A good problem to have: Running out of display space--need help

[mrieder79]

I'm officially out of room for my shark teeth and I'm looking for options on how to increase my display/storage space. I really want a specimen cabinet with lots of thin drawers, but all the specimen cabinets I can find are either antiques--beautiful, but financially unfeasible--or aluminum, which is ugly.

I am interested in seeing how others store/display their fossil collections to help me develop courses of action.

[Kane]

An enviable problem to have! If it was just for storage, an old map drawer might be perfect. They were the norm in old town planner offices so you might luck out at an auction. Warning: they can be monstrously heavy if they are made of wood. Some good ideas I found here: http://www.newsonair.org/map-drawer-cabinet/

[erose]

If you have any woodworking skills I suggest building your own. The majority of the cost when I build stuff for museums is in the labor. Almost always a 1:3 -1:4 ratio of materials to labor. I've seen really nice simple cabinets made to hold larger Riker mounts where you just have simple wood strips that the mounts slip onto and then stack up.

Craig's List, yard and garage sales, thrift stores, etc. For whatever reason most used furniture shops never sell flat (map) files cheap. They know what they are worth... And antique shops, well they mark up just because...

[Troodon]

I ran into the same problem. The issue for me was that I had different thickness in rikers (3/4" to 2") for my shark teeth and finding an efficient off-the-shelf cabinet was impossible. So I took the approach to build a very simple cabinet. 1/4" plywood drawers that slide into notches on the side. An oak top to display my larger specimens. The options are endless but you need to have some basic woodworking skills. The Cost less than $50 a cabinet plus my FREE labor. If you don't have the tools or the skills maybe you can have a friend help you.

[fossilselachian]

Another option are old printer cabinets which held the metal type. They are perfect for shark teeth. I have five of them all acquired over the years at flea/antique shows. I occasionally have to do some repair work usually followed by refinishing. However, I have repaired/refinished old oak furniture for many years. Some of these cabinets are made from ash - like oak, quite heavy.

Edited July 3, 2016 by fossilselachian

[mrieder79]

When you mean the metal type, do you mean the actual metal letters that were used in the old printing presses? Those cabinets look perfect. It needs to be something visually appealing as well as practical so I can sell it with the wifey.

[mrieder79]

building my own is certainly within reason. That may be the route I end up taking.

[fossilselachian]

When you mean the metal type, do you mean the actual metal letters that were used in the old printing presses? Those cabinets look perfect. It needs to be something visually appealing as well as practical so I can sell it with the wifey.

Yes, exactly - the old individual metal letters that were set for type. One often sees these old metal letters For sale at flea/antique shows. One case I once wanted to buy was still full of hundreds of these letters. I told the dealer I wanted the case but not the type. No problem - he dumped the type from every drawer and sold me the now empty case. He stated he could easily sell the individual letters. Good deal for both of us. BTW, the pictures I attached are terrible as they do not bring out the very pleasing character of the wood.

Edited July 3, 2016 by fossilselachian

[MarcoSr]

I use map chests.

Marco Sr.

[mrieder79]

Marco, that looks really nice. Is it also an antique or is it currently manufactured?

[MarcoSr]

Marco, that looks really nice. Is it also an antique or is it currently manufactured?

This map chest is not an antique. The on-line furniture catalog from which I bought 7 (two different styles) of these map chests over the years unfortunately discontinued selling them. However there are a good number of both antique and modern map chests out there. It just requires a lot of persistence to find ones that are affordable and that fit your decor. I'm in a bind now because I need to purchase some more and haven't found map chests that I like as much as these. These had the perfect size drawers for me (especially the width and height that I wanted). I have drawers with one species from a specific site like the Mako drawer below. Or I just put in everything that I found at a site like the other two drawers below. I can fit my gem jar displays and my plastic sowing boxes all into the same drawers.

Marco Sr.

[caldigger]

When you mean the metal type, do you mean the actual metal letters that were used in the old printing presses? Those cabinets look perfect. It needs to be something visually appealing as well as practical so I can sell it with the wifey.

You're selling your wife with the cabinet? How much, and will you throw in the dog with the deal?

[JohnBrewer]

I'm officially out of room for my shark teeth and I'm looking for options on how to increase my display/storage space. I really want a specimen cabinet with lots of thin drawers, but all the specimen cabinets I can find are either antiques--beautiful, but financially unfeasible--or aluminum, which is ugly.

I am interested in seeing how others store/display their fossil collections to help me develop courses of action.

I'll send you my address. I'll store them for you

[mrieder79]

You're selling your wife with the cabinet? How much, and will you throw in the dog with the deal?

Lol. Wife is not for sale. I don't have a dog, but I do have a cat that I will pay you to take. *fingers crossed*

[mrieder79]

Marco, the cabinets I'm seeing for sale are on the order of $1000. Is that what you've seen when you price them?

[MarcoSr]

Marco, the cabinets I'm seeing for sale are on the order of $1000. Is that what you've seen when you price them?

