Storage Protection for Oversized Taxidermy

Author(s)

Pamela S. Prim
Nevada State Museum
309 S. Valley View Blvd.
Las Vegas, NV 89107

Sali A. Underwood
Nevada State Museum
702-822-8737
sunderwood@nevadaculture.org

Thomas Dyer
Nevada State Museum
702-822-8726
tdyer@nevadaculture.org

Photo Credits and Illustrations: Figure 2 by Thomas Dyer; all other images by Pamela Prim

Publication: 2018

Description

This is a complete cover made from a lightweight metal frame, corrugated B-flute bottom, with a Tyvek® cover that is held together with Velcro® for a secure hold, yet easy removal. The simplicity in a rectangular or angular design leaves minimal waste in materials, takes less time, and is easier to make than a curved design (Figure 1).

Figure 1. Completed cover.

Materials, Tools & Supplies

Metal Frame Supplies

• Aluminum flat bar strips (base): 12 foot length, 1 inch width, 1/8 inch thick
• Aluminum flat bar strips (support beam & braces): 12 foot length, 3/4 inch width, 1/8 inch thick
• Hack saw
• Bastard mill file
• 1/4 inch rivets and hand-held pop rivet gun
• Drill & steel twist drill bit
• Sharpie® permanent marker
• Lineman’s pliers
• Tape measure
• Mounted vise
• Vise grip clamps
• Scrap wood for backstop for drilling holes
• Combination-square (90 & 45 degrees)
• Personal Protective Equipment (PPE): Gloves and Eyeware

Cardboard Base Supplies

• Blue cardboard (acid free corrugated board B-flute) 1/8 inch thickness
• Ruler
• Long straight edge
• Pencil
• Cutting board
• Rotary table cutter
• Safety knife
• Hot glue
• Hot glue gun

Cover Supplies

• Tyvek® Housewrap (Roll is 60 inches x 150 feet), Paper-Like (Type 10G)
• Hook & loop fastener tape (Velcro®) 3/4 inch width. Either Sew-On (nonstick) or Adhesive backed (must hand sew)
• Thread (Upholstery Nylon)
• Sewing machine
• Sewing needle
• Scissors
• Ruler
• Sharpie® permanent marker
• Pencil
• Binder clips (various sizes) and/or clothes pins

Construction

Frame Design

1. Measure the length, width, and height of your specimen.
2. Add a couple inches of allowance (space) so the specimen does not touch the sides of the cover. This is the size of your frame.
3. Make the design as rectangular or angular as possible (Figures 2 & 3).
   

   Figure 2. Overall metal frame design.

Figure 3. Metal frame design.

Frame Base

1. Use the 1 inch width aluminum strip.
2. The total length of the strip will be the perimeter (Length+width+length+width).
3. Add 1 1/2 inches to 2 inches to overlap and rivet into place.
4. Your corners will not be perfect bends, so I recommend measuring as you go.
5. If your strip is not long enough to make in one piece, plan to have an overlap (seam) on both pieces (Figure 4).
   

   Figure 4. Two overlap portions.

    

6. Start with your overlap (seam) for rivets:  a) Measure 2 inches and mark,  b) Line up your mark with the edge of the vise, c) Use pliers to help bend 90° (Figure 5), d) Measure your length from axis of the bend; this line will be the axis of the next bend, e) Measure, mark, bend, and repeat for all 4 corners.
   

   Figure 5. Use pliers and vise to make your corners.

    

7. On the final side, use the Combination-square tool to square off the final edge (Figure 6), and mark this length.
   

   Figure 6. Combination-square tool used to mark your cut.

    

8. Mark the outside edge about 1/4 inch short of the measurement to put the edge inside the curve (Figure 7). This will prevent the cover from catching and ripping on the corner.
   

   Figure 7. Measured line and cut line.

    

9. Saw on the mark and file off the rough edges.
10. Mark where to put drill hole for rivet(s).
11. Clamp the two pieces of metal to the scrap wood and to the table.
12. Drill hole(s).
13. Use 2 rivets for the overlap portion for stability (Figure 8).
    

    Figure 8. Use 2 rivets for stability of frame.

Support Beam

1. Use the 1/2 inch width aluminum strip.
2. The total measurement will be the frame height + length + height.
3. Repeat the technique for base strip: measure, bend, cut, and file your support beam.
4. Center, mark, drill, and rivet into place (if using more than one support beam, place them near the corners of the base).

Support Braces

1. Use the 1/2 inch width aluminum strip.
2. The total measurement will be frame height + width + height for each brace.
3. Repeat technique for support beam: measure, bend, cut, and file your support braces.
4. Space equally apart, with a brace near each corner of your frame (Figure 9). The point is to keep the cover from touching the specimen.
   

   Figure 9. Support brace placement.

    

5. The more support on the corners the more sturdy the frame, and the easier it will be to make the cover.
6. Center, mark, drill, and rivet into place. If using more than one support beam, place them near the corners of the base (Figure 10).
   

   Figure 10. Completed metal frame.

Cardboard Base

1. Use the acid free corrugated board B-flute (cardboard).
2. Set frame on cardboard (Figure 11).
   

   Figure 11. Frame sitting on the cardboard base.

    

3. Use a pencil to trace the frame.
4. Make the cardboard perfectly rectangular even though the frame may not be perfect.
5. Using the large straightedge, make a straight line along the widest part of the frame, and sharpen corners at the bends to make a “perfect” rectangle (Figure 12).
   

   Figure 12. Completed cardboard base.

    

6. Use a rotary table cutter if possible to make the long, straight cuts.
7. Use a permanent marker to label matching sides of frame/base to keep everything matched up for a proper fit (Figure 13).
   

   Figure 13. Matching label for the frame, cardboard base, and base cover.

