Help with my first oreodont preparation

[Kiros]

Hello everyone, first of all I want to say how I love this forum and how many great people are here, I couldn't find a better community. 

 

Back on topic I'm pretty much a novice when it comes to fossil preparation, I only prepped some echinoderms, bivalve and some isolated Ictitherium teeth. But after reading and reading topic on this forum I decided to begin a bigger project. 

I bought an oreodont skull, as you can see from the photos it seems in really good conditions and the matrix seems really soft to work on. 

At the same time I see that there are many fracture on the skull (pretty normal for these fossils) and so I though that I should consolidate the skull before starting to prep it. Do you agree with me? How should I consolidate it? I read that a great way to consolidate such fossil is brushing them with a 1 to 50 paraloid solution. It this the correct strategy to use? 

 

Thank you to anyone who can help me on this task, I 'm so excited to start this project. 

[FossilNerd]

I'm no expert, but I know a guy...

 

@Randyw

[snolly50]

Here is my old Oreodont prep topic. Your piece seems fractured to an extent that consolidation during prep would be prudent. I hope you will be encouraged by the post; that such a prep can be undertaken with care and simple tools. Good luck, have fun. 

 

 

[snolly50]

I went back and looked closely at your photos. The matrix appears almost friable. It should only pose small difficulty in removal. However, if I were undertaking your project, I would be concerned about the fractures. I spotted a few shards of loose bone in your photo. This is not to say it will not prep out great. It would just probably be wiser to expose an area and immediately consolidate before moving on (there is plenty of discussion on consolidation material/technique on the Forum). The only drawback is that consolidating while working, unavoidably gets the plastic on matrix that will eventually be removed. That just makes it tougher to eliminate, so some care is needed to avoid making the task more difficult than it has to be. Good luck, have fun.

[Randyw]

Nice looking skull! The side that’s still in the matrix looks like it may still have the arch! And as snolly said that looks like some sweet soft matrix. Should be a really fun prep. BUT! That soft matrix also means that the bone will be really fractured and loose. Paraloid and super glue will be your friend. I use both thin, regular, and thick super glues. I typically let some thin super glue wick into the thinner cracks of anything that might be loose and glue on loose or completely detached pieces with the thicker stuff before prepping and I’ll then brush paraloid over the exposed areas if I’m concerned about pieces separating. Prep, glue, consolidate as you go and you should be fine! If you run into any specific problems then feel free to ask us. 
what are you going to be using for prepping tools? Also make sure you check out @FossilNerd excellent post called “manual preparation: a novice guide” on prepping pinned to the top of the prep section. And post pictures lots of pictures!

[Ruger9a]

When I have an Oreodont skull with a fairly soft matrix, all I use is an XACTO knife.  It allows me to remove only what I want to.  Everyone has a different way to prep so look at all the options posted.  Good luck, it really looks nice. 

[Kiros]

39 minutes ago, Randyw said:

Nice looking skull! The side that’s still in the matrix looks like it may still have the arch! And as snolly said that looks like some sweet soft matrix. Should be a really fun prep. BUT! That soft matrix also means that the bone will be really fractured and loose. Paraloid and super glue will be your friend. I use both thin, regular, and thick super glues. I typically let some thin super glue wick into the thinner cracks of anything that might be loose and glue on loose or completely detached pieces with the thicker stuff before prepping and I’ll then brush paraloid over the exposed areas if I’m concerned about pieces separating. Prep, glue, consolidate as you go and you should be fine! If you run into any specific problems then feel free to ask us. 
what are you going to be using for prepping tools? Also make sure you check out @FossilNerd excellent post called “manual preparation: a novice guide” on prepping pinned to the top of the prep section. And post pictures lots of pictures!

Thank you for your very kind answer, I'll have to buy both paraloid and thin and thick superglue ( I have only the commercial one), I see so I would expose a little piece of bone then I glue the cracks and consolidate it and procede on another part. As for instruments I have xancto blades, dental picks and an electric engraver, but looking at the matrix I will not need this last one. I'll procede as slowly as possible as the last thing I want to see is looking at the skull crumbling before my eyes  

[Randyw]

Sounds like you’ve got a plan and the needed tools. Soon as you get the consolidents you’re ready to go!  Have fun, be reasonably careful and you should come out great. Don’t be surprised if you still have occasional pieces fall off. It happens. Keep the glue handy. Enjoy!

[Kiros]

thank you everyone if anyone have different strategies or opinions about the fossil condition, fell free to talk  

[Randyw]

WARNING!  Prepping Oreodont skulls can be addictive...it is a terrible addiction that will constantly have you searching for a new fix. The only cure is to send me your skull so it can be properly disposed of before you get addicted! 
I’ll be eagerly watching for your updates

[Ruger9a]

:-)    Randy's right you know!

[Kiros]

I see what you're trying to do there @Randyw but I'll gladly get myself intoxicated . The only problem is that I live in Italy so the delivery is quite expensive 

[Kiros]

After all this time, I can say that the preparation of this skull is pretty much finished. The matrix was very soft and an electric engraver and some manual preparation where enough to prepare it. The difficult part was that inside the matrix many pieces where not in place and I had to do a real puzzle work to put them back together. The nice part was that I believed that only the upper skull was in there but I also found the right hemimandible. This last was also in many different fragment, and it took me meny months to put them together, some of them are still missing and some of them I can't find their place. Here the photos of the piece

[Kiros]

This photos are a little old, in this time I cleaned the eyes, mandible and some parts of the skull better

[ParkerPaleo]

Nice job!

[Randyw]

Looking good! You’re doing great!

[jpc]

Good job.  I hope you had fun.

 

[Troodon]

Nice work, now enjoy all your hard work..

[Fossilis Willis]

Looks like a fun project, and it turned out great. I hope to try my hand at prepping an oreodont skull one day.

[Kiros]

Thank you everyone!