Rookie prep of a Green River Fm. Fish

[Mochaccino]

Hello,

 

I wanted to share my progress on this green river fm. Diplomystus dentatus that I've been working on prepping. It's my first attempt at fossil prep and I've just been using the tool provided by the prep kit, which is a blunt needle-like thing. I'm finding it quite enjoyable even though it's taking a while and my hands/fingers ache after a couple hours from all the pressure! I'm also really learning a lot about a fossil that I didn't really pay attention to previously. 
 

So far I've roughly uncovered most of the body, and I've ordered some modeling knives to do some finer prep, especially around the head which I found flakes VERY easily. If anyone has any other suggestions I would like to hear them. Also, if I were to get more involved in fossil prep, what would be next? Would I get an air scribe? What sorts of unprepped material should I work on and where can I get it?

 

[Tidgy's Dad]

Nice work, that's a pretty good job that you've done there. 

[Fossildude19]

Great job so far! Keep your tools sharp, and quit when you get tired. Patience is key.

[Kane]

Coming along very nicely! This will be a stunner when you're done. Great work!

[Walt]

1 hour ago, Mochaccino said:

What sorts of unprepped material should I work on and where can I get it?

Check these folks out if you want.  I've dug at the quarry but never ordered shale.  https://u-digfossils.com/buy-shale/

[Mochaccino]

9 hours ago, Tidgy's Dad said:

Nice work, that's a pretty good job that you've done there. 

 

8 hours ago, Fossildude19 said:

Great job so far! Keep your tools sharp, and quit when you get tired. Patience is key.

 

8 hours ago, Kane said:

Coming along very nicely! This will be a stunner when you're done. Great work!

 

Thank you everyone for the kind words of encouragement! I just got my modeling knife kit and I'm really looking forward to finishing this. Too bad the tip of the skull is a bit crushed, but I'm happy it's otherwise relatively nice and complete. It's funny, I've never particularly cared for green river fish, but prepping one has gotten me quite attached to this specimen

 

7 hours ago, Walt said:

Check these folks out if you want.  I've dug at the quarry but never ordered shale.  https://u-digfossils.com/buy-shale/

 

That's a great suggestion, thank you!

Edited June 2, 2023 by Mochaccino

[Mochaccino]

An additional hour and I've started exposing the beautiful fine bones on the underside. Unfortunately I had to cut it short because my wrist is killing me and my thumb is all numb and tingly, probably nerve compression from trying to apply controlled pressure for too long. Will have to give it a rest until it gets better.

 

Edited June 4, 2023 by Mochaccino

[rocket]

well done, really. I know some collectors with 30years of experience they cannot do better

looks like you have the right patience for doing the prepp...

[Mochaccino]

22 minutes ago, rocket said:

well done, really. I know some collectors with 30years of experience they cannot do better

looks like you have the right patience for doing the prepp...

 

Thank you very much, I'm flattered! I am enjoying it quite a bit and I'm thinking of getting more involved as a long-term hobby.

[snolly50]

On 6/4/2023 at 1:29 AM, Mochaccino said:

Will have to give it a rest until it gets better.

Caution! Your body is warning you. Fortunately you are clever enough to listen. The insidious trait of mechanical, hand prep is the almost meditative state it can evoke. Indeed the passive alertness with "mindless" narrow focus on repetitive movement is seductive. It is very easy to keep going beyond what is wise. Yes, it can wreck your hands. I find a break every 15 minutes or so to be salutary. Good luck, have fun. The fish looks great.

[Mochaccino]

On 6/4/2023 at 4:07 PM, snolly50 said:

Caution! Your body is warning you. Fortunately you are clever enough to listen. The insidious trait of mechanical, hand prep is the almost meditative state it can evoke. Indeed the passive alertness with "mindless" narrow focus on repetitive movement is seductive. It is very easy to keep going beyond what is wise. Yes, it can wreck your hands. I find a break every 15 minutes or so to be salutary. Good luck, have fun. The fish looks great.

 

Thank you! Yes I'll have to give it a rest, too bad this happened just as I am starting to get to the interesting parts. Oh well.

[Mochaccino]

Got some more prep done, mainly the belly and head. It's going slow, and it's tricky that the thin bones on the head tend to flake very easily along with the matrix, even when I'm going very gently.
 

[Mochaccino]

5 more hours, going very slow now with the very small, thin bones. It's very satisfying to expose them. Also I have no idea what's going on at the head; there are bits and pieces of bone seemingly mixed with the clump of matrix. Might be disarticulation.

 

 

[FossilNerd]

Looks great! 

[Mochaccino]

Today I worked on those clumps of matrix around the head. I thought it would be just matrix mixed with broken bone bits, but turns out there is some disarticulation of the skull and first few vertebrae, and the bones are sticking out of the matrix at various angles. It was a pain to prep around those but also quite satisfying and an interesting experience.

 

At this point I think I've exposed pretty much all there is to be exposed, except for the bits of matrix stuck in various nooks and crannies. I wonder if there's a way to easily get at these besides just going very slow with a modeling knife? Perhaps this is where air abrasion is warranted?

 

 

Edited June 11, 2023 by Mochaccino

[MrR]

That is really an awesome prep job! I thought I did a decent job on mine, but I now question that. Mine still has matrix on the verts, as it seemed too risky to try to remove. It looks like you have been able to do it, and make it look great.

 

What tool did you use to clear the matrix on the vertebrae? I was using a needle in a pin-vise as well as a very pointy X-Acto knife. Whatever you used, it worked out great. Congrat's.

[Mochaccino]

2 hours ago, MrR said:

That is really an awesome prep job! I thought I did a decent job on mine, but I now question that. Mine still has matrix on the verts, as it seemed too risky to try to remove. It looks like you have been able to do it, and make it look great.

 

What tool did you use to clear the matrix on the vertebrae? I was using a needle in a pin-vise as well as a very pointy X-Acto knife. Whatever you used, it worked out great. Congrat's.

Thanks! I used this tool provided with the prep kit for 99% of the work including the verts, not sure what to call it. It is somewhat sharp but still blunt enough that I could gently apply pressure to the matrix on the bones to break it apart without damaging the bones themselves. Or at least theoretically haha, I definitely made mistakes.

 

I myself am thinking of maybe using very sharp X-acto/modeling knives to dig away the last bits of matrix throughout, but it will probably be a very slow and delicate job to do it carefully enough so as to not damage the fossil.

 

Edited June 13, 2023 by Mochaccino

[MrR]

Thanks. The tool looks a lot like the straight pick in the 4-piece set that Harbor Freight sells. While the steel may not be quite as good, the HF tools are cheap enough to replace. Keep up the good work. Cheers.