acfd698 Posted December 9, 2012 Share Posted December 9, 2012 Hey All, What are some good ways to store fossils? I am new to this as I just found a ton of foosils on our farm we just moved to and we are still digging up more. So I am looking for ways to store them and sort them so I don't get to lost in this collection. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks Werner Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Dactyll Posted December 9, 2012 Share Posted December 9, 2012 I collect carboniferous plant fossils to from the UK.... The trick is when you start collecting (which you always learn later) is to only keep the best ones in your collection stored properly and then maybe the rest/surplus in boxes for trading later when you see something you want or even give to the local schools or museum... Keep a good representation of the fauna of the exposure and then as you find better examples of each species you may chop and change or add to the collection as you go... maintaining all the best stuff so its easily accessible to view and study... Theres a thread on catalogging your collection on here somewhere... where there is lots of advice from seasoned collectors.... As they are shale examples I would also invest in a small electric tile cutter and trim off any rock thats not needed carefully from around the specimens so they dont take up too much room... a small grinder/sander can also be used to shape the shale pieces to like I have done in some of the examples in the drawers below...Its a great hobby for all the family and the collection from your own land is something to be proud of... Maybe download a free photo editing package to reduce the pixel size of your photos and show us some of your specimens... I'm not on facebook so I cant see... (that I know of anyway lol) These are collector drawers from a unit containing a dozen or so drawers that keep things neat... Cheers Steve... And Welcome if your a New Member... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paleoworld-101 Posted December 9, 2012 Share Posted December 9, 2012 Personally i think full-glass cabinets with internal lighting look the best, especially in the dark with only the cabinet lit up! Drawers and boxes can work well too but it's not as 'showy'. "In Africa, one can't help becoming caught up in the spine-chilling excitement of the hunt. Perhaps, it has something to do with a memory of a time gone by, when we were the prey, and our nights were filled with darkness..." -Eternal Enemies: Lions And Hyenas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kosmoceras Posted December 9, 2012 Share Posted December 9, 2012 I would have to say drawers are my favourite. Though in glass cabinets you can see all the fossils on show, drawers save a lot more space when you have a large collection, and the feel of opening one seeing the fossils come to light is just splendid. Some fossils keep better in the dark as well and can fade over time in the light. Regards, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Dactyll Posted December 9, 2012 Share Posted December 9, 2012 Personally i think full-glass cabinets with internal lighting look the best, especially in the dark with only the cabinet lit up! Drawers and boxes can work well too but it's not as 'showy'. Maybe post a photo of your set up... That way Werner can consider all the options... a picture says a thousand words!... Cheers Steve... And Welcome if your a New Member... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted December 9, 2012 Share Posted December 9, 2012 Space, the final frontier... While you're at it, record the location where each was collected (and any other data you'd like to archive), and devise a way to permanently associate the information with each particular specimen. Who can say what will be an important specimen 100 years from now? "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...
Rockwood Posted December 9, 2012 Share Posted December 9, 2012 The wooden boxes that clementines come in make inexpensive storage boxes for procrastinators like me who are going to do all the things suggested here someday. Do include a note of where it was found if you travel any. It's surprising how soon you forget. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malcolmt Posted December 9, 2012 Share Posted December 9, 2012 I am a big fan of using large map drawers but unless you can find them used they can be very expensive. I had heard over $500 for a 5 drawer cabinet new. Mine are made of metal have 5 drawers each and weigh about 300 pounds each. I was fortunate to get for $10 each from a company that was selling off their furnishing because they were closing the location. They had used them to hold shop drawings so the drawers are very large specifically designed to hold large blueprint paper flat. Once bought they then needed two large guys and a big van to get them home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erose Posted December 9, 2012 Share Posted December 9, 2012 Flat files (AKA blueprint drawers or map files) aregreat. As Malcolm pointed out, look for used ones. BUt also consider what you will be collecting and storing: rocks. The very large ones may not hold the weight of your specimens without sagging in the middle. Probably medium-sized one in the 36"/1meter wide range would be optimum. And we all want a mix of storage and display capability. My fossils are in a total mix of containers ranging from cardboard shoeboxes to homemade wooden