Fossil Fish Display Case Suggestions/Help

[Stegonick23]

Hello everyone, and happy holidays! I recieved this fossil fish (single fish split down the middle, so it's a mirror of itself). I'm looking to make a display case for it and I was looking for some help. I have a piece of plexiglass I want to use for the cover, and originally I was going to just build a wood case that holds the hinged box the fish is currently in, with a slot on top where the plexiglass could be slid in place. But now I'm not too sure, as I've seen some medal standoffs that can be used to hold up a piece of plexiglass over it, but then the sides would be open. I was hoping someone might have any suggestions. I'd like to keep the original box, but it's a real pain to open and close while keeping the halves in place. I definitely want to cover it because it's super fragile and I want to keep dust off of it. Thank you for your time, and any suggestions are more than welcome! Happy holidays!

 

Ps. The box open measures 21 inches long by 14 5/8 inches wide and 1 inch tall. Regardless, it needs a solid wood base/platform to sit on so it can be picked up. Thanks again!

[Fossildude19]

If it were mine, I would change the background fabric to a darker color - black, brown, or a deep red.

Then I would remove the hinges that are currently in place, and put new hinges on the tail ends of the boxes. 

Glass or plexi-glass over each of boxes.

 

Here is a doctored photo showing how the black makes the fish stand out.

 

[Stegonick23]

3 hours ago, Fossildude19 said:

If it were mine, I would change the background fabric to a darker color - black, brown, or a deep red.

Then I would remove the hinges that are currently in place, and put new hinges on the tail ends of the boxes. 

Glass or plexi-glass over each of boxes.

 

Here is a doctored photo showing how the black makes the fish stand out.

 

That's an excellent idea with the fabric color, although I like the orange as it's just different and you normally don't see that color choice, I agree the black makes the pieces stand out far better. I think I might go with a dark red as a compromise. Thanks for your help! I'm headed to the hardware store now to see what they have. I like your plexiglass hinge idea but I think I might keep the original hinges in case I ever need to transport the pieces for a long drive (while it's a massive pain to close perfectly, it definitely protects them quite well). Maybe I can make the top plexiglass piece a hinged sheet instead of a sliding sheet. Regardless, thanks for your suggestions! I really appreciate it!

[Fossildude19]

Happy to help.  

[Bobby Rico]

there are some different styles of wall hangings on my thread. As Tim said definitely a darker colour of fabric or a nice dark wood background, would set the fish off nicely 

[Stegonick23]

3 hours ago, Bobby Rico said:

there are some different styles of wall hangings on my thread. As Tim said definitely a darker colour of fabric or a nice dark wood background, would set the fish off nicely 

Thank you for your help! I'm a little hesitant to wall mount them as one of the pieces is curved and very thin and I'd need to come up with a good way to secure it. On my way back from the hardware store now, hopefully I'll have some pictures for you guys tomorrow night (with the exception of the changed fabric color, I need to take a closer look because I want to fully clean up the inside/replace foam and I don't want to replace the fabric if I need to rip it out again anyway, but it'll definitely be changed out in the future). @Fossildude19 @Bobby Rico

[Stegonick23]

@Fossildude19 @Bobby Rico I wanted to give you guys an update. I finished the case I was making, but I haven't gotten a chance to redo the felt yet. Thanks again for your suggestions! 

[Stegonick23]

@Fossildude19 @Bobby Rico

[Bobby Rico]

your a craftsman indeed beautiful  display cabinet.  

[Ruger9a]

Your cabinet making skills are fantastic!

[Stegonick23]

Thanks everyone! I had some help from my dad and grandfather so I can't take all the credit, and I'll pass on your comments to them as well. Once I replace the felt I'll put up some more pictures, thanks again!

[Fossildude19]

Very cool, Nick! 

It came out beautifully.

Can't wait to see how it looks with the felt change.   

[Bobby Rico]

It looks like them beautiful old museum case. A family project nice.

[FossilNerd]

Beautiful case. Nice work! 

[Stegonick23]

All finished! Thanks again for your suggestions @Bobby Rico and @Fossildude19! 

[Stegonick23]

[Fossildude19]

Looks real good. Nicely done. 

[Bobby Rico]

The new felt really sets the fish off nicely . The case and fish looks prefect . Congratulations to you your dad and grandfather for a job well done. All the best Bobby 

[aplomado]

Beautifully done!!!

[FossilNerd]

@Stegonick23

 

Do you know what type of foam was used to place the fossil in? I have a couple of similar cases that my wife bought for me a few years back, but I haven’t used them because I don’t like the inserts. I was just thinking I could replace the inserts with foam and do something similar to what you have done. 

[caldigger]

@FossilNerd some appropriate thickness "memory foam" will work quite nicely for letting the fossil snuggle in and cradle it safely.

 

Nick, that new darker color for the background really helped your piece "POP" and gives it the deep rich feel it deserves.  Good choice!

[FossilNerd]

8 minutes ago, caldigger said:

@FossilNerd some appropriate thickness "memory foam" will work quite nicely for letting the fossil snuggle in and cradle it safely.

Thanks! I’ll see what I can find. 

[caldigger]

14 minutes ago, FossilNerd said:

Thanks! I’ll see what I can find. 

I believe Wally World may even have some in the sewing department for pillow inserts.

[Stegonick23]

50 minutes ago, FossilNerd said:

@Stegonick23

 

Do you know what type of foam was used to place the fossil in? I have a couple of similar cases that my wife bought for me a few years back, but I haven’t used them because I don’t like the inserts. I was just thinking I could replace the inserts with foam and do something similar to what you have done. 

 

16 minutes ago, caldigger said:

@FossilNerd some appropriate thickness "memory foam" will work quite nicely for letting the fossil snuggle in and cradle it safely.

 

Nick, that new darker color for the background really helped your piece "POP" and gives it the deep rich feel it deserves.  Good choice!

@FossilNerd

 

Originally I was planning on using black foam sheets layered on top of each other, but that turned out to be pretty difficult to get it to look nice. I agree with @caldigger, a memory foam would work quite well. I ended up using the existing Styrofoam (I was lucky and the seller already cut the foam to shape), and found some normal felt (Amazon) I could tuck into the edges. In the future I might change out the cheap foam for a memory foam as suggested above, excellent idea btw. I didn't glue anything, so the felt will pull out easily. One thing to note, make sure you take into consideration the thickness of the felt your using. Because my case started out with a much thinner "lighter" felt, when I replaced it with a thicker felt the fossils don't sit as far into the case. Currently I can't fold the case up anymore because of this. I'm not really bothered by it though as it took forever trying to line everything up and close without putting pressure on the pieces, and the larger case will be used for transport anyways. Hope this helps, and once finished I'd love to see some pictures! 

[FossilNerd]

@Stegonick23

 

Thanks for the tips and the inspiration to modify my own cases. My wife bought them for me a while back and was pretty bummed out that the inserts were not as functional (for me) as she had hoped. I’d love to finally fix them up and put them to good use. 
 

I’ll definitely be posting pictures if/when I get them done. They have been on my to-do list for a while, but have just moved up a notch or two.