My First Oreodont Prep

[Tigereagle12345]

Recently for Christmas, I received the marvelous gift of a bunch on different unprepared fossils from an unknown location in Nebraska (Purchased of the auction site). The first piece I started was a smallish jaw from an oreodont that I think turned out ok. I still plan to clean up the teeth a bit, but I'm not sure what to do next, as this is the first time I've prepared anything other than Green River fish. I'm considering removing it from the matrix entirely, but I'm concerned about the stability of the fossil, as the matrix is quite crumbly and the back has been consolidated by whoever found it, along with aesthetics. Any advice as to what to do next would be appreciated (Or if anyone knows what it is more than an Oreodont)! Thanks!

 

Dimensions of the jaw are 14cm by 6cm, or about 2.3in by 5.5in.

 

Unprepared 

After a few hours of using hand tools and my Dremel

 

Current state:

Front

 

Back

 

[Randyw]

I’d finish doing it around the teeth and jawbone. But I’d definatly do more consolidating as You go. Take it slow and carefull around the teeth. Sometimes they are fractured and crumbly. I suspect going by size and appearance its a lower right jaw of a Merycoidodon culbertsoni,  but that's just a guess with it at the stage it is at. Matter of fact when i blow up the picture i think i can see some small fractures in the molars. I use thin or thick super glue for cracks (depending on size) and paraloid to consolidate.

[SomethingIsFishy]

There are adhesives made for fossils that you can use to help.

[Tigereagle12345]

Thanks for the advice! I have some paleobond that I'll try to use on the teeth and jaw tomorrow.

[SomethingIsFishy]

Perfect! That sounds like a good plan.

[fossilhunter21]

Hi, @Tigereagle12345. 

 

Looking good! I would definitely prep it further. Just go slow and be very careful. If you start to feel impatient, then stop. Prepping and being impatient do not combine well. 

 

 

BTW. That fossil probably came from near where I live (about 30 minutes away). It most likely was found near Crawford.

 

We are looking at buying a house in Crawford, so I might get quite a few chances to go hunting.  A rancher even said that she might have me be a guide, and I never thought I would get a chance to do that. 

 

Cheers and Shalom,

 

-Micah

Edited December 28, 2022 by fossilhunter21

[SomethingIsFishy]

1 minute ago, fossilhunter21 said:

 @Tigereagle12345 We are looking at buying a house in Crawford, so I might get quite a few chances to go hunting.  A rancher even said that she might have me be a guide, and I never thought I would get a chance to do that. 

 

Cool, that sounds awesome!!

[fossilhunter21]

2 minutes ago, SomethingIsFishy said:

Cool, that sounds awesome!!

It sure does, @SomethingIsFishy! I actually used to live in in Indiana, and I never thought I would move near Crawford. 

 

Cheers and Shalom, 

 

-Micah

 

 

[SomethingIsFishy]

Cool. I have lived in kansas all of my life and will probably never move because I love the fossils here.

[fossilhunter21]

1 minute ago, SomethingIsFishy said:

Cool. I have lived in kansas all of my life and will probably never move because I love the fossils here.

Yeah, I don't think I will ever move from the area either. There are so many nice things about living around here, and fossils is definitely one of those things.

 

Cheers and Shalom,

 

-Micah

[SomethingIsFishy]

Yeah, good luck!!

[Tigereagle12345]

First if all, thanks to everyone for the advice! I spent a few hours trying to get some of the matrix off of the teeth, but decided to stop as the matrix got to hard for my hand tools do scratch and I was worried about damaging the teeth. I also put some glue on the teeth to help them hold together more and used some Paleobond Penetrant Stabilizer on the jaw to make sure everything stays in play. For the moment, I've decided to leave the back as it is, as the consolidant that the seller used is sticking to the bones and making it hard to remove anything without scratches.

 

My Current Progress

Jaw

Better photo of the teeth

 

 

[SomethingIsFishy]

Nice!! 

[fossilhunter21]

It is looking really nice!  

 

Yeah, consolidant can be helpful, but it also makes the prep harder, unfortunately.

 

Cheers and Shalom,

 

-Micah

[Tigereagle12345]

As of right now, I have decided to leave the jaw as it is, as I'm worried about damaging by continuing to prep it with my lack of experience. I will probably come back to it after I've done a few more projects and gained some more experience. Thanks to everyone for their support! I will likely post my next project here as well, which will be what I think is part of an oreodont skull.

[fossilhunter21]

8 hours ago, Tigereagle12345 said:

As of right now, I have decided to leave the jaw as it is, as I'm worried about damaging by continuing to prep it with my lack of experience. I will probably come back to it after I've done a few more projects and gained some more experience. Thanks to everyone for their support! I will likely post my next project here as well, which will be what I think is part of an oreodont skull.

Yeah, I can undersand not wanting to go any further at least for right now. It can be pretty easy to break these White River fossils. Plus it is good to take breaks and work on other specimens for a little while. 

 

I am looking forward to seeing your next project. 

 

Cheers and Shalom,

 

-Micah

[Randyw]

9 hours ago, Tigereagle12345 said:

which will be what I think is part of an oreodont skull.

Can’t wait to see it!

[ParkerPaleo]

nice work!  Love to see interest in WR/Oligocene mammals!

[Tigereagle12345]

My new project is proving to much more complicated than the last. Almost of of the bone has cracks in it and a lot of it seems to be in the wrong place. While preparing it, the glue attaching the front half of the skull to the back separated, but I won't glue it back on just yet, as it makes it easier to prep. 

 

Before starting 

After using my Dremel for a few hours

 

Also, does anyone know what this bone is and where it goes, as it is covering the eye socket?

Thanks!

[snolly50]

Here is a link to an old post - Oreodont prep. Given your recent experience, I think you will find much of it familiar. One point that I think is too much fun to miss; run that jaw section under a UV light! I enjoyed seeing your effort of that piece. Great result.