An unbiased review of the Fossil Shack air scribe

[Ptychodus04]

I recently acquired one of the Fossil Shack air scribes and have put it through some trials to see how it compares with my other scribes.

 

This is a totally unbiased look at the tool’s abilities for prepping different kinds of matrices and accuracy. I ran it on harder 18” GRF and softer Sandwich Bed (aka Split Fish) material. It was designed for Sandwich Bed rock.

 

It wants to operate at a lower pressure than my other scribes. At 90 psi, you barely turn it on and it screams. A separate pressure regulator is needed to keep from having to adjust your main pressure when working with multiple scribes as I almost always do.

 

At first glance, it is an Aro knock off but in function, it works somewhere between my Aro and Micro Jack 4 in power and matrix removal speed. It is much louder than both tools so hearing protection is a must.

 

I found it to work effectively when removing matrix close to the fossil but too slow when there is bulk removal needed. It is definitely a more detail oriented tool.

 

There is little to no wobble in the stylus. Will see how this hold up with hours of running.

 

The tool blows most of the exhaust air back away from the specimen but still does a fair job of clearing away debris while working.

 

The quick release air fitting was different than the standard 1/4” industrial fittings I used so, this had to be changed. Swapping was easy as the tool comes with an o-ring to seal that connection. No Teflon tape needed.

 

My only real complaints are: the length of the stylus and the length of the air hose. The stylus is slightly longer than a stick Aro stylus but much shorter than the ones on my Paleo Tools scribes. I found this to be somewhat cumbersome when working in tight areas. The air hose is only around 30” long so you have to be close to your air distribution manifold (not an issue if you are running off a hose directly from your compressor. I run 4 scribes and an abrasive system so a manifold is a must for me.

 

For the price, this is a good medium power tool. I wouldn’t use it for fine detail work or for bulk removal but it isn’t designed for these purposes.

[Ptychodus04]

Update after further use of the scribe...

 

The scribe has really settled in after about 20 hours of use. It is much quieter running now. Also, it seems to be taking the 90 PSI running pressure well. It does have a tendency to stall every 3 or 4 hours. I've found that opening the front of the scribe and wiping down the stylus and rubbing a bit of oil on the o ring takes care of this. I'm going to try lubricating the ring with Vaseline next to see if that provides a bit more run time between stalls. The first time you open the tool, you need to employ two channel lock pliers as is is extremely tight. after this, you can open/close it by hand. There's an o-ring behind the threads on the body of the scribe which helps keep the front from working itself loose during use (this is a common problem with the Aro type scribes).

 

This is really excelling on moderately detailed work on the harder bits of matrix on the big Diplo I'm currently prepping. It pops the matrix off the scales without pulling the scale up with it, or cutting through the scale (the Micro Jack 4 tends to go through the scales). It is a bit too powerful for the fine ends of the fins though so, I switch to the MJ for the last 1/2" of fin.

[Ptychodus04]

Vaseline didn’t help.  A light coating of 3 in 1 oil seems to be working well. Also, stretching the spring that pushes the stylus back against the air valve manifold made a bit of a difference in the stall rate.

[Sjfriend]

Great info. Thanks for running review. 

[Ptychodus04]

2 hours ago, Sjfriend said:

Great info. Thanks for running review. 

You’re quite welcome. Knowing what to expect from a scribe makes all the difference in a prep. For the price, I couldn’t be happier with this scribe. It has its quirks but I’m mechanically inclined enough to work around them. 

[Wendell Ricketts]

I’m trying to get one of these to work right now, but the fitting on the airscribe fits no standard coupler as far as I can tell. Ok, so I need an adapter. After two trips to Lowe’s, I’m no closer to figuring this out—none of the adapters I’ve been advised to try is right. Help a mechanical idiot out?

[hadrosauridae]

16 hours ago, Wendell Ricketts said:

I’m trying to get one of these to work right now, but the fitting on the airscribe fits no standard coupler as far as I can tell. Ok, so I need an adapter. After two trips to Lowe’s, I’m no closer to figuring this out—none of the adapters I’ve been advised to try is right. Help a mechanical idiot out?

 

I dont have one, so it would be best if you can post a picture of the end and the connector.  Even without seeing it, I can almost promise you that you need to remove and replace the connector with a common American style.  

BTW, Lowes is garbage for finding air fittings.  the giant sales website named for the river *-* has had almost everything I ever needed.  The only problem I can forsee might be that if you have a british fitting, you may also have british thread pitch on it, and that needs to be taken into consideration when finding a replacement

[Wendell Ricketts]

No, it’s US-made, but I did get so far as to figure out I needed an “industrial” rather than an “automotive” fitting (which Lowe’s did not have). I’m pretty sure I see what I need on the Big River site, though now the issue is that I don’t need 30 of them! Thanks for your help.

[jpc]

I have a good selection of these fittings at Menard's if you have them in your neighborhood. 

 

edit: I think M's is working their way westward, so Wendell, you might have to wait 15 years.    

[Wendell Ricketts]

Well, I’d only have to go as far as Casper, Wyoming ….

[Ptychodus04]

Check at Home Depot as well. They typically have industrial air fittings. That's where I get mine.