Introduction
I find micromounts
every bit as fascinating as fluorescents and
cabinet
specimens, even though some of my collecting buddies think
micromounters are a
weird bunch. Maybe we are, but micromineral collecting is still a
fascinating hobby.
What to save and mount
Let's
suppose you find a
tiny crystal of some mineral that happens to be on a piece of matrix
smaller
than your pinky nail. That's okay if it's "just a quartz crystal".
Save it! If it's from your back yard or some other "unusual"
location, there will be collectors who will want it! Even in a place
where good
quartz micros are common, such as the Buckwheat Dump in Franklin, I
find myself
saving many of the nicer specimens for future mounting.
You may
(unknowingly) find crystals which
are too
small to view with an ordinary optical rig... you'd need an electron
microscope
to see them. Don't worry about these minerals right now.
Some specimens
are better kept in their intact form. If you have one that's more
valuable or nicer to look at just the way it is, don't break it up
just to make it fit into a small box. Keep it as-is and just get
a bigger box.
It is a matter
of some discretion to decide what to break and what not to break.
There was a guy named Bruce, whose full name I will not mention.
He used to break up a lot of specimens
that probably shouldn't have been broken. Most of them weren't
even good for micromounts. I called the process
"Brucification". Some other collectors referred to him as
"Smithereens" or "M.C. Hammer".
Don't Brucify
your specimens.
There are,
however, certain ones that are routinely broken up: Buckwheat
dolomite, for example. Usually there aren't any big crystals in
them. If you can't see them without 10x magnification or better,
and there's no other redeeming display qualities, then go ahead and
break the rock up into smaller pieces. Why leave a 10-cm hunk of
otherwise barren dolomite intact, when the only interesting thing in it
is a 1/2-millimeter synchysite crystal? That's the key right
there: proportion.
How would
you preserve
your specimen from falling into a crack in the floor or otherwise
becoming
lost? The first step is to get a container for it. It can be
cardboard,
plastic, metal, or whatever... but it should have a lid to keep
dust and
lint away from your specimens. This is especially important for fibrous
or
acicular minerals such as agardite, natrolite, etc. | Right: I prefer the Amac M-511 boxes for micromounting. Such boxes cost around 35 cents apiece. To preserve a good micro specimen this is worth it. If you buy in bulk, some places give a discount. |  |
 |
Left: Some specimens are
better kept intact. The 2 1/2" zincite specimen at left has many
nooks and crannies with micro crystals in them, but the intact specimen
probably has more aesthetic appeal and value than if it were broken
into smaller
pieces.If you're
not sure, ask an experienced collector before you take out the hammer. |
2. Making the post or pedestal
Now that
you have the
boxes prepared, our plan is to make some type of "mount" or support
to which we will affix the specimen. Micro crystals can be very
fragile, so you
want them to stay put. Since we're dealing with a tiny crystal or mass
on a
very tiny piece of matrix, we'll mount the specimen on a
"post". Why? Well, when you're looking at the specimen, you'll
want to rotate the box and slant it to see different areas of the
crystal(s). If the specimen were all the way down in the bottom of the
box, the sides of the box would obstruct more of your view. |
The boxes at left
have holes drilled in their centers. The area inside the box
immediately around the holes should be roughened with a needle or other
sharp implement so that the glue will adhere more strongly.The
holes should be a snug fit for the toothpicks or porcupine
quills. These posts mustn't fall through when you're trying to
glue them in place later. Note
the scribe marks used to center the holes. |
 |
Gluing the
specimens onto the ends of toothpicks or porcupine quills can be the
most difficult part. The specimen
that's leaning very far to the left is that way on purpose; the
toothpick was sawed at a steep angle because the specimen was also
angular. We're taking advantage of gravity here, not fighting it.The specimen at
bottom right has its toothpick resting inside a clothespin until the
glue dries. |
 |
When the specimens
are glued to the toothpicks and the glue has dried, you can paint over
the glued area and partway down the toothpick with black paint.
If you go too far down, the paint will have to be scraped away when you
do the final gluing into the box. The glue should contact bare
wood, not paint.The ones shown
here actually have the paint going too far down. I scraped it a
bit after taking this picture.It
is convenient to stick the toothpicks into an old eraser or a piece of
styrofoam while the paint dries. |
 |
When the epoxy is
still soft, you can support the box on a vial or other tall, narrow
container. This accomodates the toothpick so the box can stand
upright. The glue in the box on the left has become dry enough
that the box can lie on its side.Because
torque is greatest at the end of a post, be very careful not to hit the
end of the exposed toothpick on anything or subject it to force.