flat files. My current goal is to get the collection into a smaller variety of boxes with an emphasis on getting away from cardboard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr_ed Posted December 9, 2012 Share Posted December 9, 2012 I have been collecting flat wooden boxes such as knife sets come in and flat metal round cookie cans but that gets old fast.. I have one cabinet full of two to four inch drawers am looking for more of the same. Having them in small containers is a nuisance. Big flat drawers are very nice. I have a glass cabinet or two as well but I dont like people touching my fossils so I will be moving them all to drawers. I have been eying up the mechanic tool chests at Canadian Tire.. They have some nice ones for around $300 when they have a sale on. You can try different things but you will likely end up with a nice cabinet with drawers or several of them. Put it on your wish list for Christmas. That is what I am going to do. Cheers Ed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quarryman Dave Posted December 9, 2012 Share Posted December 9, 2012 (edited) I agree with paleoworld about a lighted glass cabinet display which I also have. They sell at Ikea for less then $100.00 Cdn. the beauty about it is that it has 4 levels where the bottom is cambrian age, then Ordovician, then Silurian and finally Devonian at the top. It displays my trilobites and other fossils nicely . Each level is identified by the geologic time period with a paleo map Edited December 9, 2012 by Quarryman Dave Quarrycomber Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acfd698 Posted December 10, 2012 Author Share Posted December 10, 2012 Thanks folks you all gave me some good Ideas, I do have a few that I would like in a glass case but for the most part I'll probaly build me a shelf with drawers for them when I rebuild our garage this summer. Right now what I have done is the really small samples I have taken plastic sleeve like they use for baseball cards and put them in there and then I put them in plastic storage. The large ones I just have layed out for now on a table in my garage as they are big. I am keeping track now of what I find and when and where, luckily it's all confined to a few areas here on the farm. Thanks again. Werner Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acfd698 Posted December 10, 2012 Author Share Posted December 10, 2012 By the way Terry- are the fossils glued down on that display? anyway to make something like that to hang on a wall or would it just be to heavy? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Dactyll Posted December 10, 2012 Share Posted December 10, 2012 Werner.... My plant fossils are just held in place with Blutack....basically to stop them moving about as you open/close and move the drawers around.... It is certainly possible to hang heavy items on a wall presuming its possible to get good fixings.... Ive a couple of things defying gravity lol.... Cheers Steve... And Welcome if your a New Member... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wrangellian Posted December 10, 2012 Share Posted December 10, 2012 Steve, can we see a pic of your drawer unit? and did you build it yourself or buy it? For Werner, Maybe I should just put the link to our other thread on this topic but since I don't feel like looking for it right now , here are some of my homemade units, and my fossils are mostly contained in the small white cardstock boxes with cotton or similar substrate except for larger ones that don't fit in boxes - in that case I have a layer of quilt batton or such in the drawer bottom for them to sit on: Old refurbished unit: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Dactyll Posted December 11, 2012 Share Posted December 11, 2012 Steve, can we see a pic of your drawer unit? and did you build it yourself or buy it? Will do.... Its one I bought.... I think its called a ' Wellington Chest ' ?.... Just recharging my camera batteries.... Very nice cabinets, well done... You can come and give me some joinery lessons so I can build my own... Cheers Steve... And Welcome if your a New Member... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Dactyll Posted December 11, 2012 Share Posted December 11, 2012 (edited) Here it is... Edited December 11, 2012 by Terry Dactyll Cheers Steve... And Welcome if your a New Member... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobWill Posted December 11, 2012 Share Posted December 11, 2012 By the way Terry- are the fossils glued down on that display? anyway to make something like that to hang on a wall or would it just be to heavy? Don't forget Riker frames. The glass top holds the fossils firmly against foam or batting. They can be stacked or hung or leaned up for viewing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malcolmt Posted December 11, 2012 Share Posted December 11, 2012 Very nice cabinet, with something like that the wife might let me move some fossils out of the basement and garage.... too bad I am not handy at woodworking....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wrangellian Posted December 11, 2012 Share Posted December 11, 2012 I'm not all that handy at woodworking either, I get my dad to help me... Probably the best thing to do would be to copy something like that Wellington cabinet - looks fancy! Never seen one before. If I could get my hand on one that's what I'd do.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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