Prepping Eocene plant fossils without air tools

[Wrangellian]

Something that has been a long time coming... As I have no air tools for prepping fossils, I got the bee in my bonnet to try using bits of wood and glue to break away bits of matrix partially covering leaves from McAbee specimens that I collected years ago (before the gov't ban on collecting there). It worked pretty well on these few pieces I tried. The only difficulty came when the matrix to be removed was too thick and integrated with the surrounding matrix. Then it would only peel the thinnest layer off the top. Another round or rounds could eventually accomplish the task in this case, as I did in one instance. Glue used was Lepage's gel-type superglue. I let them cure for a half a day to a day before pulling. Soaking the stick in a jar of acetone frees the broken-off piece if wanting to retain it (as I did with the Ginkgo below).

This could work on any number of similar fossils from e.g. Green River, etc. but I can't guarantee consistent results!

 

Edited April 12, 2023 by Wrangellian

[Wrangellian]

I got this piece from a dealer at the Alberni rock/gem show last month. Supposedly it is from Republic, Washington (I hope he didn't lie to me and it's actually from BC such as McAbee or Princeton, but he was selling other BC fossils from Harrison Lake and wasn't shy about that, so maybe that info is legit... If anyone knows better, please let me know).

He had tried to glue the two pieces together with some kind of gummy glue that wasn't right for the job, so he pulled it apart again and gave it to me (for $4, I figured not bad) to deal with. I used the same method to remove the glue - gel superglue on a stick, plus a sharp pin here and there. It took me a while but I got the job done. The matrix on this piece is very soft so it was tricky, and in the end the fit was not ideal because small amounts of matrix came off with the glue, but I think I did pretty well considering. I used the same gel superglue to reunite the 2 parts.

I should have taken a pic of the ugly glue surfaces but you can sort of see it in the gap in this first pic:

 

Completed job:

Edited April 13, 2023 by Wrangellian

[rocket]

funny idea! Works, great 

[connorp]

Neat! Always thought about trying something like this out.

[Fossildude19]

Ingenious, Eric! Well done, sir.  

 

[Mart1980]

I had never thought of it that way and never seen it anywhere. Good idea! The end result looks good, thanks for sharing. 

[jpc]

clever.  Thumbs up emoji.

 

[Wrangellian]

Thanks, everyone!

It was an experiment, and this time it turned out well. I have another piece in the works, but it could be more troublesome - a conifer piece that would not split cleanly. I wonder how this method would work on other material.

I have to credit that glue for both the removals and the joining of that last piece, the stuff really sticks to wood and rock, and of course not being too runny or too quick-drying it works well for joining things. I could still use an airscribe for tidying up certain spots (and for bigger jobs), if only I had one. But if you want to retain the pieces removed, this seems like the way to go.

[Bobby Rico]

Interesting and inventive way of splitting matrix. Good work pal Bobby 

[daves64]

Maybe @Ptychodus04 can try that on one of his big, difficult jobs. 

[Ptychodus04]

6 hours ago, daves64 said:

Maybe @Ptychodus04 can try that on one of his big, difficult jobs. 

I’m a firm no on that one! I’m going to go hug my scribes now just so they know how much I appreciate them.

[fossilhunter21]

Very neat way of splitting the matrix. Looks like it worked out pretty well! 

 

Cheers and Shalom,

 

-Micah

[Wrangellian]

9 hours ago, daves64 said:

Maybe @Ptychodus04 can try that on one of his big, difficult jobs. 

Always the joker!

[daves64]

5 hours ago, Wrangellian said:

Always the joker!

Who? Him or me? Or both...?

[daves64]

Anyhoo, nice work on the prep! 

[Wrangellian]

1 hour ago, daves64 said:

Who? Him or me? Or both...?

You - I think you were entirely joking, and Kris' reply was serious if stated humorously (right?)

[Ptychodus04]

16 minutes ago, Wrangellian said:

You - I think you were entirely joking, and Kris' reply was serious if stated humorously (right?)

 

I think you’re a genius for coming up with the process. Necessity is the mother of invention. I could see this being scaled up as well.  You could glue a larger bit of matrix to boards on either side and use a shim to force the pieces apart. If the split right, you would wind up pulling the top face right off in one big piece. Of course, your specimen would always have a wooden backer afterwards.

 

 

 

[Wrangellian]

23 hours ago, Ptychodus04 said:

I think you’re a genius for coming up with the process. Necessity is the mother of invention. I could see this being scaled up as well.  You could glue a larger bit of matrix to boards on either side and use a shim to force the pieces apart. If the split right, you would wind up pulling the top face right off in one big piece. Of course, your specimen would always have a wooden backer afterwards.

I never thought of scaling it up... it's tricky enough on a small scale. But if someone else has enough ambition to try it, I'd like to see their results.

I think the strength of the process is when you have a piece like my conifer specimen where the split was imperfect and several small bits came off on the wrong side, and you want to pull them off and reattach them on the right side. A hammer/chisel might work, but it could be too 'brute' or you might not have enough of an edge to tap, and of course an airscribe would just pulverize the pieces you want to retain.  I didn't take a pic of this piece before I started but I'll show an in-progress pic soon, and a finished pic if and when I'm finished.

Edited April 15, 2023 by Wrangellian