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Showing results for tags 'prep'.
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This 2" claw arrived in the mail broken, unfortunately. The seller has offered to either refund me in full or give me a discount if I decide to repair it myself. In this case, what's my best option here? Regarding repair, is there a certain type of paleobond that would work best? I'm worried about the interior because it's basically that Moroccan sandy stuff and it's very unstable. I do currently have PB750 on hand.
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After rebuilding my prep station to accommodate working with my new microscope, the final part was to upgrade my air delivery with a super-sized desiccant filter. I was tired of changing out my desiccant beads 2 - 3 times a day during heavy use, so I made a DIY filter using a home water filter system. Now instead of using 4 ounces of beads, I have 4 pounds! That should finally give me a decent interval between changes.
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Finally able to upload the pics of the finished prep box! Shows the way it opens for loading, the LED light strips with power switch and pig-tail plug for my shopvac so it all comes on together. Also have a small mag lens for preps where I don't need the microscope level of zoom. Now I just have to finish redesigning the air supply. Also, I may have just won the lottery. Waiting to hear from the company for a shipping quote. --- Side note, the purchase price was $50.00! I think a mod edited the pic because it had a company name in the original screen grab.
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Here is a crab prep video I did last week. Not only had fun making the video but I remember having fun prepping this out. It was quite the challenge. 3 minutes 34 seconds. https://youtu.be/w6Sw-FdlIlQ
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How to make something for supporting my arm and something for supporting fossils for use while prepping?
fossilhunter21 posted a topic in General Fossil Discussion
Hey everyone! So I have heard from many people that it is good to have something to support your arm and something to support your fossils. And I just thought I would ask everyone how they made theirs, what they used, and maybe what they look like? Thank you in advance! -Micah -
What air scribes are compatible with the Paleo Aro 2.5" stylus?
Trilobite Enthusiast posted a topic in Fossil Preparation
I am new to fossil prep, so I figured that air scribe tips would be highly cross compatible. I recently bought two air scribes: one Chicago scribe and one Fossil Shack air scribe. Additionally, because I read it was good, I bought a Paleo Aro 2.5" stylus. It is very sharp, which is excellent, but when I tried to put in in either of my air scribes, it was too wide to fit through the head hole. Would I need to get a whole different air scribe to use the tip, or would I be able to attach a head from Paleotools to the Fossil Shack scribe I already have? -
I guess this is my first prep. It's nothing spectacular, but it's what I would consider my first official go at it. I specifically picked up this fossil in the field in order to try my hand at prep work. It's a single ventral/pedicle valve of the brachiopod Hebertella sp. I figured it would be something good to start with as it is small, a shape I am familiar with, and a fairly common find in the Upper Ordivician exposure that I have been hunting. So if I messed it up I wouldn't be too broken up about it. The matrix is brittle and flakes away easily. Before Photos: I had previously purchased a cheap engraver, but it was cheap for a reason, and it broke as I was trying it out, so I resorted to hand tools. I had a variety of dental picks and a heavy duty scratch awl that I used to prep this little guy. The scratch awl was used to remove the bulk of the matrix, but I switched over to dental picks as I got in close to the fossil. I also used a lighted magnifying lamp to help with the up close work. Some progression pictures as I worked to remove the matrix: This is the point at which I ran out of time and had to stop. It's not completely finished, but the bulk of the matrix has been removed. Overall, I think it went fairly well. Using the hand tools had a sense of familiarity to me as I used to hand carve wood a lot, and still do on occasion. I know this wasn't the grandest prep ever, but it did give me a feel for how prepping is done. I enjoyed it. It was relaxing and a bit therapeutic. I think the next logical step would be using air abrasion to clean up the plications. I have a cheap air abrasion tool that I can use, but I don't have a collection box so I would need to do it outdoors with a mask and plenty of ventilation. I'm curious if there is another option to air abrasion. I thought about using a rotary tool and various brushes, but I figured the brushes would polish away the valve. I wonder what they used "back in the day"? Anyway... Comments, suggestions, constructive criticism is welcome!
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I've been on a ghost shrimp claw kick lately, working through the concretions that I collected over Presidents Day weekend (February 21st for all you non-Americans). This one came out pretty nice! Species is Callianopsis clallamensis from Washington State. Prepped with a Dremel 290.
