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Showing results for tags 'diy'.
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Prep lab redesign, new blast box and new microscope!
hadrosauridae posted a topic in Fossil Preparation
I decided that I had put it off for long enough, so recently I torn apart my work and rebuilt it at a proper working height. I also built a test blast box out of cardboard in order to better evaluate the usage with a boom-arm microscope. And lastly, my new Swift S7 microscope arrived! -
OK prep gurus, I come with a question. What is (or is there) a preferred height for the table top a blast-box sits on? My HF sandblasting cabinet has served me well for my micro abrasion preps, but the time has come that I need a single work station I can both scribe and blast in. I'm going to have to tear down my current work bench anyway to do this, and I think it is a little too high. So do you have a preference for the height?
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I've received a couple requests for more information/instructions on how my DIY dust collection system works so I decided to write this guide. First, a crude diagram to help understand how it works. The idea is for water to act as a filter before dust even gets to the shop vac filter. It keeps the filter almost entirely clean and prevents dust from prematurely killing the motor. It's also a lot easier to clean up as you just dump the dirty water. The setup is simple and as long as the general process goes like this it is fine but I'll walk through how I built my current system. I u
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My fossil prep has so far been limited to hand tools - brushes, needles in pin vises, sharp blades, and a rotary Dremel for sanding and polishing. I’ve been using the Dremel outside with an N95 mask and eye protection. I’d like to be able to work inside on rainy days and in the winter (I live in Iowa, so it gets pretty cold). Right now, to move inside, I would need some sort of cabinet to handle the dust I kick up from the Dremel. But thinking ahead, I’d like the cabinet to be able to handle air abrasives also. I’m deciding between making my own cabinet and buying one. I like the
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Hi after seeing a few posts on here for display stands @snolly50, I figured i would try my hand at it I went more steam punk industrial if thats a thing haha. Used a couple pieces of wood I found in the garage (spruce) stained it with a jacobean stain. Bought 1/4 round steel bar and bought a pipe bender of Amazon. For the bear paw I used a bit of metal wire aswell and furniture felt pads for the base :)....its not perfect but I'm happy with the result. I know the femur is off center im waiting for my wife's cricut machine to come it so I can make a label for it!
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I am making some wooden framed sifters with a diameter of about 16x14"- and am trying to decide if I want to mount handles to them. Do you like handles on your fossil sifters (for creek use)?
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Hello, I am not completely sure if this is the right thread to post this in, but some of you might find this helpful. Eat too many Pringles? Well why not reuse the cans? 1. Find a can, then cut it so that it is a few milimeters deeper than you want the container to be (about 0.5 cm deeper).
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Does anyone here use a trolling motor with their kayak while fossil-hunting? If so, how did you mount the motor to your yak? I have a "Lifetime" brand kayak with a flat back on it. They sell a metal bracket to mount a small motor that straps on to the back of the yak. Unfortunately, the bracket is almost $200 - about double the cost of the trolling motor I am considering. While I might be able to convince the wife that a $99 trolling motor (plus $50 battery) is necessary, I doubt I can push my luck and drop another $200 on a bracket that is basically $10 worth of stampe
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Found this video on Youtube, and thought it was pretty ingenious. I like the DIY blaster box idea, as well. Thought it might be an option for those of us who cannot break the bank to do our own fossil prep. This has given me some ideas to try out. Hope this helps someone out. Good luck!
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Hi, I've just struck up a new interest in fossils (thanks Thermopolis, WY!) and I want to share it with my nephews (6 of them!). I know the fossil sorting kits you buy don't have the most exciting of specimens (Ammonite, brachiopod, clam, coprolite, coral, crinoid stem, crinoid star, dinosaur bone, gastropod, orthoceras, petrified wood, sea urchin, shark teeth, stingray teeth, and fish vertebrae), but I thought it would be a fun start if I bought a pack of them to make some DIY dig kits. The recipe I found for it is 1 part plaster of paris, 1 part water, 2 parts sand, though I'm open to other
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I need to go back out to the bison site and sift for the feet bones and fragments and whatever else I may find. I looked on Amazon to see what they had, but they were ridiculously priced. This was one of the cheaper ones. It is 22 x 11 inches. Mine is 22 x 15 inches. I asked around about people who might have a screen. I determined I could build one for the cost of gas to go get it. I don’t watch DIY TV shows. I don’t watch TV unless it’s with my kids. Granted, it may not be fancy or pretty, but it will be functional. This
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I was wondering if anyone here has made any modifications to their kayaks with the purpose of fossil-hunting in mind? Having just received a new tandem kayak, I find it lacking in attachment points for gear. It has a good amount of cargo space, but most of it is inside the hull and only accessible through two, 6-inch ports. So, you can only put small-diameter objects into the hull storage. During my previous hunting trips on a single kayak, I always found myself a little short here or there on storage space for my gear : backpack, shovel, screen, probe/walking stick, machete, loot
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Hello... I have some cut ammonite fossils but they are not flat like the picks I see above (nice job!)...how can I grind it down? I tried a big ol' metal file, but it takes a long time just to get some dust off. Do I need to have it cut thinner? Is this something I can do? I want to make necklaces out of them...but... Any and all suggestions are welcomed! Thank you
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Hi everyone, So I made my first fossil hunting trip some time ago and was quite lucky to find a nice, almost pristine (well, sort of) condition ammonite. I want to make that into a necklace. What would be the best way to attach a loop for the necklace chain to go through? I am thinking of drilling a blind hole, sticking a "pin" in and then fill the hole up with some epoxy. Good idea? Note that it is quite small and I think it needs some kind of a polishing for it to shine, so any advice on getting it to look nice and bright are welcome too! Thank
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Didn't get out to the cliffs this weekend, so I decided to make a floating sifter. This one has 1/4 screen in it. I am going to make another one that has 1/8 screen, but I'll have a smaller 1/4 screen that fits over it along with a scoop that I can pour water over the larger screen. I think I will fashion some sort of strap on it so I can carry it on my back so that I can still surface collect until I get to a good sifting spot.
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Recently the DVD drive on my laptop stopped working, and I decided to disassemble it and recycle a little part in there. The little wheel that holds your disk in place and spins it around for the contents to be read is perfect for a rotating display to show off your fossils or minerals. Step 1. Glue something to the bottom as a base to increase height and stability. Step 2. Glue the end of a string to the wheel. Step 3. Put on a disk, bottom side up. Step 4. Spin the disk around so the string wraps around the wheel. To avoid the string being stuck
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I hope some of you find this interesting. Poverty is the mother of invention. Here's the poor man's abrasive blaster. COMPONENTS: Paasche Air Eraser Kit. ($84.00 from Micro-Mark) Campbell-Hausfield compressor. (~$100.00 from Harbor Freight.) Shop-Vac, 1.5 HP (~$25.00 from Home Depot) Table (.50 at yard sale) File Storage Box ($2.00 at Staples) Glass, 8x10", from an old picture frame (.25 at yard sale) Shopping bags (.04 at Shoprite....I believe that A&P's will also work) I may upgrade to a pair of socks sans toes in the future. Light ($15.0
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