Ludwigia Posted February 15, 2020 Share Posted February 15, 2020 I'm almost done with prepping this huge Procerites on commission and I figured I'd just show this as an example of how long it sometimes takes to get one of these whoppers finished. It has a diameter of 35cm. (14 inches). I've already been working almost 17 hours on it and still have some filling and modelling to do. This came to me in 2 pieces which had been removed from 2 neighboring blocks with a thin layer of calcite which had seeped into the tectonic spalt between the two. There was also a small piece of the puzzle missing which couldn't be extracted, which is why I still have some modelling ahead of me. I had worked almost 4 hours removing matrix from the larger piece with the rough stylus before I took the first photo. Then I started abrading. The matrix was pretty tough, so I was blowing up to 80psi. And to make things more complicated, it was covered with tightly sitting epizoans, particularly oysters, which loved to colonize these things after they had hit the dust, so I had to spend some extra time blasting the parts away which I couldn't remove with the stylus, otherwise the ammonite shell would have been damaged. Next photo after another 2 hours or so. Another hour and a half with the abrader: And yet another hour and a half. I had to do some more stylus work around the back here as well. And finally another 2 hours to get it more or less done. So now we're already up to 11 hours. 6 Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger http://www.steinkern.de/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ludwigia Posted February 15, 2020 Author Share Posted February 15, 2020 Then I started in with the stylus on the smaller piece. I also had already spent an hour and a half removing some matrix before I took the first photo. Then another 2 hours of scribing. This time I managed to club away a good portion of matrix with my good old Estwing hammer on the way once I had it to the point where I trusted myself to do that, so I saved a bit of time there. Here it is after another couple of hours of abrading. And here are the two pieces glued together. I used a good epoxy to do that and am letting it set overnight. I should be able to find the time tomorrow to fill in the gaps, paint and finish it, so I'll show you the final result once it's done. 9 Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger http://www.steinkern.de/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caldigger Posted February 15, 2020 Share Posted February 15, 2020 Good job so far! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ludwigia Posted February 15, 2020 Author Share Posted February 15, 2020 4 minutes ago, caldigger said: Good job so far! Thanks Doren. Now it's time for me to settle down to a good book. Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger http://www.steinkern.de/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tidgy's Dad Posted February 16, 2020 Share Posted February 16, 2020 Lots of work to get to this stage! But I know you, Roger, and am quite certain the result will be well worth the time and effort. Life's Good! Tortoise Friend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FossilNerd Posted February 16, 2020 Share Posted February 16, 2020 A lot of hours in this one, but it’s coming along nicely! The good thing about science is that it's true whether or not you believe in it. -Neil deGrasse Tyson Everyone you will ever meet knows something you don't. -Bill Nye (The Science Guy) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ludwigia Posted February 16, 2020 Author Share Posted February 16, 2020 8 hours ago, Tidgy's Dad said: Lots of work to get to this stage! But I know you, Roger, and am quite certain the result will be well worth the time and effort. 7 hours ago, FossilNerd said: A lot of hours in this one, but it’s coming along nicely! Thanks guys. I'm just about to go into the workshop, so I'll be coming back here later. Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger http://www.steinkern.de/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RuMert Posted February 16, 2020 Share Posted February 16, 2020 Impressive job! My sites & reports Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shamalama Posted February 16, 2020 Share Posted February 16, 2020 Too bad about the missing corner. From the pictures above, it looked like it was there. Great job so far on the prep and restoration! -Dave __________________________________________________ Geologists on the whole are inconsistent drivers. When a roadcut presents itself, they tend to lurch and weave. To them, the roadcut is a portal, a fragment of a regional story, a proscenium arch that leads their imaginations into the earth and through the surrounding terrain. - John McPheeIf I'm going to drive safely, I can't do geology. - John McPheeCheck out my Blog for more fossils I've found: http://viewsofthemahantango.blogspot.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ludwigia Posted February 16, 2020 Author Share Posted February 16, 2020 3 hours ago, RuMert said: Impressive job! Thanks. 42 minutes ago, Shamalama said: Too bad about the missing corner. From the pictures above, it looked like it was there. Great job so far on the prep and restoration! Yes it was, but apparently impossible to extract from yet another block in the wall without breaking it into smithereens, so he left it alone. Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger http://www.steinkern.de/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ludwigia Posted February 16, 2020 Author Share Posted February 16, 2020 So, in the end this work took a good 20 hours to complete. The first pic below shows the ammonite after I had built it up and applied stonemeal to the putty. And the last one shows the end result after brushing off the excess stonemeal, painting and an application of Rember. The color isn't quite right, but I think if you didn't know it, you probably wouldn't notice. Procerites hodsoni, 35cm. diameter Late Bathonian Middle Jurassic Wutach Valley Germany 8 Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger http://www.steinkern.de/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FossilDAWG Posted February 16, 2020 Share Posted February 16, 2020 I think it looks great! . I also think it is more authentic to be able to distinguish the filled-in part. Don Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ptychodus04 Posted February 16, 2020 Share Posted February 16, 2020 Well done Roger. Regards, Kris Global Paleo Services, LLC https://globalpaleoservices.com http://instagram.com/globalpaleoservices http://instagram.com/kris.howe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grandpa Posted February 16, 2020 Share Posted February 16, 2020 Simply fascinating, Roger. I'm in awe of your skills. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ludwigia Posted February 16, 2020 Author Share Posted February 16, 2020 4 hours ago, FossilDAWG said: I think it looks great! . I also think it is more authentic to be able to distinguish the filled-in part. Don 49 minutes ago, Ptychodus04 said: Well done Roger. 44 minutes ago, grandpa said: Simply fascinating, Roger. I'm in awe of your skills. Thank you gentlemen Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger http://www.steinkern.de/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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