It could tear the specimen loose. |
Lately I've been
using round toothpicks as
posts, as shown above. I'll call this the "pull-through
toothpick method";
this is a time-tested micromounting technique used by some of the
best-known collectors. It works like this: First, glue the
specimen to one end of a toothpick and hold it in a clothespin while it
dries. Then drill a matching-diameter hole in the bottom of an
M511 box whose inside bottom you have roughened up with a sharp
object. To make the hole, use a drill bit that is the same size
as the toothpick's fattest portion. Next, pull the toothpick
through the hole until the specimen is at the desired height. It
should be a snug fit. Epoxy glue is a
good choice to fasten it in place. In 24 hours when it's
completely dry, use a razor saw to cut away the excess toothpick that
protrudes out the underside of the box. Don't use excessive
pressure. It's better to saw slowly and apply very little
pressure; you don't want to break the glue loose from the
plastic. Most glues have good pull strength but not much peel
strength. They don't hold well when subjected to torque. |
Tiny
crystals perched on top of a toothpick which has been pulled through a
hole in the bottom of a box. When the toothpick was pulled to the
desired depth, epoxy glue was applied (you can see it under the
paint). The glue sticks better if the plastic is roughened first.Paint was
applied inside the box after the glue was dry. Save this step for
last, after sawing the toothpick (see below). Don't
get paint on
the specimen!! |
 |
The
toothpick will protrude out the underside of the box. Saw it
flush only when the epoxy is completely
dry. Some of
the epoxy got pulled through the hole and is on the outside of the box,
but it doesn't stick out that far.Note the
scribe marks used to make sure the hole was centered. I used a
Dremel Moto-Tool to drill this hole. |
If you're using
pre-sawn posts instead of the pull-through toothpick method, you can
glue the posts into the box without pulling them through a hole in the
bottom and sawing off the excess. Toothpicks are too thin to
stand upright by themselves even when sawn off square (hence, the
hole), but thin dowel sections work well as pre-sawn posts. I
use wooden dowel that's 3 mm diameter.As in the
toothpick / porcupine quill method, make sure
you "rough up" the plastic in the bottom of the box by cutting
criss-crossed scratches into it so the glue will adhere better. You can
use a
pin or an X-acto knife for this purpose. After this, take one of the 6
to 8 mm
lengths of thin dowel and put a drop of super glue or 5-minute epoxy on
one
end. Glue the "post" into the box, dead center and perfectly upright
if you can manage it, and let it dry. I use a "flexible", gel-form
super glue that's available at Wal-Mart for about 3 bucks. It dries
fairly
quickly, so be careful you don't glue your fingers together with the
stuff.
Don't be too stingy with the glue; more glue takes longer to dry, but
it also
gives more support for the post. If you skimp on glue the posts can
break
off. You don't want to go to all that trouble just to have this
happen.Lately I've been
using epoxy glue to hold the posts in place. It seems to work
better than anything else, but it's a little more work because it
requires mixing prior to use. Don't mix too much at once or it
will go to waste.If you choose
the pull-through toothpick method mentioned above, you might want to
put glue on the portion of the toothpick that you estimate will be in
the hole. When the toothpick is pulled in to the right depth, the
glue will touch the plastic. Then you can twirl the toothpick
around in the hole to spread the glue uniformly. When it dries,
you can saw away the portion of toothpick that protrudes out the bottom
of the box.4. Painting the boxes
I've found
that most
plastic boxes are highly reflective and cause horrible glare when
looking at a
specimen closely. The clear ones are like mirrors... very distracting.After I
glue the posts into the boxes, I paint them on the inside with dull or
flat black primer (such as that used to prevent rust). You
could use some other color if you really wanted to (not white, unless
it's a
dark mineral), but use one with a dull finish. Once the paint is dry,
you are
ready for the next stage... placing the actual specimen on the
post. That is, unless you are using the pull-through toothpick
method (see above), in which case you can glue the specimen to the
toothpick first if you prefer.If you already
have the specimen on the post before you paint the inside of the box,
take extreme care not to get paint on the specimen. This kind of
operation might seem like a huge hassle, but it really isn't too bad
once you've practiced. The reason for doing it this way is that
the paint inside the box appears seamless. This may seem an
almost obsessive point, but a huge part of micromounting is in the
presentation of the specimen. Sloppy painting just won't do.With the
pull-through toothpick method, you pretty much have to paint after the
specimen is completely mounted anyway, because otherwise you'll have an
area
of fresh glue that has no paint on it. This will be shiny and
distracting.With the
pre-sawn dowel method, you can glue everything in place, paint the
inside of the box, and then perch the specimen on top of the dowel with
some glue. The dowel is wide enough (ca. 3 mm) that the specimen
shouldn't fall off before it dries. It still might, though.5. Putting the specimen onto the post
Now comes
the
potentially very frustrating part: mounting the actual specimen to the
end of
the upright post. You can glue it there, or you can use a small bit of
"tack", a type of putty that is used to hang posters and such without
leaving nail holes. You can buy this "tack" at Wal-Mart; the best
one I've found there so far has been Duck brand Poster Putty, made by
Henkel Consumer Adhesives. It is actually quite similar to the
old "Blue Tack". A few
companies sell a greyish-white "Mineral Tack" via mail order.
