Impressions on Foam & wood

[Buddy]

Hi all
Ive read Aisby write up in the Assiation. Members area. altho I liked much of what I read, some of the impotrance of certian aspects were not followed up on

I collect High end Astronmy equipment, hand ground lens & high polished mirors & understand pretty well, the coatings on these lense/mirrors.

Most foam for casings( home depot,, Lowes,,ect,,ect) have a high out put for leaching out of gases that will over time destroy the coatings on optic.
I have found this also to be true for some of the awards I tested
especialy silver & laquerd(sp) award.
for more info on this. check out
www. Mcmastres-carr
they are a specialty tool wharehouse on the east coast.
they have every type of cam-lock, screw(english, metric, whentworth) that you can imagine. thealso sell foam & cushing matierial with rating on out gasins for each of there products

ive deal with the they are fast & reliable.

on a side note,,
reaserch woods used in constructing show cases
certian "tanins" out gas.. alto I like spanish ceader in my humidor ,, I think I would use it in a show caes,, niether would I use Ceder
do nt clean the glass with ammonia based "windex ) as an exampl
ammonia fumes are bad for silver,,ever notice the black spor on a mirror in your bath room,, thats the oxidation of the silver& copper from cleaning with silver..
Ive been a Glazier for 30 years & know well what will oxidize silver
Just my 2 Cents
Id like to here input on other No-No- of disolay cases

Respectfully yours, fellow collectors

[Buddy]

I forgot to mention
I build humidors for tri-state, cigar shops & bars
I have an extense knowledge in wood working & cabinetry

I would like to biuld the ultimate show case & all the input I can get would help me greatly.
I would like to take the collective input, and post some scmaticst of show cases,, with all the do;s+donts from the collective group
and of corse... every body who sent in a novell suggestion
would get credit , as was there due
respectfully yours

This is primarilay geard for those who wish, rather than but a shoe case
I will post a pic of my prototype when I get a digital camera

respectfully yours
Buddy

[Ed_Haynes]

Please give us more information. I am seriously interested in building (well, having built) a good professional-quality display case for medals. I need advice and welcome any you can give any any internet links (working ones) that you can offer.

Thanks,

Ed Haynes

[Buddy]

Hi Ed
Im running out the door,, but willt ry to right up some impessions when I get back
now rember my case building Is mainly for Astro equipment,, but 99% of the same consideratins apply.
when I get back later I will do a littl reaserch from some pro case buildes(friends) & Write up some thing.Iwill post it tonigt , or tommorrow

Remeber folks, imlooking for tips from: "The pros From Dover"

thans ed for the interest,,, if you have any tid bit,, even if they seem small please post what worked for you

respectfully yours

[Sebastian Bianchi]

I am actually in the middle of buidling a display unit in my office, here are a couple of links;

http://www.woodzone.com

http://www.woodworkersworkshop.com

(May be you guys know of these already, I have more at work).

Also depending on your level of experience in woodworking you might think about buying some books. My experience was minimal and so lots of practice, scrap wood, and books on tools and techniques were needed so far.

[Ed_Haynes]

In looking into this for my pressing needs, I have compiled several basic considerations:

1- Of a “safe” wood throughout – NOT oak, NOT plywood or chipboard

2- Sealed internally (all surfaces) with two costs of a good water-based polyurethane

3- Lined with silvercloth (Pacific Silvercloth, Wamsutta, in silver shops?)

4- Anti-tarnish strips? (3M Silver Protector Strips)

5- Avoid especially hydrogen sulfide and carbonyl sulfide

Just some factors to consider

Ed Haynes

[Buddy]

Hi Ed

""2- Sealed internally (all surfaces) with two costs of a good water-based polyurethane ""


If I read this right , I dont think you'd want to seal the case totaly
silght moister build up in the case is not good,, you want climate control of some kind.

I keep bags of silicon beads,, or belive it or not bags of rice to absorb any moisture,,
Thero-unit windows I.E anderson window have these silicone beads in between the panes of glass they keep the window from fogging up,,

I put in a call to the museum of natural history in NYC & tried to get a hold off some one who could give me some in put on there showcases, especially the ones that house metal objects,, they gave me the # of the person who actually maintains the cases ,, I called him & left a message, as he was out ( no suprise there)

[Ralph A]

How about "Gene"?

Buddy:

Correct. You don't want to seal the cabinets entirely. Some small ventilation is desirable.

[Ed_Haynes]

Buddy and Ralph,

Thanks for clarifying my too-early-on-a-Sunday-morning-without-enough-coffee-yet post!

Of course, I didn't mean to seal the case, merely to seal all internal wood surfaces.



And the use of silicone beads for moisture control should have been added to my list!

Ed Haynes

[Buddy]

Hi Ed
im on my 3 cup of coffie
just bear in mind , that the silicone beads,, do "max" out & get to a point that they can no longer absorb any more moister(sp)
So Id say swap,em out at lest 2 times a year

I love these smiley things,

respectfully yours

[Buddy]

Seba
you are correct- Oak is bad,, they used amonia fumes to age oak\
I d say ,, go with a hard wood , with a tight cellular structure like ash or maple
the draw back is wood with a tight cellular structure is hard to stain,, because the stain wond penatrate the grain, due to the tight cellular structure

I gonna find out the propertise of teak,, Its used mainly for marine application,, & I think its a cool looking wood

Respectfully yours

[Sebastian Bianchi]

I was told that if you use Oak and completly seal it with polyurathane, it would be ok.

[Buddy]

yes Seba,
if you seal it with poly,, (water based) then your good to go

my comment on the ammonia was to point out how the tanins in Oak will react,, to say windex for example

[Sebastian Bianchi]

Ok, but sealed is ok - just wanted to make sure. Interesting thread!

[Ed_Haynes]

Everything I've seen suggests -- from the perspective of a collector of mostly silver medals -- that you're better off avoiding oak in any case. There are better woods out there. (Maybe not as pretty, but . . . !)

Ed Haynes