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What are some good fossils for practice with prep?
fossilhunter21 posted a topic in Fossil Preparation
Hey everyone! So I keep buying fossils that are not good for someone who does not have a lot of experience with prep. And I was just wondering what are some good fossils (and locations) for someone who does not have much experience? I am thinking that I should have asked a while ago, but I did not think about it until now. Thanks in advance! -Micah -
Hi, this is a bone block from port Mulgrave in Yorkshire, is the exposed bone Ichthyosaur, and if so is it identify able which part? My uneducated guess is rostrum or ribs. Is this fossil something that could prep ok?
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I am in the process of designing my new prepping blast box, and I decided to make a cardboard mockup. After the advise members gave in my last thread, I tore apart my work bench, and rebuilt it lower to accommodate a box. Since I am just about to pull the trigger on a boom microscope, I wanted to wait until I actually have it to make sure the working height, depth of field, etc are all going to work with the box before actually making it. I used @Malcolmt box design with a slight mod. The box is 24x20. I thought about making it larger, but I decided that was probably going to be overkill. Malcolms design calls for a 13" high box, but since I'm adding a microscope, I thought that might be too tall? The specs say the working height with a .5x barlow is 8 inches, so that is the height of this mockup. I spent a while trying to decide how I wanted it to open. I have seen top-open, front-open, and the entire box tilt up. My current thought was a half tilt hinge. My thinking was that if I have something flat and fragile, this lets me slide it in without possible obstructions, or dropping it as I try to put into the box. This design would also make cleanout a lot easier than something top-down. The vac port would be at the rear center, and I was thinking of drilling a hole (or 2) at the back, lower right side to pass the air scribe / air-abrasion handpieces in through. The 20 inch depth works well to leave room for both the vac hose as well for tilting the top up and back far enough that it should rest against the wall without fear of it falling. I dont know how big the microscope base will, or where the best positioning will be, so I'm not sure if I currently have enough room for it. Now, my unknowns and concerns. First, working space. Since it's 8 inches tall, that gives me just barely enough room for my CP9361 scribe on a very thin specimen. If the fossil is several inches tall, there is no way I could work on the top of it. This has me thinking of maybe leaving the bottom off the box, and having a booster-seat base that could go under it go adjust the height. My biggest concern there is one of stability without a solid base to the construction. Soooo, what am I missing? What am I overlooking or not considering? What are your thoughts on it in general?
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OK, I missed the Fossil Friday post by a day. The cold weather lately has kept me indoors and away from fossil exploration, so here is a partial prep of a partial ammonite from the Lake Texhoma Duck creek fm. Prepping something no true separation of "fossil" and matrix is quite challenging, especially considering how well they can, at times, weather out and become separated naturally. The matrix seems to be getting harder to separate as I move toward smaller sections. I can make out that this does have the inner whorls , so I dont want to blow them out. This has really slowed me down on this prep. It seems like my larger scribe (with a blunter tip) is doing better at removing the matrix than my smaller CP9160 which is a lot more prone to just piercing through.
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Hey everyone! So recently I purchased some unprepared Moroccan trilobites. I am having a very hard time preparing them and am making a lot of mistakes. And I was just wondering if these maybe are not the best for practice for a beginner, or is it just me? Thanks, @fossilhunter21
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Need dust collection but don’t want to spend a ton on a <3 micron collector? Here’s what you need. The water trap collector. The parts are... 1 -2 1/2” shop vac hose 2 -1 1/2” to 1 1/4” threaded adapters 1 -1 1/2” threaded coupling 1 -1 1/2” threaded 90 short piece of 1 1/4” pvc pipe 1 -5 gallon bucket 1 -5 gallon bucket lid 2 -2” hose clamp couplings
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I took a break from working in contract preps last night and spent an hour with the Super Jack attacking the crab that I got from @Doctor Mud. This far, the crab doesn’t appear to be sticky or covered in calcite.
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Hello gang! With a repaired ticker, a solid bill of health and a finally completed off road capable vehicle; I am starting the planning for my annual July “super excursion”. As I purchase supplies and provisions I am planning to add various PaleoBond products to the mix. I’m looking for anecdotal information on the stability and shelf life of these products beyond what is in the documentation, this will help me determine what sizes/volumes I will buy. Discussion?
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Hi everyone, I need some help regarding my first preperation work. It's a Cuban Meg tooth in limestone. What is the best way to get the limestone off?
