LabRatKing Posted October 1, 2020 Share Posted October 1, 2020 I have a nice selection of various species of Ammonite from cowboy pass, Utah. I’ve been sitting on them for a year as I have no clue how to prepare the ones that have the very hard encrustations. Wire wheels had little effect. I’m thinking something more aggressive on the bench grinder... last year I saw some prepped on here, but was no info on technique. And I cannot seem to find that thread now... will post photos when not on mobile! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossildude19 Posted October 1, 2020 Share Posted October 1, 2020 @RJB Tim - VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER VFOTM --- APRIL - 2015 __________________________________________________ "In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks." John Muir ~ ~ ~ ~ ><))))( *> About Me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FossilDAWG Posted October 2, 2020 Share Posted October 2, 2020 Please! No wire wheels or bench grinder!! You'll wreck them. Better to be patient until you have the right tools. I have a slab with 10+ complete trilobites that I collected 30 years ago. I have resisted prepping it with my primitive tools until I can entrust it to someone with the right skills. Don 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpc Posted October 2, 2020 Share Posted October 2, 2020 sounds like a job for an air scribe 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJB Posted October 2, 2020 Share Posted October 2, 2020 What jpc said. RB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LabRatKing Posted October 2, 2020 Author Share Posted October 2, 2020 16 hours ago, FossilDAWG said: Please! No wire wheels or bench grinder!! You'll wreck them. Better to be patient until you have the right tools. I have a slab with 10+ complete trilobites that I collected 30 years ago. I have resisted prepping it with my primitive tools until I can entrust it to someone with the right skills. Don No worries, I'm in no hurry! These are very special to me, and I can't do them right, they can stay as-is. Here is two of them: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LabRatKing Posted October 2, 2020 Author Share Posted October 2, 2020 Air scribe, excellent. I do normally use an electric scribe, but I have been looking for an excuse to get a big compressor for my garage. thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pachy-pleuro-whatnot-odon Posted October 2, 2020 Share Posted October 2, 2020 3 hours ago, LabRatKing said: Air scribe, excellent. I do normally use an electric scribe, but I have been looking for an excuse to get a big compressor for my garage. thanks! If used with care, a Dremel engraver should get you quite far, although an air scribe would obviously be better. But even then it might be hard to get all of the matrix removed. I've worked on Triassic ceratites (ammonoids, not ammonites) using a Dremel before, and it worked quite well, especially if you create a checkerboard pattern from which to extract chunks of matrix. Still, closer to the ceratite, you might need to use (hydrochloric) acid. Haven't tried that yet, though. I got this tip of the hydrochloric acid from @taj, who has more experience prepping ceratites and may be able to help you further. The below post showcases some of his work: 'There's nothing like millions of years of really frustrating trial and error to give a species moral fibre and, in some cases, backbone' -- Terry Pratchett Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now