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Ok, after reading some topics here I figured posting a few photos of the trilobite preparation progress would be a good way to start and maybe help educate new bug collectors and others interested in trilobites. Maybe even help a bit with questions like "is this trilobite real?"... I am sure a lot of you have already posted many topics like this in the past and I know there are many more experienced collectors and prepers around here, which can maybe contribute? It`s good that we can learn from each other this way. I recognize some familiar nicks here on this forum also, some of which I am familiar with their work already from other media, my respect and cudos to all! Anyway... Fossils are found in different rocks (matrix), from very hard Moroccan or Scandinavian matrix to soft shale typical for some localities in USA. Each matrix and different factors mostly demand a different preparation approach, but what all bugs have in common is how they are found - by spliting and breaking rocks! A lot of hard work in that process alone, so each bug deserves respect simply for that fact! Usually trilobites are found in two or more parts of the rock, since mostly the only way to find one is to break the rock! All the parts are then attached and carefully preped... Some are easy to prep (not as easy as one would think though, takes some preping experience and special equipment/tools), other are difficult and take some skills. Another thing almost all fossils have in common is - careful preparation work takes a lot of time. Not a rule however, a simple example, Eldredgeops rana from NY in soft shale can be cleaned (sandblasted) in a matter of minutes, while a similar species from Morocco in medium hard matrix will take many hours of careful cleaning, hard matrix and delicate spiny species even more... Rare spiny species in hard matrix are delicate to prep, even preserving most details on simple common species in not simple. Time consuming task! Among factors as size, rarity, species, color, location, these are all price factors! Was reading some comments about high asking prices of moroccan fossils in the western market... A rip off? Many years ago, when I started collecting and I didn`t know anything about fossils, trilobites or how they are found and preped, my toughts about pricing were similar: why are nice looking trilobites so expensive? Now I have years of experience preping fossils and still learning and it is my opinion that most decent preped moroccan bugs comming from Morocco are cheap! Especially compared to US or Russian material. That is a good thing for collectors, but when you are talking about a butchered specimen for 10$ or 50$ and advertise it as a good deal, top rate specimen for pennies, to help you from being ripped off and compare it to a 100$+ or 1000$ (in case of rare spiny species) carefully preped specimen, consider all the differences, time and skills involved... Or perhaps try to prep one yourself and then sell it for 10$? If you prep trilobites yourself and buy unpreped specimens you already know that unpreped trilobites are not cheap, mostly cost more or about the same as rough and butchered specimens, depending on the species, size, locality etc. If you fossilhunt, prep and sell yourself you will probably understand what I mean with preparation time is underrated. Ok, enough rant... Step by step for complete newbies also: In Morocco trilobites are found in remote couches where many layers are commercially excavated for trilobites and the location can only be reached using an ATV. If you have any experience collecting in the field, you can imagine digging and splitting numerous rocks and detecting a cross section of a promising specimen among other remains and fragments is not easy! Sometimes in the heat! Hats off to moroccan collectors, some are true experts for finding and preping these tiny prehistoric creatures! With some experience you can tell and ID the species hidding in the matrix just by looking at the cross section, matrix type and details shown in the break... When preparation beigns the point is to remove bits of matrix without damaging the body/exoskeleton hidden in matrix. Process which is normally done with an air scribe and needles. And in case of carefull preping quite slow. Then gluing pieces back together like a jigsaw, more needle work etc. There is no polishing, drilling or grinding involved! Powered by compressed air an air-scribe operates like a miniature jackhammer, chipping through the rock that covers the fossils. Too much force or a simple mistake and parts of fossil chip away too. When the matrix is thinned sufficiently, the air scribe’s impacts often cause the last layers of rock to pop off the fossils, unless the matrix is sticky and extreme care is needed removing the last micrometers of matrix. Air-scribes of "different sizes" can be used for different jobs, different stone hardness, preservation... Mostly you have to move in close to get separation between the fossil and matrix, especially if the matrix is sticky or softer. Hard to give an exact estimate of the distance (everything looks larger under the bino, even mistakes), but mostly that means working tenth and hundredths of a millimeter away from the trilobite and removing matrix bit by bit. It involves a lot of time and patience... Sandblasting should make this procces a little faster, but also damage or remove some detials from the bug. I work with scribes only, so all the specimens presented here were preped with needles. Air-scribes only... For more delicate structures, such as long fragile 3D preped spines a sandblaster unit is recommended, still on my wishlist atm... Some photo progress, with photos speaking about the process involved for themself below. Devonian (Pragian) Moroccan trilobite Leonaspis sp. prep progress: