First Ammonite Multi-Block, Advice Please

[Calli99]

Hi everyone,

 

I purchased this Lyme Regis specimen a few weeks ago and have been working on it with a pin vice and Dremel (with the proper fossil/rock appropriate tips) and am fairly happy with my progress. I am quite new to prepping and this is the first multi block I have attempted. The rock is not terribly hard for the most part but can be a bit sticky. 

 

Yesterday, whilst trying to uncover an ammonite in the corner of the rock, I uncovered another ammonite, and then another, and then a bivalve. The three ammonites are all pretty much on top of each other and I don't know how to go about prepping them. Part of the top one broke off, but I have kept the piece and can glue it back on. Really I want to know what you think would look best? How would you prep this? Do I sacrifice the top, broken one to reveal the middle ammonite, which looks to be the best of them? Do I leave it as is?

 

I really appreciate any input

 

 

[Ptychodus04]

I would prep out as much matrix as possible and leave the ammonites in place. Take your time and take a lot of breaks as the dremel engravers transfer a lot of vibration to your hand. You can actually cause permanent nerve damage from extended use.

Edited November 6, 2021 by Ptychodus04

[Calli99]

Thank you, I do take lots of breaks. It’s actually quite frustrating as I limit myself to 20 minutes on the dremel at a time, but I always want to keep going!

The lower two ammonites will remain mostly in matrix I suppose, perhaps with more skill and proper air pens I could remove more of the matrix that sits between them.

[IsaacTheFossilMan]

2 hours ago, Ptychodus04 said:

dremel engravers transfer a lot of vibration to your hand. You can actually cause permanent nerve damage from extended use.

 

Oh gosh, I did not know this. As a user of dremels, I will take care too, thanks for the information!

[Ptychodus04]

On 11/6/2021 at 10:46 AM, IsaacTheFossilMan said:

 

Oh gosh, I did not know this. As a user of dremels, I will take care too, thanks for the information!

The rotary tools don’t vibrate much but the engravers are rough on the hand. They operate at a slow cycle rate compared to a pneumatic scribe so they vibrate much more.

 

If you work too long in a session, your fingers will start to go numb. Repeated sessions of numb fingers will eventually damage the nerves to the point that the numbness/tingling never goes away. But, before you get to this point, you’ll start experiencing severe pain for hours as the nerves start to wake back up.

 

I had that happen once, decades ago, and it was enough for me to swear off electric engravers and move to pneumatics.

[IsaacTheFossilMan]

9 hours ago, Ptychodus04 said:

The rotary tools don’t vibrate much but the engravers are rough on the hand. They operate at a slow cycle rate compared to a pneumatic scribe so they vibrate much more.

 

If you work too long in a session, your fingers will start to go numb. Repeated sessions of numb fingers will eventually damage the nerves to the point that the numbness/tingling never goes away. But, before you get to this point, you’ll start experiencing severe pain for hours as the nerves start to wake back up.

 

I had that happen once, decades ago, and it was enough for me to swear off electric engravers and move to pneumatics.

 

Gosh, yeah. I've felt that numbness, and the numbness not going away, too (albeit that was due to prolonged use of crutches for my leg!). Thank you very much for sharing this information, Kris, much appreciated.

[Huntonia]

It's up to your preference how you choose to prep it. I know some people who have no trouble removing one fossil to expose another. Personally I'm not a fan of this and the vast majority of the time I'll leave fossils stacked up on each other, exposing as much as I can without damaging the other(s).

[Calli99]

4 hours ago, Huntonia said:

It's up to your preference how you choose to prep it. I know some people who have no trouble removing one fossil to expose another. Personally I'm not a fan of this and the vast majority of the time I'll leave fossils stacked up on each other, exposing as much as I can without damaging the other(s).

Thanks for you input, I think I will leave it pretty much as it is for now, maybe try for a little more exposure. My stomach does do a little twist at the thought of just chopping off that ammonite, but I may change my mind at some point.

[SandraKay]

This post is why I joined the forum! I'd love to know where you found this specimen, it's my goal to do a multi block