My map chests were around $250 each but they were purchased four to ten years ago. Antique ones can easily cost over a $1000. Most of what I see on line are metal (which I don't want) or old/antique ones which I can't afford. I keep hoping I'll find a seller that sells the type like I currently have. I keep an eye on e-bay for map chests (Shipping can cost a fortune) and look for them at the large flea markets where they would be much cheaper and we could throw them in the back of my wife's truck. I've seen some for $300 but just didn't like them as much as the ones that I have now.

Marco Sr.

[siteseer]

Marco Sr.,

A couple of weeks ago, I was talking with one of the paleontologists at the Florida Museum of Natural History. He mentioned that the museum used to buy their cabinets (metal ones) from a supplier that had them made by prisoners. They were cheaper but they were also not uniform (drawers from one did not always fit in another - or they hardly ever fit). Somebody at the museum found another supplier that had good cabinets and good drawers (sturdy and high enough to accommodate larger mammal bones/skulls). They aren't cheap: about $800 for the cabinet and another $750 for the drawers.

Jess

My map chests were around $250 each but they were purchased four to ten years ago. Antique ones can easily cost over a $1000. Most of what I see on line are metal (which I don't want) or old/antique ones which I can't afford. I keep hoping I'll find a seller that sells the type like I currently have. I keep an eye on e-bay for map chests (Shipping can cost a fortune) and look for them at the large flea markets where they would be much cheaper and we could throw them in the back of my wife's truck. I've seen some for $300 but just didn't like them as much as the ones that I have now.

Marco Sr.

[MarcoSr]

Marco Sr.,

A couple of weeks ago, I was talking with one of the paleontologists at the Florida Museum of Natural History. He mentioned that the museum used to buy their cabinets (metal ones) from a supplier that had them made by prisoners. They were cheaper but they were also not uniform (drawers from one did not always fit in another - or they hardly ever fit). Somebody at the museum found another supplier that had good cabinets and good drawers (sturdy and high enough to accommodate larger mammal bones/skulls). They aren't cheap: about $800 for the cabinet and another $750 for the drawers.

Jess

Jess

I've seen metal map chests on several websites that were all over $1000 for the size that I would want. However those prices are higher than I want to pay and I really prefer wood. The ones that I have were made in China but they were well built and much cheaper than anything else that I've seen other than at flea markets.

Marco Sr.

[MarcoSr]

The below link will take you to a page that shows a price for an 11 drawer 40" W map chest which is the same style as mine for $269. Home Decorators used to carry an 11 drawer 40" W map chest, a 9 drawer 40" W map chest and an 11 drawer 20" W map chest all in the same style. I have both the 9 drawer 40" W model and the 11 drawer 20" W model. Home Decorators discontinued them on their website. I might try calling Home Decorators to see if there is any way to still buy these map chests even if they don't show up on their website anymore.

http://www.polyvore.com/11-drawer_40w_map_chest_chests/thing?id=13820758

Marco Sr.

[mrieder79]

Thanks Marco Sr. That is pretty much exactly what I am looking for. I'll give them a call.

[JohnBrewer]

I've got my eye on this which (at the moment is £25) on a well known auction site. Maybe with some dark stain and new knobs I might be allowed to take it home otherwise it will go in my photographic studio. Hope you find what you want.

[mako-mama]

In my fossil shed I use a bakery rack. Its basically a metal frame with plastic shelves (and floor rollers). It's the kind donuts are laid out on. It's not pretty enough to put in the house, but works darn well for storing riker mounts. I label the rikers so I know what's in them if someone wants to see something. Got mine at flea market but wouldnt hurt to ask around if the bakeries are replacing any old ones soon. They are bout 6 ft tall and 4 ft wide with about 8 shelves. I think I paid about $40 dollars for it...8 years ago.

[Wrangellian]

I've got my eye on this which (at the moment is £25) on a well known auction site. Maybe with some dark stain and new knobs I might be allowed to take it home otherwise it will go in my photographic studio. Hope you find what you want.

image.jpeg

That looks ideal, and for a good price! If the doors are useless you might be able to fit more shallow drawers in there. (That's what I would do, unless there are several shelves in there, equivalent to the shallow drawers but hidden behind the doors - which would be good for Rikers I suppose)

[justindecicco]

Hi there, I agree that old printer cabinets are perfect for shark teeth. There are many professionals who provide cabinets service. As they are highly trained, they can do the things better. When my aunt was moved to her new house with the help of professional movers in manhattan who provided her moving and cabinets in her new house. She was very happy also gave a good tip to them when the work was done.

[Arizona Chris]

We keep lots of microfossils and sharks teeth in those partitioned plastic storage boxes from ACE hardware.  They stack well, are cheap and hold lots of stuff.  Barring that, we had a cabinet maker build us a nice 20 drawer fossil cabinet.  He took a standard oak book shelf and added the drawers, handles and label holders.  This may be a cheap way to go too.