Plaque making...

[chrisf]

So I've spent a portion of my day making a half dozen presentation plaques. Bought a few planks of oak, then found some walnut buried in the back of the garage, if I had any idea how beautiful the walnut was going to look after a bit of oil, I wouldn't have cheaped out and bought the oak in the beginning.

I'm wondering if anyone has any experience mounting military acoutrements on such, specificly hat badges. I've got the plaques rubbed with a few coats of linseed oil so far. Was thinking of using little brass nails for the cloth hatbadge, but I'm afraid of the edges getting "dog eared"

Any thoughts?

 

[Occam]

Browse the Lee Valley catalogs for anything that might work?  They have all sorts of odds and ends for fasteners.

 

[chrisf]

I didn't think of them, I shall have a look.

Turns out the wee little brass nails I had were plated steel, I ground them down to half size. I feel ripped off.

 

[George Wallace]

Oak is the the worse wood for using in mounting artifacts.  It off gasses forever and is very 'acetic'.

The Canadian Conservation Institute publishes CCI Notes: 

You may want to look at CCI Notes 9/2 - Storage of Metals

......  Avoid wood and wood-pulp products because they release sulphur compounds and organic acid vapours (acetic and formic acid). Also avoid oil-based and alkyd paints because they release volatile materials for long periods.  ......

For your cloth hatbadges, you may want to look at some of the CCI Notes on Textiles.



These CCI Notes are resources that Museums and Collectors refer to in ensuring their collections are 'safe' from damage and premature degradation.

 

[RubberTree]

I would think brass (especially solid brass) nails would be much to soft to hammer into walnut....or oak. You'd run the risk of the nail snapping off flush with the wood surface leaving you pretty much screwed.

 

[chrisf]

So it seems I may not have thought this one through very well with the oil.

 

[Pat in Halifax]

I think these 'notes' are probably meant for extremely long term. In the late 80's, I mounted my dads WWII medals in an oak and walnut box I made, applied about 10 coats of urethane and if you look at it today (mom gave them to me when dad passed in 2000), it looks like they were mounted yesterday.
As for mounting, I have done several DWD Shadow Boxes and trust me, sailors love lots of s*** in their Shadow Boxes!!,...anyway, get a very small drill bit...or fashion one from a Phillips jewellers screwdriver (spend $15 bucks for a good one even though you are going to ruin it). I used a spot of hot glue as well and they turned out great. The hot glue keeps them in place but also offers the option that if the day ever comes, the whole thing can be (carefully) dismantled.
There is a very Snr HT on these forums who I am sure could provide some guidance as they (Shipwrights) make most, if not all wooden retirement 'things' for the bulk of MARLANT between MOG5, CFNES and countless other places.

 

[George Wallace]

I think these 'notes' are probably meant for extremely long term.

Reading your post, I can see that you created a very good seal over your oak.  I have seen a collection of lead soldiers at the Canadian Guards Collection in the CFB Petawawa Military Museum suffer from off gassing in less than six months.  They were in a 6' X 4' X 8" Plexiglass display with an oak trim.  So, as long as you have a good seal to prevent the off gassing from affecting your 'display' you should be good to go.  Those CCI Notes do give suggestions.  The CCI Notes will also give you good directions/suggestions in mounting textiles. 

 

[CombatDoc]

As Pat says, hot glue gun is your friend.  The other option is to use some Velcro with adhesive backing, put hook on badge and loop on plaque or vice versa. 

 

[chrisf]

So oddly enough, one of the conservationists employed by our local museum owed me a favor. As I so seldom have need for the services of a conservationist, I figured this would be as good a time as any to collect.

She said off-gassing from oak can be quite destructive, as can off-gassing from other woods, apparently PVC is another killer, though she mentioned the biggest problem was with display cabinets etc, where the gas would able to build up. In free air, like a presentation plaque, she didn't figure it would be a problem, as there's no historical value to the items.

She did suggest to make sure there was an intermediary layer between the plaque and the item mounted, she recommended mylar.

 

[Pat in Halifax]

WTF??
JollyJackTar, where are you!?
Help this poor person out!!