How to hang fossil fish?

[RJB]

 Here's a good question.  I do have several big fossil fish from the Green River Formation and already  have a good idea how to hang those big monsters, but what about the smaller fossil fishes on smaller slabs of rock that are not framed?  There has to be a way?   @FossilDudeCO    Fish like these in the picture and a whole lot more.

 

RB

[izak_]

no idea, but those are really nice fish 

[RJB]

Thanks @Foozil,  Im still putting my fossil room together and now trying to figure out how to hang all my smaller fishes onto the walls.

 

RB

[Coco]

Hi,

 

If you fixed a small ring with a solid and quick-setting glue to the back of every fish, you could suspend them from the wall, no ?

 

Coco

[Miocene_Mason]

You could frame them as well, some super glue should work.

[RJB]

Hey @Coco, maybe a good idea, but some of the fish I have are from the 'split fish' layers and are a bit powdery on the back side.  Not sure if that will work?  looking for some mechanical type of hanger that attaches to the wall and holds the fish real good kinda like a plate holder, but most of these are much thicker than plates.    Thanks though.

 

RB

[Coco]

for the fragility of the back faces of plates...

 

Coco

[RJB]

   @WhodamanHD,  i dont want to frame these, just want to hang them onto the walls 'el natural'?

 

RB

[ynot]

Drill small holes in the back so that nails will fit  Drill at a slight angle so the nail will point up when in the wall.

You can strengthen the area around the hole with some glue. (do not drill all the way through.)

[RJB]

@ynot,, your too funny man.  (do not drill all the way through).   Ha!!!       but no, ive got to find another way.  Im now thinkin of taking some fish slabs with to some store and see If i can use some kind of plate hangers with maybe some bending here or there?  Just a thought for now.

 

RB

[Sacha]

Drill all the way through in the top 2 corners. Insert small bolts with decorative heads (nuts on the back). Use the bolts to fasten "D" ring hangers for picture wire. Vary the dimensions of the bolts and their location depending on the weight of the slab. I did this with 2 16" x 20" riker mounts and it works well.

[ynot]

3 minutes ago, RJB said:

@ynot,, your too funny man.  (do not drill all the way through).   Ha!!!       but no, ive got to find another way.  Im now thinkin of taking some fish slabs with to some store and see If i can use some kind of plate hangers with maybe some bending here or there?  Just a thought for now.

 

RB

I have used the aforementioned method to hang wheeler formation trilobites with great results.

You can use a heavy gauge copper wire to make Your own hanger. Plate hangers will put a lot of pressure on whatever they are holding, and are known to break antique plates.

[RJB]

Didnt know that ynot.   Good to know.

 

RB

[Harry Pristis]

Here's how I did the irregular slab:
 

I used an appropriate sized piece of plywood for a backing.  I mitred some wood trim around the edges of the plywood.  I covered the plywood and trim with burlap (from a fabric store) soaked in dilute white glue.

 

I bent two lengths of welding rod (3.2mm, but I don't remember the guage) into a "W" configuration.  I bent the two ends of each "W" into hooks that fit the slab in appropriate spots. (It's easier to bend the welding rod if you wait to trim any excess length until after the bending.  In any event, you'll need pliers.)
 
With the two W's formed and fitted and trimmed, I bound the two W's together securely with picture hanger wire.  These W's don't have to be perfect, but you can make yourself a wire-bending jig with three large nails in a piece of 2X6 wood.  As Chas described it, this is a plate hanger on steroids.
 
When the burlap was dry, I drilled a hole where I wanted the center high point of the top "W" to be, then inserted a short "J" bolt through that hole.  The hook slips under the springy welding rod "W".  The hook and the slab is tightened down using a washer and nut.  (This is a heavy-duty installation, and other hanger devices can be mounted to the plywood.)

 

I like the metal frames because they come with hardware to mount to wall studs, yet they hold the frame flush to the wall.  These frames also have locks which require a special key to release them from their hanging postion.

[FossilDudeCO]

https://www.hollar.com/products/brass-plated-plate-hanger-set?utm_source=google_pla&utm_campaign=pla&utm_medium=cpc&utm_content=52766&htm_tid=sem&gclid=Cj0KCQjw78vLBRCZARIsACr4cxw9ywY-ujzYgfr34l3v3H5qlNl5573P4vhtL9NdGp87YO7xhCV3SBwaAvOIEALw_wcB

 

Plate hangers Ron!

They work wonders @RJB

[minnbuckeye]

13 hours ago, ynot said:

I have used the aforementioned method to hang wheeler formation trilobites with great results

 

If you are wanting all natural as you say, take ynot's suggestion seriously. I love to collect hash plates from areas I visit, many of them MUCH heavier than the fish you are proposing to hang. I drill a hole AT AN ANGLE, a little less than 30 degrees upward into the back of the plate. This hole MUST BE AT THE CENTER obviously, sometimes harder to do than is thought, 1-2 inches from the top. As you noted, do Not drill completely through( If you do, as I have done, use the drill bit dust to fill in the exposed hole.)Then sink a nail into the wall at the same angle as the slab's hole, exiting the wall at the 30 degrees upward angle. Hang your fish and it is done! I have never encountered problems with this technique and have 30 large slabs decorating my barn wall with less that $1.00 spent. I personally enjoy the framed fish as a side note. Good luck!!

[RJB]

@Harry Pristis,  Very well done my friend.  Very impressive.

 

@minnbuckeye,  yes, taken seriously.  and whos to say one cant drill two holes on level so one can hang it level and have even more hanging power.

 

@FossilDudeCO, gunna check out that link right now.

 

   Thanks everyone.

 

RB

[RJB]

Ok, thank you everyone for all your help.  I just ordered a bunch of 'plate hangers' for all the smaller fish and now, thanks to you all, i have some good ideas for the bigger fish too. 

 

RB

[ynot]

Please show some pictures of what You end up doing.

[RJB]

@ynot,  its gunna take some time.  I want to get a couple of the bigger fish up on the walls first and then surround them with the smaller ones.  But sure, will deffinetly show pics.  and thank you ynot, in a couple more years Im gunna start likin you. 

 

RB

[ynot]

13 minutes ago, RJB said:

in a couple more years Im gunna start likin you. 

You should avoid the rush and start now.

[aplomado]

Yes, please show a pic when you are done!

[JohnBrewer]

@RJB

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[RJB]

@JohnBrewer  funny John.   real funny.   Gunna start calling you Eddie Haskel.

 

RB

[JohnBrewer]