When the breakup comes do you curse the Universe, forsake God, get a drink?

[OregonFossil]

This is the last image of the beautiful little Mollusk. I had been working on this 4mm specimen for about an hour and a half. All you could see at the start was a bit of white. Dental tools and small paint brushes, being every so careful. As you view the image the still covered left half of the shell was about 1/2 the length of the right half of the shell. I finally got the left half uncovered and it was a very nice specimen. Then when I went to put it in it's slot in the specimen box my finger gently touched the shell, 7 pieces it exploded to. I had debated cover it with finger nail clear polish but it had details I wanted to photograph later and did not want to deal with possible glare.

 

I raised my hand to the Universe and cursed that White Whale.....

Edited May 21, 2021 by OregonFossil

[oilshale]

All three!

Only the order sometimes changes.

[Jeffrey P]

That was a gorgeous specimen! Tragic! Tragic! Know that most of us have been there. Now let me tell you the crab claw I destroyed, or the perfect shark vertebra..........

[IsaacTheFossilMan]

Ahhh, I feel your pain so dearly! It really hurts when you've been working for hours on a tiny tiny specimen, and it, as you said, explodes into several pieces...

[minnbuckeye]

A thin coat of Paraloid applied as you work may prevent most of these accidents!

  

Mike

[Kane]

Ouch.  

Many of us have been there. It's tempting to believe that all preps go over well, but most times we'll post our successes and try to forget the tragic events. 

 

[Tidgy's Dad]

I blame wifey. 

[FranzBernhard]

That´s a pity, I can feel your pain!

I would like to express my respect for our painstaking effort preparing such a tiny and unspectacular(??) mollusc .

Franz Bernhard

[OregonFossil]

1 hour ago, FranzBernhard said:

That´s a pity, I can feel your pain!

I would like to express my respect for our painstaking effort preparing such a tiny and unspectacular(??) mollusc .

Franz Bernhard

This formation (Pittsberg) and the underlying Keasey formation are seperated by an extinction event. Last paper I read said there were unidentified species.  Would love to find a new species. Most of the animals near this layer are small but as CSNY said "If you can't be with the one you love, love the one your with:)"

[jdp]

3 hours ago, minnbuckeye said:

A thin coat of Paraloid applied as you work may prevent most of these accidents!

  

Mike

 

Bingo. Consolidate the specimen by frequently adding paraloid to exposed surfaces while you prepare it. If the paraloid gets too globby, you can wash off the excess with a paintbrush and a little acetone at the end of the prep.

[FossilDAWG]

Ouch!  We all feel your pain.  Yes, paraloid is (or can be) your friend.

 

Don

[pachy-pleuro-whatnot-odon]

Yup, I too can add that I feel your pain from experience. But, as has been said, take solace in knowing this happens to every one 

 

Since it's easy to remove excess paraloid eith a bit of acetone, it's best to use it when preparing something frail...

Edited May 21, 2021 by pachy-pleuro-whatnot-odon

[thelivingdead531]

I know how you feel. Before I “discovered” (was gifted) paraloid, I found ONE intact bivalve from a location. I disintegrated it with only water before I knew what was happening. I never found another intact with both sides again. I still have flashbacks of that specimen going down the drain. 

[Huntonia]

Ouch! This hurts, I also recently had one of my fossils break 

As others have already said, paraloid is a prepper's best friend. Always have some on hand when you're working.

[Sjfriend]

THAT STINKS!!!!! Sorry to hear of your loss. As for your question, I tend to just bite my lips (often to the point of bleeding lol) to keep my mouth from shouting things that would get me in trouble.

 

As stated, we've all been there at some point. And yes, stabilizer is your friend but sometimes the fossil doesn't look "that" fragile until it proves you wrong (again).

 

Here's hoping you find another great one soon.

[FranzBernhard]

21 hours ago, OregonFossil said:

This formation (Pittsberg) and the underlying Keasey formation are seperated by an extinction event. Last paper I read said there were unidentified species.  Would love to find a new species. Most of the animals near this layer are small but as CSNY said "If you can't be with the one you love, love the one your with:)"

Keep the good work going. Its exactly my line of thinking.

 

26 minutes ago, Sjfriend said:

but sometimes the fossil doesn't look "that" fragile until it proves you wrong

This thin-shelled bivalves are especially prone to this behavior. Have quite some experience with such shells myself. They might look good, but they are often full of microcracks.

Franz Bernhard

Edited May 22, 2021 by FranzBernhard

[OregonFossil]

I see paraloid is in my near future as many of the Pittsberg fossils are extremely soft due to weathering. Thanks all who answered....

[RJB]

Been there done that, a few hundred times I suspect.  Some of my worst cases are when a crab carapace , in an instant, comes apart in a 1000 pieces.  I dont cuss much anymore but in the past I came up with some doozies.  Hang in there and the best of luck

 

RB

[aplomado]

I found a Crodus shark vertebrae embedded in limestone on the bottom of a stream.

 

Upon extraction it shattered into dozens of small bits.