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First time fossil prep - open to feedback!


shrimp

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I was tempted recently to pick up a DIY fossil prep kit from an online retailer, have always been curious and wanted to give it a shot. You guys make it seem so easy! I only have manual tools (kit included a metal pick and I've started using a hobby knife to remove some of the upper layers a little faster). The whole slab is approx 17cm and the fish itself is maybe around 11cm. I started this thread to share my progress and get a little feedback. Any tips? Anything I absolutely shouldn't do, or do more of? There is also a big lump visible above the fish, wondering if that is worth digging into or if its more likely to be nothing of interest. Having fun so far!! :dinothumb:

 

Thanks for any feedback :)

 

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You’re starting off well. Go slow and use magnification are the best tips to start out. The cheapest magnification that is good for fossil prep is a magnification visor. It will make a huge difference in your final results. The lump above the fish is probably a coprolite. I wouldn’t bother with it.

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Free coprolite?? My lucky day! :BigSmile:

 

So far it has only been extremely slow. I do have a little desk mounted magnifier but I might look into a visor.

 

Here is about another 90 minutes worth of work

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Looking pretty good! The first fossils I ever prepped were also fish. They seem to be good good starting fossils. 

 

Also take plenty of breaks, prepping for long periods can make your wrist hurt pretty bad. Also if you notice you are getting frustrated, then STOP right away. Prepping while frustrated at the fossil (or anything) can cause damage to the fossil, trust me, I learned the hard way. 

 

Looking forward the next update!

 

-Micah

Edited by fossilhunter21
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Be patient! Especially using manual tools on these fish, trying to poke/chip too much of the matrix at one time can push the needle too deep and you'll end up with tiny little holes in the fish. It only took me 800 holes in fish to figure that out! Magnification and a good light source are also key. On the thin and fragile fin rays, lightly scrape away the matrix with the needle tip along the bone instead of trying to chip away matrix in larger chunks. Enter zen and zone out- post photos of your progress!

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11 hours ago, shrimp said:

I do have a little desk mounted magnifier but I might look into a visor.


Any magnification is better than none. Most desk mounted magnifiers at 3x or 5x. This is good for a start. If you find that you like prepping, you’ll likely step up to a stereo microscope pretty quickly.

 

Beware, fossil prepping is addictive and has a serious detrimental effect on your bank account. It’s nothing to spend $10k on a middle of the road setup.

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Thanks for the encouragement! I'm definitely having fun so far. The wrist pain is real though!!

 

Here's the update for this morning. Might still be too early to tell what kind of fish I've got but I am still learning to ID.

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Your fish, (most likely Knightia) is in some nice lookin rock and and looks to be preserved nicely too.  From reading this thread your definitely having fun and the more you do that wrist pain should go away.  Good luck

 

RB

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Fun is being had! I know nicer tools could get it done quicker but its a great opportunity to catch up on some podcasts. I'm very glad it seems well preserved and intact so far, I guess we will see how the head and fins fare

 

Here's how its going so far.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Have been a little busy lately, but still grabbing a few minutes of prep here and there! Pretty happy with how its been coming along

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Looking good. From the preservation so far, I would expect the head to be in great shape. This is definitely a Knightia. Small anal fin and a ventrally located pectoral fin are the give away clues.

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Humble little knightia never hurt :) I think we are definitely in the home stretch now! Hard to tell if I've done any damage to it, at least one little flake but otherwise still seems in good shape.

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Looking really nice! The preservation is pretty good! A lot of these fish are not preserved very well. I think you are doing a better job than when I started prepping. 

 

-Micah

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This has been progressing very nicely! Congratulations.

Thanks for posting the progress. Great to see this kind of content.  :)

Keep up the good work.

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    Tim    -  VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER

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  • 2 weeks later...

Whew! I think this about as prepped as I can get it with the tools I have. Though I see people using baking soda with an air scribe and I wonder if I can use some of that on a toothbrush to get a little bit more sediment off? Or if there are any areas that might benefit from a little more dental picking?

 

Very pleased with it as a first attempt. :) Time to make everyone I know look at it!!

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That fish turned out purty good! I would just leave it as is right now. If you had an air abraisive system or air scribe you could do a little more, but I would not go any further right now. The air scribe is like a mini jack hammer, it chips away at the matrix. Preppers use baking soda a lot for a machine called an air abraisive system. The powder is blown threw this device tbat slowly wears away at the rock. 

 

-Micah

 

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28 minutes ago, shrimp said:

Though I see people using baking soda with an air scribe and I wonder if I can use some of that on a toothbrush to get a little bit more sediment off?

 

I think you probably should have written air abrader instead of air scribe. What you're suggesting would hardly make any difference at all, since it's more the pressure than the substance itself which removes the sediment, so I would just leave it as is.

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Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger

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5 minutes ago, Ludwigia said:

 

I think you probably should have written air abrader instead of air scribe. What you're suggesting would hardly make any difference at all, since it's more the pressure than the substance itself which removes the sediment, so I would just leave it as is.

 

Oh I guess that makes sense then. Thanks everyone for the feedback! Hope to give this another shot soon, but I have some gundams I've been neglecting :BigSmile:

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How come I never saw this threard until now.  Excellent first prep job.  And no, the toothpaste idea will not work.  As ludwigia mentioned, it is not so much the actual baking soda doing the work, it is the machine shooting the little baking soda particles at close to supersonic speed.  Keep the toothpaste by the bathroom sink where it belongs. 

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