Search the Community
Showing results for tags 'preparation'.
-
Hello all, With the start of this month I have gotten back to doing some fossil prep. I am still very much learning but I am happy with how this one turned out. It's a Callianopsis clalamenis nodule from the Pysht formation of Washington State which I found this past January that preserves two sets of feeding and defensive claws as well as some disarticulated shell material. This prep was fun and I am excited to try another shrimp, they are a welcome break from working with very hard pyrite nodules from Yorkshire. Before prep: After about half an hour with the scribe, the first two claws are showing: After about an hour and a half: Finished. . . for now, until I smooth the matrix: I hope you enjoyed, Benton
- 5 replies
-
- 9
-
-
- callianassid
- callianopsis
- (and 5 more)
-
[Lyme Regis, UK] What's this and how to prep? UPDATED: reverse side of specimen
Omono posted a topic in Fossil Preparation
Hi all! I've just found this curious stone on the Lyme Regis beach, during a low tide, between some other rocks. I was trying to crack it open but I had to stop as it looked to be containing something more delicate. I'm sorry for the poor quality of the photos. It has a thin layer of grey stone on the top part, and underneath it there is a golden patina that reflects the light mixed with a brownish sort of varnish (similar to when fossilised bones are prepped, that sort of texture). It has a circle of a different colour on one of the shorter side that reminds me of a sectioned bone or similar. Now, do you think is worth to prep this stone? Is it even a fossilised something? If so, how would you prep this? Many thanks, I know this is a tricky one... at least for me. Cheers.
-
Hello all, Me and my friend would like to start practicing chemical preparation. Neither of us have done that before. We were mainly wondering what types of commercially available fossils are fit to practice this on? I know of limestone fossils like Keichousaurus, but that seems quite expensive for a first try. Neither of us lives close enough to a fossil location to reallistically obtain this way. So I tried to make a list of items that are not too hard to find unprepared. My friend has quite a bit of experience with working with chemicals, but doesn't know what chemicals would work with what rocks. It has also never been my strong side. Do you think chemical preparation would work on any of these fossils? -Schlaifhausen ammonites blocks -Khouribga fossils (don't think I've ever seen chemical preparation on this) -Spirifers from Barvaux, Belgium (been here a couple of times so have quite a few of those) Would love to hear more suggestions if anyone has any? We do not have the room to afford the other tools for mechanical prep, hence why we want to try it this way.
-
Hello, forgive me if this question has already been answered. I found dozens of crinoids this last fall. They look great when wet, but when they dry they're dull and dirty looking. I've tried soaking them in soapy water and scrubbing with a toothbrush, but nothing spruces them up. I've also tried using vinegar given that the limestone doesn't fizzle, but it destroys the crinoid. Is there anything I can do to brighten or clean these things? The last two pictures are the crinoids when wet and the first is dry. Thanks for the help.
-
Fossil preparation / enhancement with the help of heat
FranzBernhard posted a topic in Fossil Preparation
I would like to ask if anyone has experience with fossil preparation with the help of heat. My question is triggered by that topic: Authenticating quartz (?) Keichousaurus? - Is It Real? How to Recognize Fossil Fabrications - The Fossil Forum My hypothesis is, that this specimen was baked (as a whole or only superficially, with a blow torch, for example, possibly several times) to promote flaking off of the matrix. Could this be correct? Another question: Some time ago, a baked crinoidal limestone was shown here on TFF (with color turned from a somewhat uniform gray to white-reddish), I can not find the topic again. Anybody else able to find it or able to point to a similar item? Thank you! Franz Bernhard -
Hi all! Could you please share your experience with using hydrogen peroxide for disintegrating regular clay? Looking to find small, but not tiny fossils - teeth, gastropods and such - not smaller than a couple mm, most likely 3-10mm. What % would I need? Here we can buy any from 3 to 37%. Which will be enough? Which will be safe to use at home? Should I just plunge clay into peroxide and if so, for how long? How small should the chunks be? Anything I should be aware of? Thanks in advance!
-
Real keichousaurus? Quality of preparation? Complete?
mr.rod posted a topic in Is It Real? How to Recognize Fossil Fabrications
Hello all, I'm interested in these keichousaurus brothers. The seller has reserved the matrix for me, and I would love to understand some things before I buy. Better first ask to avoid bad surprises later ;-) Hope some of the experts here can support me. My questions are Is it an original/authentic fossil and not a replica? Guess it is original ;-) The quality of preparation seems to be below average? What is this untypical light-grey cloud around the right brother? Cheap prep? It looks a bit flat to me, not really 3d-look bones, is this from erosion? Is it complete or can you see any enhancement, paint or retouch been made? Thanks a lot everyone in advance. mr.rod
-
Hi Fossils Preparation Fans, Last week I received 1900kg of unprepared dinosaur bones in plaster jackets. Now my neigborhood thinks I lost my mind and I received a lot of eye-rolling from my wife. However, my two sons (7y and 2.5y old dino fans) and myself think it was an excellent idea to acquire the material. The fossils have been collected in the upper layers of the Morisson Formation. Location: Moffat County, Colorado As always when buying unprepared dinosaur bones you do not really know what you get. However, it seems that most material is Apatosaurus (or some other Diplodicoidea) with some small pieces which are likely Allosaurus. I will know more after I started preparing the material. The bone quality and completeness of the bones is ranging from very good to poor according to the seller (what that means I will find out soon). Anyway, this will keep me busy for one or two years. If there is interest I will post a picture once in a while.
