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Showing results for tags 'splitting'.
Found 9 results
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Unclean Split - I now need to a very fine split to piece together the full fossil.
fossil_fun posted a topic in Fossil Preparation
Hello, I recently found a fully articulated fossil after splitting Altamira shale. However, the break was not even. I now have the fossil in two pieces and want to put them together. However, the bottom portion is not fully exposed but very thin. I need to split it in order to have the fully exposed fossil, but am worried that it will just break into a million pieces if I try. As you can see from the picture, I need the small rock to fully split along the fossil line. Any recommendations on how to approach this?
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In Pennsylvania USA, in the Old Port Formation, some trilobites are exposed in the scree and talus below coarse sandstone horizons. They tend to be very fragile (image below). My question is..... what's the best way to open large hunks of this rock, hoping for intact fossils within? I'm thinking about trying freeze thaw, but opted to check in here for alternatives or helpful tips. Anyone? Thanks!
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I found a large carboniferous sandstone boulder in a hard to access reclaimed coal mine area. The boulder is buried so that only the top is exposed. Part of the top bedding planes are gone, revealing very nice lycopod rootlets lined up like airliners at a busy terminal. I suspect the main root is in there too, waiting for careful prep work at home. The only way to collect it is to split off as large of a slab as I can handle, and pack it out on my back. Fortunately the specific spot is level and stable and I can lash anything to a pack frame securely. I'm posting to ask for advice on in-the-field large slab splitting. I've never tried to retrieve such a large sample, much less on foot. I think I'll have to trench around the boulder to expose the sides and make working room. Then I either have the choice of hammer and chisel or packing along a battery powered drill and some splitting wedges. And one or two strong friends! Can anyone offer advice or help me ask the right questions? Thanks!
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Sorry if this isn't the right subforum, I'm a newbie to this forum and fossil hunting. I picked up a couple pieces of shale in the Mount Carmel, PA coal mine dump (would recommend; there's a thread with a picture of the location here and any given rock you pick up off the ground will likely contain fossils) a little while back and am finally getting around to splitting them. What's the best way to do so without damaging/splitting the surface? The one in the linked pic has distinct layers but is still quite cohesive(?), and the other doesn't have nearly as distinguished layers, but I'm not as concerned about ruining the surface. Both seem like they will be far more difficult to split than typical flaky shale. Sorry if a similar question has been asked before!
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Hello, I just found this forum a couple days ago and have been reading it every moment that I have not been working. I have one question that I can’t seem to find any info on anywhere online even though it’s a very basic beginner question. So... how do you select rocks to try to split open? I know to look for certain types of rock like limestone and shale but when looking over a pile of dozens of suitable rocks but none have anything obvious in them do you just start splitting at random and hope to win the lottery? Or is there certain indications that you look for that say that there may be a fossil deep inside this rock? 2nd question, If possible could somebody give me a basic rundown of what’s going on in this forum, I apologize if I’m posting this in the wrong place or if my atrocious spelling and grammar is a problem but if anyone could give me a little time and set me straight I would greatly appreciate it.
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The other day I posted trilobite pics in this ID page thread I just used a beat up drywall saw to cut the section with the trilo out of the slab, then tried to "split" the whacked at the rest of it hoping for more. The siltstone (noncalcareous dolomite maybe?) was so soft it just crumbled. I tried tapping around the edges, which just sort of mashed in, and also tried a chisel, which just took off crumbly flakes (and I wish that was as easy when I try to nap flint). I knew if I found another specimen I'd destroy it trying to get at it, but went for it anyway as a technique-learning excercise. No joy, lots of bits and pieces but no bits and pieces of trilobites Today I collected more of what I THINK is the same material. Before I make a mess of this too, I thought to ask you experts here..... how do you hunt fossils in slabs of really soft crumbly rock? Thanks!
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I found this unusually shaped lump of pyrite in Charmouth UK (Jurassic) and am wondering what it will look like inside. Here is the lump in question: I recently split the below lump, found in Folkestone UK (Albian), And this is what it looked like inside: Will I get a similar result with the new lump as with the old one or would twatting it with a hammer be a waste of my time?
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As spring approaches, I'm preparing my shopping list for new tools to integrate into the fossil kit. Among one of the tools I'll be trying will be the use of a steel wedge for shale slab removal as opposed to my usual practice of using chisels, 4lb sledge, and pry bars (does anyone else get as excited as I do going tool shopping?). I have been looking at wedges, particularly an Estwing one that has two sections that flare out. All the wedges are listed for log splitting, but I remember seeing one collector at Penn Dixie use a wedge to remove slabs to some good effect. What I was thinking was to couple a nice sturdy wedge with a long-handled 12lb sledge to effectively "play croquet" with the shale slabs. I'm just wondering if anyone else has some advice and experience using steel wedges, and if there is an "ideal" type I should be looking for.
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I don't have much experience with splitting rocks (just about zero), but I got this nice trilobite in the mail recently. Looking at it, there are some negatives in other layers, so I am wondering what my odds of finding more inside the rock would be. It is fairly thick, but I don't want to damage the big one. Do you think it is a good idea to split it more, or should it be left alone? Is I were to split it, what is the safest way to go about it?