Cover

The Tyvek® cover will have a base (bottom portion with a lip), and two (or more, if necessary) pieces for the top and sides.

Figure 14. View of base cover lip and Velcro® placement.

Base Cover

1. For the base, we want to create a lip that will serve as an attachment surface for the Velcro®, and to contain any shed hairs or separated parts while the specimen is in storage (Figure 14). Use Velcro® that has 3/4 inch width. The lip will be about 1 1/2 inches high.
2. Create a folded seam where the Velcro® will be attached. This adds support and allows leeway if there is a mismeasurement or sewing mishap later.
3. Determine the size to cut the Tyvek® to create the lip by taking the length and adding 3 inches on each side (Figure 15).
   

   Figure 15. Measure and cut 3 inches of extra Tyvek® for the lip.

    

4. Measure, mark with pencil, cut, and fold to create the 1 1/2 inch high lip.
5. Label a side of Tyvek® to match with cardboard (Figure 13).
6. Corners basically form themselves as a result of the previous folds (Figure 16). Use binder clips to hold together with cardboard in place.
   

   Figure 16. Folding the corners.

    

7. Add Velcro® by cutting it into 2 inch strips. Plan for the hook side to face outward, so the soft loop side faces the specimen (to minimize accidental attachment to specimen). Strategically place around the margin and secure using binder clips (Figure 14).
8. The goal of the Velcro® attachment is to create a strong, protective hold, but use as little material as possible.
9. Leave a 1/4 inch space between the edge of the Tyvek® and Velcro®, and sew the Velcro® to the Tyvek® using the machine’s zigzag stitch.
10. When finished, keep the matching Velcro® pairs together.
11. To begin finishing the corners of the Tyvek® base cover, place the frame on the cardboard base and Tyvek® bottom cover, and ensure there is enough room to easily remove the frame from the base.
12. Adjust corner tightness if needed, and hand stitch the corners of the base cover.
13. Use the hot glue and glue gun, to glue the cardboard to the base cover.
14. Place the frame back in the base cover, and keep it clipped together for the next step (Figure 17).
    

    Figure 17. Frame on the cardboard base and base cover.

Top Cover

1. The goal is to make the cover just loose enough to put a finger underneath the Tvyek® to manipulate the Velcro® for placing and removing the cover.
2. Make the top cover in two (or more) pieces, to facilitate quick access to the specimen without the need to remove the entire cover, or remove from storage shelf.
3. Place Velcro® along the metal frame for added support when closing the cover. Think wrapping a present (Figure 18).
   

   Figure 18. Completed top cover.

    

4. Using the base as a guide, start with folding the seam at the base and the first side along the support beam (Figure 19). This way, we can just mark and cut the rest.
   

   Figure 19. Top cover has the seam folded at the base and the first side for the Velcro® placement.

    

5. Clip the top cover’s seam to your base along the long side to keep it matched up with the base lip (Figure 20).
   

   Figure 20. Top cover clipped to the base lip for Velcro® placement.

    

6. Line up and clip the Velcro® to this seam (Figure 21).
   

   Figure 21. Matching Velcro® clipped in place for sewing.

    

7. Place Tyvek® back over the top of the frame.
8. Fold the top corners, and mark where to cut and sew along this side (Figure 22).
   

   Figure 22. Fold like wrapping a present.

    

9. Mark the interior of the Tyvek® along the top support beam (Figure 23).
   

   Figure 23. Mark where the support beam ends so you can add the seam allowance when the cover is off.

    

10. Remove the cover from frame; add about 1 1/2 inch seam allowance to the top.
11. Cut and fold top, and cut, fold, and sew corner.
12. Add and sew Velcro® to sides and top (Figure 24), and repeat for the other side.
    

    Figure 24. Sewn corner and best locations for Velcro® placement.

Comments

Muslin can be used instead of Tyvek® for the cover, however, the Tyvek® is already flame retardant, and the paper-like Tyvek’s® stiffness allows for less material to be used to make the metal frame.

Use your scraps. We want to use as little Tyvek® as possible, which includes sewing scrap pieces together in a patchwork design. Just overlap the pieces and use a zigzag stitch for each edge of the Tyvek® for added support (Figure 25).

Figure 25. Use your scraps to minimize Tyvek® waste material.

Tyvek® is slippery when sewing. Going slow and clipping the Tyvek® into a roll to fit in the sewing machine helped a lot. Also, using the reverse sewing function on the sewing machine to sew the Velcro® without needing to maneuver the Tyvek® made the task easier and faster to complete (Figure 26).

Figure 26. Roll up the Tyvek® for easier maneuvering while sewing.

Keep your design simple by using a rectangular or angular frame. Trying to sew a curve in the Tyvek® requires making darts in the material, which creates several unusable scraps. Additionally, a curved cover is more difficult to sew and fit on a curved frame because of the varied measurements (Figures 27 & 28). Therefore, we recommend a rectangular design.

Figure 28. Taxidermy cover with curved frame.

Figure 27. Using darting and scraps to make a curved cover.

Adapted From

Fuller, T. (1992). Hoop and Bag Cover. Storage of Natural History Collections: Ideas and Practical Solutions (p. 121).
(https://rochome.zaksoffice.com/the-publication/covers/object-covers/hoop-and-bag-cover/)

Literature Cited

Fuller, T. (1992). Hoop and Bag Cover. Storage of Natural History Collections: Ideas and Practical Solutions (p. 121).
(https://rochome.zaksoffice.com/the-publication/covers/object-covers/hoop-and-bag-cover/)

Keywords

container, taxidermy, cover, framed cover, protective cover, large object cover, custom storage, collections management, preservation, long-term storage, oversized, collections storage

Special Purposes

Microenvironment, Special Considerations

Collection Type

Natural Science