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I want to prep fossils what equipment should I get?


fossilhunter21

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I should also say that I'm not running the shop vac continuously if I'm doing fine scribe work, but I will if I'm doing abrasion. If scribing, I may turn it on every once in a while for half a minute out of every hour to clear out any fine dust that is hanging about, but it very much depends on the matrix I'm working with. 

...How to Philosophize with a Hammer

 

 

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I can tell you from experience that @Kane’s dust collection system is a great idea to save your shop vac a lot of wear and tear. My experience with them has been more from woodworking than fossil prep, but the same concept applies. You want something to separate the bulk of the dust and debris from the vacuum itself. A good filter on the shop vac will help with the remainder of the dust that makes it to the vacuum.
 

If DIY is not your thing, you can purchase these online or from big box stores. Just search the internet for something along the lines of “shop vac dust separator”. You can get these as (more expensive) stand alone units or cheaper versions that sit on the top of a standard bucket (replaces the lid). 

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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)

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1 hour ago, fossilhunter21 said:

Around what size do you build a blast box?

 

Depends entirely on what size of fossils and how much working room you need. Build based on the future needs, not what you have right now.  If you do a search for prep box, blast box on here you will find a lot of threads about builds and pics of people's builds

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

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On 4/29/2021 at 3:52 PM, fossilhunter21 said:

I have been wondering if this would work but maybe I could use a foot pump with a 5 gallon air tank and air pen, see images below.

20210429_104858.jpg

 

 

Late reply but here goes.

 

This tool is really good I use it myself and the power it uses is little you can easily run this of a 24lt tank you big problem comes with magnification I do all my prep work under an amscope between 10 and 20 stereo zoom.

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I don't have a lot of room in my basement and am wondering how big of a compressor would I need at the minimum for a 2.5 CFM air scribe 

 

I am looking at 8 to 10 gallon air compressors but I don't know if that's big enough or not.    

Edited by fossilhunter21
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25 minutes ago, fossilhunter21 said:

I don't have a lot of room in my basement and am wondering how big of a compressor would I need at the minimum for a 2.5 CFM air scribe 

 

I am looking at 8 to 10 gallon air compressors but I don't know if that's big enough or not.    

 

By the time you are looking at a 10 gallon tank compressor, the only change in going to a 20 gallon is that its taller.  It wont take up any more room.  For the compressor volume, look at the duty cycle of the compressor motor.  If your tool uses 2.5cfm and you buy a 2.5cfm compressor then your compressor will have to run nonstop, thereby having zero rest.  That would be a 100% duty cycle.  A high quality (aka $$$$) motor can do that.  Most of the compressors we buy as hobbyists have closer to a 75% duty cycle. (a really cheap motor would have closer to a 50% cycle) That would put you at a 3cfm compressor at bare minimum. This still keeps your compressor running the majority of the time which is also adding a lot more heat.  If you want your compressor to last longer, then you need a higher output, so you really need to move up to 4cfm.  A larger tank volume also gives your compressor a longer rest because it can put out more air than you are using, so when it shuts off it takes longer for that tank pressure to reduce to the "turn on" level.  

 

This is why I tell people that my 4cfm (at 90psi) with 20gal tank is the bare minimum for even this small tool usage in prepping.

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

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I guess the main reason i want a small small compressor is is that a big one would be hard to move around if I ever wanted to use it for something else or move it out of the basement for a little bit or something like that. 

 

So how about a 10 gallon 5.3 CFM air compressor?

 

 

Edited by fossilhunter21
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I also am looking at this tool (I know that it's not a scribe) and was thinking maybe a 5 gallon compressor would be all right for it?

 

Screenshot_20210623-114947_Gallery.jpg

Edited by fossilhunter21
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6 hours ago, fossilhunter21 said:

So how about a 10 gallon 5.3 CFM air compressor?

I wouldn't. Hadrosauridae gave good advice on the absolute bare minimum. I'd really recommend going for a 30 gallon tank in fact.

 

6 hours ago, fossilhunter21 said:

I guess the main reason i want a small small compressor is is that a big one would be hard to move around if I ever wanted to use it for something else or move it out of the basement for a little bit or something like that.

The larger compressors aren't THAT bad. My 30 gallon compressor has wheels and isn't that hard to move around. Considering the length of air hoses you also have leeway in where you run tools. If I'm smashing large concretions or working on something humongous that doesn't fit in a blast box I'll put my air hose out the basement window into the backyard and use the tools outside. A 100ft air hose will go a long way.

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