[meteorite-list] A box to put my meteorites in...Part two

From: Tom aka James Knudson <knudson911_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 10:29:59 2004
Message-ID: <002b01c38380$d6913940$3ec843d8_at_malcolm>

Hello Rob and list. Rob, you now have the tools and know-how, you should
make meteorite cases to sale! : ) One thing I wonder about; of what
importance does the air flow have for meteorites?
Thanks, Tom
Peregrineflier <><
The proudest member of the IMCA 6168
----- Original Message -----
From: Rob Wesel <Nakhladog_at_comcast.net>
To: Meteorite List <meteorite-list_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Sent: Thursday, September 25, 2003 1:55 AM
Subject: [meteorite-list] A box to put my meteorites in...Part two


> Build it myself. I needed tools, I did own a few wrenches, however.
>
> Table saw, a must. Also a miter saw, sander, air compressor and finish
> nailer. Wood, screws, glue, nails, wires, glass, paint and Band-Aids.
>
> After assembling all the tools and reading how to use them, I made the
first
> cut, a 7 foot by 4 foot piece of MDF that would serve as the back. More
cuts
> came and things assembled rather smoothly. An eight inch off here, a
> sixteenth there, not much to worry about over the span of 7 feet.
>
> 7 feet is a very long span to install shelves so I divided the case into 4
> compartments, each roughly 20 inches with adjustable shelving.
>
> Soon the skeleton was constructed, ready to paint. Exterior was not an
> issue, black was decided long ago. The interior was a different story. I
> finally decided on a shade of yellow to add contrast for both light and
dark
> colored meteorites. I have an eye for detail and the paint was the second
> worst part of the whole project. In the end, the exterior is exactly 10
> coats deep and the interior 5, taking into account texturing the whole
> thing. Let me take a minute to praise the virtues of texture paint. This
was
> my best friend, a simple spray-paint application that hides every surface
> flaw! Not to mention that when painted satin black it exactly matches the
> texture of a standard riker mount box. I played with color, texture and
> finish a lot, hence 15 coats of paint in all.
>
> Next stop was the doors. I spent hours looking for the straightest wood to
> build door frames, took the best of the lot. Sadly, there was still too
much
> bowing to the wood to make a frame that satisfied my eye for detail. I was
> this far in and was disappointed but ultimately decided to have them
> professionally done. The frames needed to be thin, maximum glass, and no
> cabinet builder could make them less than 2 inches thick all the way
around.
> I decided on a frame shop. Paint was the second worst part of the project,
> frames were the worst. Four frames were made, three were crooked, seems
they
> had the same issues. A poster frame chinches up and straightened out when
> you clamp in the backing, no backing on mine, only glass and that would
not
> be enough. The guy at the frame shop was excellent to work with, he sent
the
> three back and made a special note emphasizing straight wood. They came
back
> straight. I was ready to go. Time to get a visual of the case with what
> would be the doors after a trip to the glass shop. Oops, they took my
> measurements as interior, not exterior, so now my 37 inch doors had a 37
> inch opening and a 39 inch overall which would be fine but remember that
> eight inch off here, a sixteenth there, not much to worry about over the
> span of 7 feet, well worry about it now. I needed a little buffer to hide
> the off square and off angle areas. I went back to frame shop, again they
> order four new doors, and all four were crooked. A month had gone by in
the
> process. They guy refunded my money and politely bailed, suggesting a
> competitor that had their wood in stock so errors could be quickly
resolved
> and the wood could be hand selected. I went to this place and 24 hours
later
> they had perfectly straight, correctly sized frames. He did work hard on
it
> and I gave him a nice size Canyon Diablo for excellent customer service.
>
> The glass and door installation went well.
>
> Form had been achieved, now function.
>
> The case has a false top. Within the false top, only 4 inches deep I
> installed an intake fan in one end compartment and output in the other
end.
> The real top has holes to allow the air to move through. All the
> compartments have air vents running through them so the air gets
completely
> circulated. I sided with aesthetic on the vents so the airstream is linear
> versus a S-curve which would be more conducive to airflow dynamics. As the
> air passes through the top it goes through an electronic heater and
> dehumidifier. Four halogen lights were wired in on a remote control. The
> airflow and dehumidification are always on but the lights are at my
command.
>
> Taking no risks, each compartment has its own VCI emitter as well.
>
> The case was built airtight, everywhere wood touches wood, it has been
> glued, then nailed, then caulked.
>
> So there you have it. Airtight, dehumidified, heated, corrosion inhibited,
> air circulated, halogen lit, remote controlled, UV protected, wall
mounted,
> thin and big. A HEPA filter was installed for style points and later
removed
> as it cut airflow too much. A RH of 31% is maintained.
>
> Time spent, 2 months 1 week. Time planned, 2 years. Time wanted on frames,
1
> month. Total cost $959.46 and I keep the tools. Looking this bad-ass,
> perfect materialization of my vision built by my own hands, priceless.
>
> One mixed blessing...it's full.
>
> One reality check, the Trading Spaces guy could have done it in two days.
>
> Have a look:
> http://makeashorterlink.com/?Q52422106
>
>
> --
> Rob Wesel
> ------------------
> We are the music makers...and we are the dreamers of the dreams.
> Willy Wonka, 1971
>
>
>
>
>
> ______________________________________________
> Meteorite-list mailing list
> Meteorite-list_at_meteoritecentral.com
> http://www.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
>
Received on Thu 25 Sep 2003 12:18:48 PM PDT