Displaying in a shadow box.

[Dockster]

Need some advice how to mount meg teeth and Mosasaurus teeth using a shadowbox. 
I’ve heard using silicone can work but would it harm the teeth?

 

I'd love to hear your ideas. 

 

 

[Darktooth]

Hello and welcome to the forum from New York! You could simply use some superglue which can be removed with acetone should you change your mind sometime down the road.

Dave

 

[hadrosauridae]

For my fossils in a shadowbox, I gave them a very heavy coat of Butvar on the back side before gluing them in.  That way when I want to change the display in the future, I can use a bit of acetone or alcohol to dissolve the Butvar, and the glue has never touched the fossil.

[Alex S.]

22 minutes ago, hadrosauridae said:

For my fossils in a shadowbox, I gave them a very heavy coat of Butvar on the back side before gluing them in.  That way when I want to change the display in the future, I can use a bit of acetone or alcohol to dissolve the Butvar, and the glue has never touched the fossil.

Do you use the thick butvar to glue it into the shadowbox or what glue are you using?

[hadrosauridae]

19 minutes ago, Alex S. said:

Do you use the thick butvar to glue it into the shadowbox or what glue are you using?

 

No, it wasnt that.  I'll have to try to find some notes on the steps.  I dont remember if I used something like E6000 or hot-glue, or what.  In my display I carved styrofoam backing block that the fossils sit into, so they have an "in situ" look.  But any kind of solvent based glue like butvar would have just melted the styrofoam.  Butvar would be a good glue if you were mounting them to a solid surface though.

[Alex S.]

Oh okay that makes a lot of sense. That sounds really cool.

[oilshale]

Coating the fossil on the back with Butvar before you glue it on is a great idea, but only if the fossil is not glued anywhere else. Then the glued areas could open up when you remove the fossil (if you use a solvent). In that case, I would get a water-soluble glue from a hobby store.
 

[FB003]

Has anyone ever done anything with small metal "arms" to hold things in place? Otherwise I think I quite like the foam idea.

Edited May 13 by FB003

[hadrosauridae]

10 hours ago, oilshale said:

Coating the fossil on the back with Butvar before you glue it on is a great idea, but only if the fossil is not glued anywhere else. Then the glued areas could open up when you remove the fossil (if you use a solvent). In that case, I would get a water-soluble glue from a hobby store.
 

 

Butvar is soluble in alcohol, which does not affect other glues such as CA.  Butvar (or PAraloid, equally) can be easily removed with air abrasion.  Surface consolidants can be removed by wiping with rags / cottonballs / Q-tips with acetone or alcohol without worrying about penetrating.  Worse case scenario is that you just glue it back together is a joint comes apart.  It was already broken and repaired so you arent introducing damage.

[hadrosauridae]

5 hours ago, FB003 said:

Has anyone ever done anything with small metal "arms" to hold things in place? Otherwise I think I quite like the foam idea.

 

If you have the ability for basic welding, then creating a custom armature would be pretty easy.  One of my favorite things to photograph when I visit museums is the armatures that support fossils.  Some are basically works of art in themselves. 

[Balance]

If you can get a 1/4” thick sheet of styrofoam board (craft stores) behind the fabric you could push simple finishing nails(coke in brass, black coated, and stainless)in as supports and the add a touch of adhesive behind as suggested. 

Jp