This is probably the best stuff. You can usually find someone at
a mineral show who has some Mineral Tack for sale. I
actually have my own, secret formula for something like Mineral Tack,
but I haven't bothered producing it on a large scale yet. (I
claim that it is TEH BEST EVAR!!!!!!! or something like that.)With
"tack" or putty, you can always reposition the specimen. Use tweezers
if necessary.When you're
gluing specimens permanently, you must TAKE YOUR TIME placing the
specimen on the post. Mineral tack, on the other hand is
obviously much more forgiving; you can move it at any time.If you
really want to
use glue and are sure you won't need to reposition the specimen
later, try
Elmer's glue. Put a tiny dab on the post and on the underside
of the
specimen. Let them dry partially and then stick together. Allow
to dry
for at least a few hours. Though it
can be
messier, you could instead use the epoxy or the super glue I
mentioned
earlier. I use this and it works well. 6. Label and catalog that specimen!
This is
the MOST
important step after preserving your find. Stick-on labels are fine;
fast-drying correction fluid written on with India ink is also
effective.
Either way, put it on the outside of the box which contains your
specimen. If
you put the label on the lid, make sure you also put one on the base of
the
box. Otherwise, you will forget and end up switching lids with other
boxes when
you're viewing your minerals.  |
| Above: Handwritten labels can
be very attractive. Writing small enough to fit on these tiny
boxes
can be a challenge, though. The phrase "Buckwheat Dump" is only
17 millimeters wide and roughly 2.5 to 3 millimeters tall. I bought a Pigma
0.30 mm "micron" pen and then, looking through a magnifying glass, I
cut the tip even narrower with a razor blade. In the future I may
try India ink and porcupine quills. One problem with
writing very small is the tendency of ink to bleed into the paper and
look fuzzy. Choice of paper can greatly affect this.
Experiment.If
penmanship is not your natural inclination, you can use a computer to
make the labels instead. One advantage is uniformity.
You can also squeeze a lot of information onto a 3/4" x 3/4" square if
you
shrink the font down to 5 or 6 point: |
 |
If you can't fit
all the information on the box label, just put a catalog
number on your label and make a corresponding entry on an index card or
in a
spreadsheet. Don't lose the cards! Be as specific as
possible about where and when you found the specimen: State, county,
town, name of
quarry or
mine, and date. If you found it in a newly-blasted area of a quarry, an
old
mine dump, or whatever, indicate this on your card. If you got it
from another collector, include this information as well.Mineral species
can be determined later, but locality cannot. That's why, if you
have no room for anything else on your labels, at least record the locality. So you decided to jump ahead. Perhaps you're looking at 450 unmounted specimens and you don't feel like making posts.
1. Get a small box, preferably with a lid. The Amac M511 box is good. To avoid glare, paint the box black on the inside where it will form the background for the specimen.
2. Make a small ball of "tack" or mounting putty and stick it in the center of each box.
Note:
Some people like to use the lid of the box as the
"base"
and the base of the box as the "lid". This makes sense for specimens
having high 3-D relief where you might want to view it from various
angles. It is also a little faster to do.3. Stick the specimen to the ball of "tack" or mounting putty on your "base".
4. Label the base of the box and catalog the specimen.
This is how I mounted most of my specimens when I began micromount collecting. I still do it this way for certain specimens. The problem here is that the oils from the putty will creep onto the specimen, making it hard to glue if you choose later to do a permanent micromount. Acetone will of course remove the oils.