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Techniques for CollectorsMaintaining your collection on a shoestring budget

24th Mar 2016 18:38 UTCBob Harman

Every long time mineral collector over the course of his/hers years of collecting learns little tips and tricks to better maintain and enhance their collection. Here are a few tips I have learned during my collecting years.

We have all seen very hi end specimens supported on custom made acrylic stands and, indeed, I have a few. For the rest of frugal collectors on a shoestring budget, it is easy to make your own custom made stands and recycle plastic in the process. I have used a wide variety of empty plastic food and drink containers. The bottom parts of plastic milk and juice containers can, with a heavy scissors or tin snips, easily be cut to shape especially with back support for larger sized irregular examples. All sizes and shapes empty of food containers can also be used and easily be cut to shape "customizing" your specimen stands while making their support more firm on the display shelf and, at the same time, recycling the containers.

With a little preparation and ingenuity, various cleaning and preparation liquids can be reused several times. I often reuse Super Iron Out, vinegar and diluted muriatic acid. First, the specimen must be thoroughly cleaned of all loose dirt, grit, and mud. Then after putting the specimen into the proper solution for further preparation or cleaning and removing it, I pour the used solution (only when it is good enough for reuse) thru a coffee filter and thru a home-made funnel made from the top of a plastic juice or soda pop container turned upside down . The filter effectively cleans the solution so it can easily be reused and the funnel puts the solution carefully back into its container. Of course not all solutions, after very extensive preparations can be reused, but many can.

I collect Indiana geodes and these, over time, tend to attract dust into their cavity. I have used cling type plastic wrap to keep the cavity super clean and when putting the plastic wrap on, the geode is often still moist after its final rinsing. This keeps the cavity lustrous preventing drying out and loss of luster. The best wrap that I have found is an 18" x 3000' roll (for bakers and chefs) at Sam's Club. It is very transparent, stretchable and clings very well. One roll lasts forever. For occasional specimens rubber bands, or even better, masking tape holds everything firmly in place. For displays at regional shows removal and replacement of this plastic wrap is easily done. For lower end examples of the right size, I reuse plastic newspaper wrappers quite nicely.

These same newspaper wrappers and similar plastic from shopping bags to dry cleaner clothes covers can be used to cushion specimens while collecting or transporting them . I no longer use crumpled up newspaper or tissues due to tiny fibers catching on the rock specimens. I find the soft and totally dust free loosely crumpled up plastic works much better.

So these are a few of my tips for maintaining your collection on a shoestring budget. Any other tips out there? CHEERS.......BOB

24th Mar 2016 19:10 UTCBecky Coulson 🌟 Expert

Hi Bob,

What a nice thread! Like you, we have found many uses for old plastic bottles - one simple cut also makes a great "scoop". Discount book stores are great places to pick up inexpensive but nice paint brush sets for cleaning minerals...and keep those old toothbrushes! Flea markets are a great place to pick up old dental picks and other useful tools for pennies. I always save any styrofoam "peanuts" and plastic bags for packing/posting specimens, and bubble wrap from pound shops (or dollar stores) is half the price of anywhere else here - also an inexpensive source of plastic storage boxes. But most important to me was figuring out how to make storage cabinets on a low budget. Here in the UK, standing wardrobes are still much in use and can be purchased cheaply at used furniture stores. My husband got a few of those and easily added sliding plywood shelves - they look great. I look forward to hearing more budget suggestions - thanks.

24th Mar 2016 23:13 UTCPeter K. Szarka

The 3-legged plastic piece that keeps the top of the pizza box from touching the centre of the pizza makes a good mineral stand for small specimens. Turned upside down, the legs will support a small specimen especially as the prongs can be easily trimmed to fit the specimen contours.

25th Mar 2016 15:56 UTCAlex Homenuke 🌟 Expert

One foot square sheets of wall and floor tiles made of 3/4 inch to 2 inch squares on a mesh backing make excellent bases. Find them at Habitat and other liquidation stores for a couple of dollars a sheet. I particularly like the ones made of glass for thumbnail mounting

26th Mar 2016 00:36 UTCRobert Rothenberg

I use cardboard boxes from BJ's to make flats for storing specimens. The Ragu flats fit perfectly with Country Time as lids. Some cutting down to make appropriate heights may be needed. Nilla Wafers also fit well as bottoms with Hellman's Mayo lids.

Bob

26th Mar 2016 14:22 UTCKenO James

I use origami boxes made from cover stock paper (67 lb) to store minerals in as seen here in this link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8p_MIq4ngU. This is extremely cheap and I line the bottom of them with a paper towel for added cushion. Just cut the paper to make the size you want and they are quite sturdy. I like your idea Peter, thanks.

27th Mar 2016 22:38 UTCHolger Hartmaier 🌟

I started collecting as child and there wasn't much of a household budget, let alone a budget for maintaining a mineral collection. Early on, my family learned to save any kind of small box for me for specimen boxes- match boxes, gift boxes, jewelry boxes, screw boxes, etc. as well as plastic pill containers. Later, I started cutting off the bottoms of waxed milk and cream containers and juice boxes which provided a fairly steady and consistent supply of sturdy box materials. My father used to be a printer and my original collection was stored in two small trays with dividers that used to hold lead type. I still have them. No one seemed to worry too much about the potential exposure to lead dust back in those days.

Whenever a pair of jeans wore out at the knees, I would cut off the legs and sew up the bottoms to make collecting sacks. Some collector acquaintances buy various sizes of diapers to take into the field to use as packing material. The self-adhesive tabs are handy to keep the diaper padding securely wrapped around fragile specimens.

As previous posters on this thread suggest, there are many items that can be reused or repurposed for the wide variety of needs associated with collecting and maintaining a collection.

28th Mar 2016 03:07 UTCPaul Stephen Cyr

A well know collector recently told me that Mortite Caulking Cord can be used as mounting putty. I haven't tried it yet, but it's a lot cheaper than geo tack! Comes in grey or 'wood tone'. I line the boxes in my flats with thin, cheap zipless sandwich bags from the dollar store. For pedestals to prop up a micro or thumbnail, I cut a thin piece of dried bamboo to size, and sand it down. The boxes that a lot of smart phones and tablets are coming in are very sturdy and suitable for years of storage, unlike most shoe boxes.

For field collecting, I love an Ovaltine jug filled with bubble wrap.

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