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A Simple Micromounting Technique
You are here: MineralCollecting.org >> Posted Articles >> Article 31

by David Green
From the Mineral Mite, Newsletter of The Micromineralogists of the
National Capital Area, Washington, D. C October 1997
(From the British Micromount Society Newsletter, via Micro News and Views, April, 1997)

A SIMPLE MICROMOUNTING TECHNIQUE

For some years I have taken the (Braithwaitian)view, that micromounts should be permanently mounted in boxes where possible. Although sound in theory, this has two practical drawbacks (aside from admitting that Peter is correct!). The first is the time and effort required to mount a specimen (as compared with Blu-tacking into a box); and the second is that the specimen cannot subsequently be removed (e.g. for photography, or if the box becomes damaged). A couple of years ago, experimentation !ed to a technique which minimises time and effort, and which allows most specimens to be removed and replaced in their boxes. I have since mounted several hundred specimens using this technique, which seems fairly robust, and which is possibly worth sharing with other members.

Some micromounters stick specimens on pedestals directly onto the bases of the boxes, but the finished mounts are not particularly strong. An alternative, neater method is to set the pedestals into a base which fits in the box. Foam board, matt black on one side and white on the other, is excellent for making the pedestal bases. It is available from art shops in a variety of thicknesses, the best being 6mm. The hinged incb-cubed boxes used by most of us are 27mm by 26mm internally. Cutting the foam board into rectangles of this size using a sharp scalpel can quickly provide several hundred bases. The dimensions must be accurate, however, in order to provide a snug push-fit into the boxes.

With a little practice, a leather punch can be used to make a central hole to accept circular balsa sticks (which form the pedestals). I find that the quarter-inch diameter balsa wood available from model shops is ideal for many micromounts. These fit snugly into the holes made in the foam board bases by a 6mm leather punch.

Blackened balsa pedestals, trimmed to the contour of the specimen base and cut to size, are pushed into the pre-punched holes in the pedestal bases. The trimmed specimens are then glued to the pedestals and set aside to dry before being fitted into the boxes. No glue is required either to fit the base into the box, of the pedestal into the base, both joints relying solely on being good push fits. This type of mount is permanent in normal use (and during transportation!), but has the advantage that specimens can be removed, attached to their pedestals, using a pair of curved forceps. It still requires some time to make a mount; a minute or two per specimen. Considering the time and effort involved in collecting, selecting, trimming and documenting, this is a sound investment.

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