWG Posted October 24, 2015 Share Posted October 24, 2015 (edited) Don't bother with the link, here's what you will get: "This posting has been deleted by its author. (The title on the listings page will be removed in just a few minutes.)" Don Edited October 24, 2015 by FossilDAWG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erose Posted October 24, 2015 Share Posted October 24, 2015 I've always built my own flat files but the materials alone are usually over $200. But mine are fancy (ball bearing glides, metal pulls, etc.) Now if you have any carpentry skills you can make decent ones for that amount using just wood. Flat files never seem to be cheap when bought from even used furniture shops. I would, as suggested, keep an eye on your local Craigslist. I make a point of every so often visiting thrift shops and yard/garage sales can produce useful things. Good luck with this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Siphuncle Posted October 24, 2015 Share Posted October 24, 2015 Always on a budget, I'm happy with the steel and glass cabinets from Klingsbo sold by IKEA. The vertical 6 footer is about $120, and the horizontal one is about $130. I like them not just for low cost, but also high visibility (mostly glass). Long term durability comes from omission of particle board from construction. Also, if you want to add more in the future, they'll all match as opposed to thrift shop buys. The only negative I can think of is that you need to rig up your own lighting, either track or shelf lighting. If you were in Texas and wanted quality wooden cases of some sort, I'd steer you toward an expert craftsman like erose. Grüße, Daniel A. Wöhr aus Südtexas "To the motivated go the spoils." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erose Posted October 25, 2015 Share Posted October 25, 2015 Hey thanks for the props Dan! Where are all the rich collectors anyway? Seems like all of us are on a budget. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossil Claw Posted October 25, 2015 Share Posted October 25, 2015 How about sharing some pictures of the ones you built? I've always built my own flat files but the materials alone are usually over $200. But mine are fancy (ball bearing glides, metal pulls, etc.) Now if you have any carpentry skills you can make decent ones for that amount using just wood. Flat files never seem to be cheap when bought from even used furniture shops. I would, as suggested, keep an eye on your local Craigslist. I make a point of every so often visiting thrift shops and yard/garage sales can produce useful things. Good luck with this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ridgehiker Posted October 25, 2015 Share Posted October 25, 2015 There are two separate items...display cabinets and storage cabinets. I have a couple hundred specimens on display in my 'museum' but have a need to store several thousand in my storage cabinets. The main criteria for storage is lots of space, ease of organization, access, etc. A lot of display cases are nice but they can't handle a lot of volume and many specimens are either too small or don't have the physical appeal for display. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Pocock Posted October 26, 2015 Share Posted October 26, 2015 Hi I have seen display cabinets made from old fish tanks that stack on top of each other try a pet shop? Regards Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Siphuncle Posted October 26, 2015 Share Posted October 26, 2015 Gotcha. One thing I do to sort of achieve both objectives is to fill a 12 x 16 Riker with small specimens, position it in the back of each shelf (it leans back about 10-15 deg due to shelf height constraint), then place bigger stuff on the shelf in front of the Riker, one shelf per formation, age, or site. Good luck in your quest. Grüße, Daniel A. Wöhr aus Südtexas "To the motivated go the spoils." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erose Posted October 26, 2015 Share Posted October 26, 2015 (edited) One of them... Edited October 26, 2015 by erose Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malcolmt Posted October 26, 2015 Share Posted October 26, 2015 If it is for display purposes the Ikea glass three shelf cabinet cannot be beat at $89 Canadian plus $14 for a light. I have three of them and they do the job .... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossil Claw Posted October 27, 2015 Share Posted October 27, 2015 Very nice work. DSCN5297.JPG One of them... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troodon Posted October 28, 2015 Share Posted October 28, 2015 (edited) I build my own and also like using Ikea glass cabinets. My self built cabinets on left hold riker cases full of teeth. Edit: I added lights to the Ikea cabinets Edited October 28, 2015 by Troodon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossil Claw Posted October 28, 2015 Share Posted October 28, 2015 Your collection continues to amaze me. I build my own and also like using Ikea glass cabinets. My self built cabinets on left hold riker cases full of teeth. 