Volume 18, Number 6
Oct 1994

Supplies & Services

Note: Elizabeth Morse, Assistant Conservator at Harvard, is the column editor for "Supplies and Services," and her material appears first. Announcements from other conservation newsletters follow. Suppliers should send their news and samples to Ms. Morse, Harvard University Library Conservation Laboratory, Massachusetts Archives at Columbia Point, 220 Morrissey Blvd., Boston, MA 02125 (617/436-5127). -Ed.

Need weights? The Metal Processing Corporation, 3834 Lawn Ave., Baltimore, MD 21215, will produce metal weights to your order. Their phone is 410/664-2555. Their fax is 410/664-2556.

Archivart has an 800 number again: 1-800/804-8428.

Mars Staedtler and Magic Rub eraser crumbs are now available through Bill Minter in four different grinds. For further information, contact Bill Minter, R.D. 1, Box 99, Woodbury, PA 16695-9516 (814/793-4020, fax 814/793-4045; or e-mail wmntr@aol.com).

The following list of materials and equipment for anoxic fumigation was sent by John Burke, conservator at the Oakland Museum.

Vapor Barrier Film

from: packaging supplieer, such as
LPS Industries Inc., 800/275-4577

item: Marvelseal 360
(or equivalent MIL-B-131H, Class 1 film)
#360-36D (36" x 200 yd roll)
(48" rolls also available)

Oxygen Scavenger Packets

from: Conservation Materials Ltd., 702/331-0582

item: "Ageless Z-2000" (2000 ml capacity/packet)
250 packets per case
(Z-1000, Z-500 also available)

Oxygen Indicator Tablets

from: Conservation Materials Ltd., 702/331-0582

item: "Ageless Eye"
500 tablets per pack

Portable Heat Sealer (min. 1/2" wide seal)

from: Packaging Aids corporation, 415/454-4868

item: Futura Portable Heat Sealer
Barrier Model #1F04100

Tacking Iron (must reach 350°)

from: picture frame supply, plastic supplier, or
Conservation Materials Ltd., 702/331-0582

item: Sealector II (100°-350°) Model # 3198-128
or: industrial hand sealing iron (175°-550°)

Leak Detector (optional but recommended)

from: Lab Safety Supply, 800/543-9910

item: Combustible Gas Detector

Model #WB-9187

Nitrogen Apparatus

from: gas or welding supply, such as
Mavry Welding, 800/543-9910

items: regulator for nitrogen or argon
25' 1/2"OD high pressure hose
blow-gun for compressed gases
adaptor fittings (connectors)
cylinder wall bracket
nitrogen, 255 cu. ft. tank (incl. 1 yr. rental)

Miscellaneous Items

Mylar tape (3M 810 or 850), scissors, ruler
heavy-duty 36" roll holder (pipe and bracket)
aerosol "duster" (for use w/ leak detector)

Three-function data logger. Jack C. Thompson and Roger Marin, an electronics engineer, have formed Pier Point Instruments to manufacture and market their Data Logger Model DL-400, which they have developed over the last three years. It measures and records temperature, relative humidity and light (accumulated lux hours) for over six months, and downloads to an IBM-compatible computer for analysis and printout. The flyer (received in July) shows a linear graph printed from a Macintosh; perhaps the software that comes with the monitor is also Mac-compatible. For information contact Pier Point Instruments, 1417 NW Everett, Portland, OR 97209 (503/248-0046).

Carbro II, a revival of an old but extremely stable color photographic process, is available from Ken Lieberman Laboratories, Inc., 118 West 22nd St., New York, NY 10011 (212/633-0500, fax 675-8269). The ad says the prints can be safely displayed under normal viewing conditions for over 300 years without any change.

Microclimates™ are clamshell boxes for books, cut to fit each book, using measurements in sequential shelf order, supplied by the customer. Shipped flat, they can be assembled at the bookshelf in 15 to 60 seconds. Measuring devices are supplied upon request.

Microclimates™ are made of thin, strong, archival corrugated board, high in alpha cellulose, with less than 0.5% lignin, less than 0.01% reducible sulphur, and an alkaline reserve of >3%. Cost is much less than that of handmade boxes, and they take up very little additional shelf space. Contact Custom Manufacturing, Inc., PO Box 1215, Emmitsburg, Maryland 21727. [See Dec 1994 issue for additional information]

BookMakers published a new 20-page price list in August, to go with the catalog that was published in 1990 or 1991. It lists about 60 books, about 30 kinds of handmade paper, and all kinds of bookbinding supplies. Contact Bookmakers, 6001 66th Ave., Suite 101, Riverdale, MD 20737 (301/459-3384, fax 459-7629).