Metal insect display and storage drawers

[Deleted]

Hi all,
recently, the major scientific funding body here in South Africa has decided that they will not fund insect drawers made of wood anymore, nor the wooden cabinets. Searching finds a number of suppliers of metal cabinets for drawers, but I have only found one place offering metal drawers.
Does anyone know any manufacturers out there that are offering metal drawers?

Many thanks
David

[leptraps]

BioQuip Proucts offers Aluminum Entomology Drawers.

I do know that the Carnegie Museum looked into aluminium USNM Drawers as well as the Canadian National Museum in Quebec. For some reason, metal entomology drawers never seemed to fit into the world of Museums. Someplace in my shop I have the extrusion dies to make aluminum forms. The finish was another issue.

You piqued my interest. I know I have the tooling, I need to find my file. That could take a while.

[jhyatt]

I distinctly remember, some years ago, seeing metal Cornell drawers advertised by somebody... Bioquip? Carolina Biological?
Ward's Nat. Hist. Establisment? Not sure now who it was. They were expensive, and recommended for storing type specimens and
other really valuable, irreplaceable items.

JH

[Paul K]

Here is the link for aluminum drawer by Bioquip.
Indeed they are not cheap.
www.bioquip.com/Search/DispProduct.asp?pid=1020

[leptraps]

I started a search in my files, no luck. It my be in one of my older file cabinets I stored old files and history records from 30+ years ago, or more.

They are in storage, I just never had the heart to pitch my old correspondence. I have kept my tax returns all the way back to 1964.

[Chris Grinter]

Odd decision by that funding agency, are they increasing your funding opportunities by 200 fold to cover the difference? You would have to find a custom producer of the metal drawers in South Africa, if you can find one. I've seen the BioQuip design in use and it's awful, you have to lift the glass off of the rubber seal on the top of the drawer and it's not simple. And to avoid chipping of the glass it doesn't fit super tightly, but rests loosely on the seal and can be held down with those little metal slats. The drawer themselves would last forever, but they aren't more pest-proof than a wood drawer, but every 20 years you need to replace it. Impossible when we have 35,000 drawers!

[Paul K]

I think it would be cheaper to build concrete bunker and store regular drawers in there than get all metal drawers 😂

[leptraps]

Aluminum Cornell Drawers could be easily produced with a clear coat finish. However extrusion tooling would be required and with an aluminium bottom and a glass top, they would seal up very tight. Those are the pluses. The major negative, they would probably weight more than wood.

As I said previously, they would weigh more than wood. However, I think they would work very well. I may put my old metal fabrication hat on and check out the cost.

[Deleted]

Thanks all.
I had seen and looked at the Bioquip ones - and the pricing is a bit fierce. in fact, more than a bit fierce, seeings as we have to get them halfway around the world as well.

leptraps:
1. im glad to have piqued the interest! let me know what you find.
2. just for fun, go through your tax returns and add up how much you have had to pay out 

chris Grinter - thats the magic question which hasn't yet been answered. But we have to offer up a list of options and quotes before they will decide. I do suspect that all the efforts will just be micturition in the breeze however... 

Paul K & Chris Grinter - here we are struggling even to find people willing to CONSISTENTLY and reliably make wooden drawers.... to add metal to the mix ..... hey, maybe metalheads are different!

I did an attempt to make one using aluminium profiles, which seal up nicely, but had a severe brainfart in the process and didn't realise that the box would be pretty much impossible to open easily.  But may be worth playing around with a bit more.

If anyone else finds something, I would appreciate it.
thanks

David

[leptraps]

Leptraps offers both CalAcademy and Cornell Drawer. Leptraps also produces custom size drawers and USNM Drawers.

Leptraps has looked into metal drawers. Weight is an issue. Aluminum drawers made from an extrusion almost if not slightly heavier than wood. Should the aluminum material change the inner dimensions, they would require another size (custom) unit trays.

I recently saw a plastic Cornell Drawer. The Glass was embedded into top frame. Break the glass, you trash the drawer.

It was estimated several years ago, that the total requirement for Cornell Drawers was less than 1500 annually for North America.

I add about four (4) Cornell Drawers annually to my collection.

[exoticimports]

May 11, 2020 13:44:56 GMT -8 Chris Grinter said:

Odd decision by that funding agency,

Follow the money. I'll bet some local steel stamping company owner has a friend at the funding agency, and they concocted this to drive revenue and corrupt payoff.


Chuck

[Paul K]

Hello Leroy

Im surprise that with such extensive collecting you only need four drawers per year.

In terms of thickness of the aluminum drawer walls if inner dimensions  would change one who use trays could easily feel up the gap with a stripe of pinning foam.

[leptraps]

The drawers were an extrusion, the corners were machined and they snap fit together with torque lock connectors. Once together there was no taking them apart. The top with the glass took a tool of some sort to remove or replace the glass.

I can not remember who had some. I thought I owned one, but I do not.