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@Nanotyrannus35 just sent me a handful of Lance Formation bone fragments to prep. They were mostly turtle shell and we’re pretty fragile in the loosely consolidated Lance Sandstone. A bit of time under the microscope with the micro jack and some low pressure abrasive worked wonders on the bones. They got a healthy dose of Paraloid B72 stabilizer and are headed back to their home today. Some before and after pics are below.
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Found on my last trip to the Marble Mountains Latham Shale. I found this when just a little bit was sticking out of the hillside surface. Took me most of a day to extract. As you can see, it didn't as they say "come quietly" I used a couple little tubes of super glue to hold it together as much as possible before extracting it but it still came out in more then a few pieces I spent about a week getting it back together as much as possible (I mean really, who doesn't have some bolts and screws left over when putting their car back together ) I have a lot more advanced prep to look forward to (scribe and abrasion). That will be much further down the road as I'm just getting that set up going and will be a long time before I'm going to be comfortable enough to tackle something like this. Mostly what is found are a few scattered cephalons and a rare complete trilobite once in a while. This slab happens to contain 31 cephalons (from partials, partially buried and complete) and 1 partially buried complete. Plus 1 I have no idea? When I get better photos of that I'll post for ID help. So, the photos follow the order from in-situ find to finished. I finished it as 2 large parts instead of 1 bigger piece. A little extra item in the upper right corner.... my Secret Santa gift waiting for me to open on Christmas Eve Here is the 1 partially buried complete. I think it's an upside down Olenellus clarki This was the most repair by far I've ever had to do. Now, in the distant future I'll start the harder prep to finish it off
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On our last fieldtrip to France this weekend we found a chalk-boulder with a quite large ammonite in it. The chalk was realy hard, but I was able to reduce it in size to take it back home. At the start of the prep with chislle and hammer I got a lucky split where the boulder opened to reveal most of the ammonite. The airscribe then did a quick job to remove the last bits. Sadly the center of the ammonite wasn't preserved, I tried to sculpt the center as well as I could and coloured it to match the fossil. As for the determination we had a little doubt between Cunningtoniceras inerme and Acanthoceras rothomagense as both species can look a lot alike and this specimen was slightly deformed in the chalk whitch made determination a bit harder, but most of the sings point towards A. rhotomagense .( the whorls here being higher than wide ) As found: the end result: A. rhotomagense mid. Cenomanian Cap-Blanc-Nez ( France )
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Hi everyone, I went fossil hunting on the Yorkshire Coast a few days ago and picked up plenty of Dactylioceras ammos but not much else. Among them are these two which both cracked after an exploratory 'tap' with the hammer. I have never glued broken ammonites together for prep before but have seen it spoken about a lot. I have a few questions about how to approach this. Firstly, do you think these specimens are viable? The other issue is that I only have a Dremel to prep with so even if I glue them back together there will be an awful lot of matrix to remove.. Where do you apply the glue? On the whole surface of the broken fragment including the matrix, or just the fossil? Is there anything to look out for when prepping a glued ammonite? Which side of the ammonite should I prep from once glued? For the smaller ammonite, most of the specimen is on the smaller half of the rock, so obviously I would rather prep from that side in, but would going from the other side be preferable? I'm not sure I've made much sense here so please tell me if I've just spouted some nonsense! Ammo 1 Ammo 2
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I have recently recived a fossil fish (Probably a knightia) from the Green River formation. I am inexperienced with these fossils and have no idea how to prepare them. If someone could give me advice it would be greatly appreciated. The Fossil Outline My tools (The tool on the left is an electric engraver with air scribe tips, I have 2 fine tips and 1 chisel tip)
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Whilst walking on sheppey yesterday I found a good size crocodile vert in a phosphatic nodule. I'd love for it to be prepped professionally, I don't think me trying with hand tools and limited know how will end well. It is one of my first larger finds so I'd love for it to look as nice as possible. Are there any preparators or prep services you would recommend for sheppey fossils that may work with this? I understand this will not be the most aesthetic or easy prep job, as is often the case for sheppey finds, but it means alot to me. The nodule is a bit worn, but soft enough to scrape matrix with a finger nail in some areas, and hard in others.
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Hi all. I found this piece today in Withernsea, Yorkshire. I have a Dremel and I've made a start on prepping it but I'm scared of damaging hidden ammonites. Any suggestions? Also, what type of ammonites are they? Thanks for any advice.
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I got this egg for free from the chap I get my China fossils from. Not the best shape, but for free, who is complaining? Now, is there any way to spruce it up a bit? Clean it etc so it looks nicer without further damaging it? Thanka
