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Fossil preparation repair restoration dinosaur albertosaurus tooth


Dinobot

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Hi there I recently purchased a Albertasaurus tooth.  A portion is in a matrix and there are some broken off pieces.  This would be my first attempt a putting a fossil back together.  If you could provide any input on 1. if it would devalue it by doing it, 2. how I should do it, 3. and what tools or glue or putty I should use.  If you could dumb down the language for me that would be appreciated, like I said this is my first time! :)20200402_083641.thumb.jpg.109fd81ab3e57f935ce9debc25361cf9.jpg20200402_083630.thumb.jpg.8130919d4c53b82154989ea034d60096.jpg20200402_083618.thumb.jpg.480e11599ae2debc3df9dcd8f279b4c8.jpg

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I like to use superglue or cyanoacrylate but some other members may give a better alternative :).

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15 minutes ago, Pterygotus said:

I like to use superglue or cyanoacrylate but some other members may give a better alternative :).

Ok thanks! And what's the best way to remove the larger portion of the tooth from the matrix?

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If it is a clean break, I have used PaleoBond before and I was happy with the repair outcome.

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1 hour ago, Dinobot said:

Hi there I recently purchased a Albertasaurus tooth.  A portion is in a matrix and there are some broken off pieces.  This would be my first attempt a putting a fossil back together.  If you could provide any input on 1. if it would devalue it by doing it, 2. how I should do it, 3. and what tools or glue or putty I should use.  If you could dumb down the language for me that would be appreciated, like I said this is my first time! :)

 

20200402_083641.thumb.jpg.109fd81ab3e57f935ce9debc25361cf9.jpg20200402_083630.thumb.jpg.8130919d4c53b82154989ea034d60096.jpg20200402_083618.thumb.jpg.480e11599ae2debc3df9dcd8f279b4c8.jpg

Just wondering where this was found? as Albertosaurus is only found in the Horseshoe Canyon Formation so far.

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I also use super glue for my repairs. Thin for tight clean breaks and thick for uglier breaks that don’t match up well. As for cleaning. A sharp tool like a dental pick or sharpened nail should work if matrix not to hard or electric engraver or the like for harder matrix. Oh and no a good repair job shouldn’t devalue it any.

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I typically dab a debonder like acetone on the matrix to soak and soften it before I try to remove it.  I like using a xacto knife to scrape off the matrix.  Another consideration is the application of a consolidant on the tooth before I work on it to avoid any further breakage and seal hair line cracks. 

Where is the tooth from?

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14 minutes ago, dinosaur man said:

Just wondering where this was found? as Albertosaurus is only found in the Horseshoe Canyon Formation so far.

Dinosaur man / Troodon I was told hell creek formation by the seller on the auction site? Hmm do you think it is something else then?

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Just now, Dinobot said:

Dinosaur man / Troodon I was told hell creek formation by the seller on the auction site? Hmm do you think it is something else then?

If it were Albertosaurus, it should be from Horseshoe Canyon Formation (Campanian) in Alberta.  If from Hell Creek Formation, it is either T. rex or Nanotyrannus.  Do you have the exact location it was found? (Town, County, State).

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6 hours ago, Dinobot said:

Dinosaur man / Troodon I was told hell creek formation by the seller on the auction site? Hmm do you think it is something else then?

Yes see Runner64 comments.  When your done the repair we can take another look and it might point us to Rex or Nano.  However Need a county where its from preservation looks a bit like Judith River

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As mentioned above, drop a bit of acetone or ethanol on the matrix to soften it up and remove as much as you can with a needle. I use cyanoacrylate for repairs like this. Take your time and dry fit the pieces to be sure you aren't gluing yourself into a corner where you can't get the next piece to fit.

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So the seller said he found it in Hill county Montana. I've cleaned it up the best I could with a dental pic and toothbrush, the acetone really helped! I haven'tattached the pieces I can only figure out where one of the piece go so far. What is your thoughts on what it is?

inCollage_20200402_144521334.jpg

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This is not part of the Hell Creek Formation and is part of the Judith River Formation.  It also looks like a Tyrannosaur but to hard to tell species considering the condition of the tooth (to hard to tell position).  Cool tooth!

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Hill County is what I expected it's the JudithRiver FM like dinosaur man indicated.  So the tooth cannot be described to a genus/species and is an "indeterminate Tyrannosaurid" since none have been described from the JRF..  It's a puzzle or unfortunately might not have all of the pieces to put more together, nice job 

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1 hour ago, Dinobot said:

So the seller said he found it in Hill county Montana. I've cleaned it up the best I could with a dental pic and toothbrush, the acetone really helped! I haven'tattached the pieces I can only figure out where one of the piece go so far. What is your thoughts on what it is?

inCollage_20200402_144521334.jpg

Nice job cleaning it up :) 

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Thanks for all the input as usual you guys are extremely helpful and knowledgeable! Thanks for the compliment runner64, this was so fun to prep, I'm going to try to find more fossils that I can clean up!!

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1 hour ago, Dinobot said:

Thanks for all the input as usual you guys are extremely helpful and knowledgeable! Thanks for the compliment runner64, this was so fun to prep, I'm going to try to find more fossils that I can clean up!!

Be cautious.  Fossil prepping is an expensive passion!  The good news though is that if you take up detailed prepping you wont have to worry about any other addictions because you wont be able to afford them.

"There is no shortage of fossils. There is only a shortage of paleontologists to study them." - Larry Martin

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28 minutes ago, hadrosauridae said:

Be cautious.  Fossil prepping is an expensive passion!  The good news though is that if you take up detailed prepping you wont have to worry about any other addictions because you wont be able to afford them.

Haha ok I'll keep that in mind!

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38 minutes ago, hadrosauridae said:

Be cautious.  Fossil prepping is an expensive passion!  The good news though is that if you take up detailed prepping you wont have to worry about any other addictions because you wont be able to afford them.

If only that were true.  Somehow I picked up an expensive sport (Ice Hockey) late in life.

 

Beautiful tooth, welcome to prepping.

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