- 131 replies
-
- 19
-
-
-
- allosaurus
- apatosaurus
- (and 3 more)
-
I need your help to make a new tool for paleontology
Daniel Fischer posted a topic in General Fossil Discussion
Hello, I haven't been here for a long time so first of all, I want to say that it feels good to be back! I am a student in 11th grade and the pressures of school got my mind off of paleontology lately. But now came the opportunity I have been waiting for, I am learning in a class where we learn electricity, programming and biology. As part of our studying, we need to design and create a machine that solves a problem in the world. I would really like to make something in the filed of paleontology. But the first step is finding a suitable problem and research. So I am here to ask you what problems do you have in the field of paleontology? I was thinking that maybe I can find a way to make a more efficient tool for Fossil prep or for getting fossils from the filed to the lab safely. Obviously I can't solve problems like these entirely but maybe I can help a little bit. So please let me know any ides you have for me! By the way sorry if this isn't the right topic to share this post, I really wasn't sure where to post this. -
I have my own little fossil prep lab in my home (hubby let me convert one of our spare rooms into my own prep lab find someone who loves you as much as you love fossils and dirt!) with the compressor out in the garage. It's a 50L tank (approx. 13.2 gallons) and is a belt drive, which is slightly quieter than direct drive and cycles every 5-10min. I'm wanting to upgrade to possibly a 100L tank so there are less cycles, but also looking at the compressors that come with a "silent" motor. One of our dogs has weirdly become afraid of the compressor when it turns on (but to be fair, she's also afraid of the wind but loves the vacuum cleaner ) so I was looking at one. I was just wondering what others out there have done with regards to reducing the noise? If anyone out there is using the supposedly "silent" compressor, how do they compare? I have had a look on Google but of course, no one knows compressors like preparators
-
I was inspired by another WR post and thought I'd share what I was working on today. I had a small rock with a sliver of rostrum showing (white bone). Poked at it a bit with a microjack and it just kept going. All scope work so far. Was hoping for a cranium but no such luck. No nasals either. Now I'm trying to decide how it should display and how I was to expose the cheek teeth. Here it is sitting flat. And I'm thinking I will stand it on edge for display, like so. Will have to remove the matrix on top and prep out the cheek teeth to identify. My initial guess is Paradjidaumo though based on the short incisors and size.
- 15 replies
-
- 5
-
-
- oligocene
- preparation
- (and 2 more)
-
Hello! I am brand new to fossils but fell for the Keichousaurus. After combing through old Fossil Forum posts on different prep methods, I’ve been on the hunt for a nicely prepared specimen. I found this one from a friendly, reputable seller and the prep looks great compared to everything else I can find online. However I’m looking for a dorsal specimen ideally, and this one is not exactly cheap. How hard will it be to match this prep quality in a dorsal specimen? Are we talking years of looking for a similarly nice piece or do they pop up fairly regularly?
-
Looking for Prep Help! Large Cambrian Trilobite Cephalon from Massachusetts
Bguild posted a topic in Fossil Preparation
Hi Everyone, Over the summer I went searching for remnants of the elusive Cambrian trilobites from Massachuetts. The quarry these came from was destroyed back in the 1940s and new material is largely non-existant, but I may have found a Paradoxides cephalon. The tricky part being that when I split the piece of argillite, portions of the fossil were split between the two halves of the rock and the fossil could benefit from some prep work in general to make it more apparent. I lack both the prep skills and tools to take this one on and am wondering if anyone would be willing to glue the halves together and prep this mystery fossil out for me! I'd of course pay the going hourly rate for such work. Here's a link to the topic sbout IDing this mystery fossil and some pictures of the two halves of rock. While I had been talking with curator of invert paleontology over at Harvard about IDing this one, we aren't 100% sure it's a Paradoxides cephalon without the fossil being cleaned/preped, but are definitely leaning that way. Although not a complete specimen and one that will likely cost more to prep than it's worth, if it is a piece of these elusive trilobites it would be quite sentimental to me . Thanks for taking a look! Best, Barret -
Some days ago we saw on the website from Paleobond the Paleosculp kit colors. Fantastic! This is what we are looking for since, hm, end of the dinos perhaps. At the moment we use Apoxy scult, wonderful but has only 2 colors... What is you experience with Paleosculp kit colors? Does is really work to get the right color when mixing? Is it possible to mix it with more colors (acrylic or other?´) As we are not in the US we have to order and no european offers it. Before ordering I would be sure to get the right thing thanks for your input and responds
-
Keichou - a technical question
Ezio Bonsignore posted a topic in Is It Real? How to Recognize Fossil Fabrications
This question should probably go on the general discussion, but I post it here on the chance that the answer might point at some form of fakety. I am intrigued by this K. being offered fo sale. How was it prepared? To my untrained eye, there seem to be no signs of tools. Judging by the areas surrounding the fossile, it would appear that some kind of acid (?) has been used, thar corroded the stone matrix away while leaving the bones intact (?!?) Is something like that possibile?