20150906_165732-1.jpg Edit: I added lights to the Ikea cabinets Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nathan1981 Posted October 28, 2015 Share Posted October 28, 2015 What kind of wood is that? DSCN5297.JPG One of them... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caldigger Posted October 28, 2015 Share Posted October 28, 2015 (edited) Hey thanks for the props Dan! Where are all the rich collectors anyway? Seems like all of us are on a budget.They spent all their money on fossils! Great ideas guys. Unfortunately, non of the thrift stores or "Goodwill" type stores seem to carry anything like this in my area. I think they are pre picked over before anything even hits the sales floor. Edited October 28, 2015 by caldigger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ridgehiker Posted October 28, 2015 Share Posted October 28, 2015 (edited) Here's what I use. I have two rooms of displays, cabinets, etc. And hasn't cost me more than $250 total. I go to thrift stores...convert glass topped coffee tables, etc into display tables...$10 each, add a board, cloth ( cloth from thrift store)...or use older map, document cabinets. Clean them up. Cases on top of wall units are made from boards and inexpensive recycled glass...shelves are painterd boards, etc. Again, if you line displays with cloth, they can look 'classy'. The bulk of my collection not on display is in 'Plano' boxes...these store neatly and easily. They are inexpensive at Walmart. I like to use the same sizes...24 adjustable sections in each box. I can switch displays at times by switching drawers, etc. Here's a sample of displays and storage. What I don't do is keep fossils wrapped up in paper, put into cardboard boxes and stuffed away. I found they just take up space and are rarely looked at. I like things 'at hand'. Edited October 28, 2015 by Ridgehiker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted October 28, 2015 Share Posted October 28, 2015 9/10ths of my collection is in Riker mounts, mostly by location. "There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant “Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley >Paleontology is an evolving science. >May your wonders never cease! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wrangellian Posted October 29, 2015 Share Posted October 29, 2015 They spent all their money on fossils! Great ideas guys. Unfortunately, non of the thrift stores or "Goodwill" type stores seem to carry anything like this in my area. I think they are pre picked over before anything even hits the sales floor. I get that same impression here. The one time I saw an ideal item (shallow drawer unit) on craigslist, it was within days of having been sold when I enquired about it, and it was on the Mainland so it would have been hard or me to get anyway. There must be a big demand for them, not just from fossil collectors but for any number of other conceivable purposes as well. I have had to build my own (with help). They are not as classy as erose's but they do the trick as well as any of the others here. I did find one item online but it needed a lot of refurbishing, but it's nice now: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ridgehiker Posted October 29, 2015 Share Posted October 29, 2015 9/10ths of my collection is in Riker mounts, mostly by location. I like Riker mounts. However, not as easy to find locally as they once were. I have arrowheads in Riker mounts and a hodgepodge of other collectibles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sTamprockcoin Posted December 13, 2015 Share Posted December 13, 2015 For collecting cabnets try school auctions or used school equip sellers, even call local universtities, and look for/ enquire about used filmstrip (remember those silly 25 frame 35mm film strips the high tech ones had a casette tape w/ them) cabnets. normally they're 4 drawers of the perfect depth and on rollers or rolling bases. “Beautiful is what we see. More beautiful is what we understand. Most beautiful is what we do not comprehend.” N. Steno Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossil Claw Posted December 26, 2015 Share Posted December 26, 2015 Found this flat file on craigslist at an antique store in Louisville. Perfect size to put my display cabinet on top of. 40 in wide by 28 inch deep while my display case is 26 by 24. Needs some TLC but has good bones and was cheep (Ziggie, like you I am a big fan of cheap). Heading down there in about an hour. Not looking forward to the 2hr drive each way, but I have been looking for one of these for awhile and have not been able to find one anywhere. I plan to fill in the imperfections with wood filler, then a light sanding and then paint it with Rust oleum Kona furniture paint. It will be so much easier to change out the display with the flat file being on casters! If there are any Louisville members that need one, they have one left. Its a little bigger than the one I bought. Make an offer, I talked them down a good bit on mine so don't pay full asking price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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