[NHCOLL-L:1932] RE: gasketing for herbarium cabinets

[Simmons, John E]

According to the article, "Storage Equipment" (B.P. Moore and S.L. Williams,
1995, pp 255-267, Storage of Natural History Collections: A Preventive
Conservation Approach) the preferred materials for gaskets are:

 

*cellular silicone sponge [called poly(dimethyl siloxane) or PDMS]

*ethylene vinly acetate closed-cell elastomeric seal [EVA]

*ethylene propylene diene monomer [EPDM]

 

Instructions for retrofitting gaskets may be found in the article,
"Retrofitting steel storage cases: installing new, improved gasketry"
(T.Raphael and D.R. Cumberland.  1992.  Storage of Natural History
Collections: Ideas and Practical Solutions).

 

--John

 

John E. Simmons

Collection Manager, Natural History Museum

and

Coordinator, Museum Studies Program

University of Kansas

Dyche Hall

1345 Jayhawk Boulevard

Lawrence, Kansas 66045-7561

Telephone 785-864-4508

FAX 785-864-5335

jsimmons at ku.edu <mailto:jsimmons at ku.edu> 

www.ku.edu/~museumst/

 

 

-----Original Message-----
From: Fiona Graham [mailto:fgraham at mus-nature.ca] 
Sent: Monday, May 12, 2003 7:43 AM
To: 'NHCOLL-L at LISTS.YALE.EDU'
Subject: [NHCOLL-L:1930] gasketing for herbarium cabinets

 

At the Canadian Museum of Nature, we are looking for a gasketing material to
replace missing/shredded/crumpled felt gaskets on herbarium cabinet doors.
To date we have tested a number of closed-cell polymer foam gaskets and have
found that they suffer permanent compression-set in a short period of time.
They also appear (somewhat surprisingly) to give a less air-tight seal than
the original felt gaskets.  We have been reluctant to go back to felt
because of its tendency to shed fibres, however we are now reconsidering the
use of a synthetic felt to reproduce the original seal. 

If anyone has recently found an effective gasketing material for herbarium
cabinets, could you please share the details with us?  Thanks in advance!

Fiona Graham

Conservator

Canadian Museum of Nature

Tel.: (613) 364-4079

Fax:  (613) 364-4027

E-mail: fgraham at mus-nature.ca

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