-
I've been collecting casually for about 40 years in the UK, mostly on the Yorkshire coast and have built quite a collection of, what I think, are reasonable ammonites and other fossils, some of which can be seen in IMGP3195 below. I have either found these already split or been able to split them quite easily with just a hammer and chisel. But I have also amassed a large number of unprepared part eroded nodules which I am unsure how to split or prepare as seen in IMGP3197. Wondered if anyone can suggest how to go about uncovering these ammonites without damaging them in the process. I have a good collection of general tools but no specialist fossil preparation equipment. Thanks in advance.
-
Some weeks ago I went "digging" to a huge fair in France. You never know what you´ll find, so I was happy to get a biiiiiig Stylemis from the badlands. Approx. 45 cm long, its the second biggest we ever had. But, the conditon... eroded, but the turtle-shell is great. So, we decided to buy and prepare. Takes longer than expected, just working on it and hope to finish before Christmas... Lets start with some pics, I add new ones when I went on with preparation..., enjoy first pic was done at the fair, first steps are: cleaning, cleaning, cleaning... and remount / glue
- 23 replies
-
- 11
-
-
- badlands
- preparation
- (and 1 more)
-
Goodmorning, last month I went to Solnhofen for my last fossil trip of the year in Germany. I found a lot of fossils (ammonites, coprolites, fish, worms...) and now I'm preparing the specimens. I have basic tools, a Dremel 290, needles, awls. I prepare all of these fossils with succes, but a big coprolite is still covered buy a tiny layer of matrix, that I can't remove with my actual tools. It's possible to effectively remove the matrix left with acid? Tomorrow I will post a photo of the fossil. Thanks.
-
Howdy! I found dozens of crinoid stems recently and most of them seem to have a thin layer of matrix attached. They were found in limestone, but I don't even know what mineral they've been fossilized in...calcite? Would I be able to remove the matrix with sandpaper and perhaps even polish them? Would sanding them remove visible segmentations? All help is appreciated, thank you.
-
After a loooong long time I've got a new piece to prepare! I recently recieve this beautiful Hyaenodon canine from Saint hyppolite de Caton (an upper Eocene locality). Many of you would prefer to leve the tooth in the matrix but I'm just to curious to extract it a see how is preserved on the other side but also because this is rock is super rich of fossils and I want to see if I can find anything else.
-
Good Morning. I am looking for a quiet compressor that allows me to use in a residential area. Preferably I would like to visit a shop. Does any one have any advice. I have the equipment to go with it. Thanks, Sue
-
The first (and only- for now) Oreodont skull I prepped was in remarkably good condition and required virtually no reconstruction, just a thorough and careful cleaning + a little stabilizing. Afterwards I was looking for a good way to display this little skull in a manner where it wouldn't just be sitting on a flat surface. I'm not great at bending metal to create an elevated cradle so I came up with this: I laid a sheet of plastic wrap on the underside of the skull and gently pressed Apoxie sculpt on top of the plastic so it molded to the contours of the skull. I then pressed a metal rod bent in two 90 degree angles into the Apoxie making sure it was straight. After setting for a little while- still soft enough to pull it away from the skull without getting stuck, but firm enough to hold its shape- I pulled the mold out and allowed it to dry. Once fully hardened I lightly sanded to smooth out some of the rougher contours and reduce the overall size so it wouldn't be as visible with the skull resting on it. A bit of tweaking here and there and I got it so that the skull could gently 'clip' in and out of the mold. Attached are a couple shots of the original piece with matrix, and the finished fossil and stand. I am really happy with the end result and plan on using this in the future- I hope you find it interesting and useful as well!
- 8 replies
-
- 7
-
-
-
- display
- fossil prep
- (and 7 more)
-
Hello again, I have recently ordered some bits from ZoicPaleotech for my dremel 290 engraver. I've had quite a lot of practice with the normal bit the dremel comes with ( as I am waiting for the proper bits to arrive). I would love to buy some unprepared fossils from the forum in the future. I've practiced on some soft shale matrix containing trilobites, and I found it quite easy, and very satisfying because the rock pops off the fossil easily. Do you guys have any suggestions on fossils to prepare in order to help me grow more accustomed to preparation?
-
Hi all! Thought I would start documenting my trilobite preps. Here is #1, a Calymene breviceps from the Waldron shale, Indiana, and my first real prep. This is about 15 hours using hand tools primarily and a dremel for clearing some of the original matrix. My fingertips are sore, but lots of fun was had! Very exciting to see this feller reemerge after 400,000,000 years! Now to track down some other unprepared trilobites…. Trickier part of the operation…
- 9 replies
-
- 10
-
-
- dremel
- hand tools
- (and 3 more)
-
Alright fossil preppers, show us what you're working on! I've been working on prepping this Priscacara for about 6 months on and off with a pin vice.
- 22 replies
-
- 3
-
-
- fossil
- preparation
- (and 2 more)
