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How to prepare a fish fossil from the Green River Formation


Dapalis1

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Yes, I keep my points very very sharp!! I am constantly resharpening them with my wet stone and honing oil. Just be sure to remove the honing oil with a tissue or something before you start prepping. The sharper your tool is, the easier your prepping will be, but it just takes practice. When I have a fish that is in much harder rock, I use one of my airscribes and of course my air abrasive unit with bicarbonate of soda as a media.

RB

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Very helpful! Thanks, at first I thought you meant to use the actual file to scrape it away. Now I know you meant use the point :rolleyes: I would have been filing away for 400 years :D

The soul of a Fossil Hunter is one that is seeking, always.

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Thanks RJB, you are very helpfull! B)

I am going to go get me some chainsaws files. They look better than my tool.

How much does it cost to get an air abrasive along with an airscibe for a beginner like me who will mostly prepare fossil fishes from the Green River.

Indeed i would like to know if these tools are expensive or if i could get them for cheap... ^_^

Dapalis1

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Guest solius symbiosus
How much does it cost to get an air abrasive along with an airscibe for a beginner like me who will mostly prepare fossil fishes from the Green River.

Indeed i would like to know if these tools are expensive or if i could get them for cheap... happy.gif

Probably a minimum of $1000 for a basic set up.

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Probably a minimum of $1000 for a basic set up.

Are you kiding me ? 1000 bucks for these tools. Wouah That's a lot of money. :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

Do you think that it is worth buying them for someone who is going to prepare mostly fossil fishes from the Green River?

Or should i settle for the chainsaw files for now?

Dapalis1

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Are you kiding me ? 1000 bucks for these tools. Wouah That's a lot of money. :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

Do you think that it is worth buying them for someone who is going to prepare mostly fossil fishes from the Green River?

Or should i settle for the chainsaw files for now?

I would suppose it depends on how much your time is worth, and whether you're going to go into production.

"There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant

“Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley

>Paleontology is an evolving science.

>May your wonders never cease!

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auspex is right. if you plan on prepareing more than a few of these fish you should at least invest $300 into an airscribe. www.paleotools.com has "paleoaros" that would work out very nicely for what you want to do. i bought several scribes, aros and an air abrasive unit to clean my green river fish. but i have a collection of almost 1000 plate. so for me it was well worth the money. it will cut down on your prep time 10 to 1. plus nothing is as good as an air abrasive used properly. but for a nice one you are looking at 2-3 thousand bucks. you can make your own if you desire. her are the schematics again, if you are interested.

brock

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I would suppose it depends on how much your time is worth, and whether you're going to go into production.

Hi Auspex,

I am not going to do that for a living. I am not going to make money out of it. Indeed i am a private collector.

As you probably remember i asked you for some advises a few months ago cause i was looking for a stingray specimen from the Green River.

That was the first and probably the last time that i spent so much money on a fossil. I am going more and more in the "you 'd better prepare you own fossil" direction.

Indeed it is far more enjoyable and much cheaper ^_^

I mean i just want to prepare fossil fishes for my own private collection. I do it for fun. Later on i'd like to start preparing fishes from other locations like France.

I like to take my time to prepare a fish but i am also looking for a way to naturally make the prepation easier and the result look better.

I am still a beginner so i need more practice. The more i go into the prepartion, the more in think i should get me better tools.

Getting me some chainsaw files, i believe is a good first step forward...

That's why i am wondering if it is worth spending some money on such tools. :unsure: You are more familiar with preparation that's why i need you opinion ;)

Dapalis1

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I just missed your reply ebrocklds

Thanks for your advises.

So if i got you well, there are two kinds of tools used to prepare a fossil.

An airscribe is used to chip the matrix ?

An air abrasive is used to clean the fish? But what does it do the fossil? Is it used in order to remove the matrix that was not removed by the airscribe?

I am not familiar with these tools so i believe my questions are silly but i don't know exactly the difference between them... c :rolleyes:

Dapalis1

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You can come across used scribes on ebay for around $100, and occasionally, an abrasive unit will come up. I found an old Comco that needed repairs for $275 a while back.

I have used an inter-oral devise manufactured for dentists, but it has a small cup, and has to be filled often. They don't work that great, but they do work.

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think tiny sandblaster. it slowly works the softer matrix away from the harder bones and scales. you have to be careful but if done correctly it will shine beautifully.

brock

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think tiny sandblaster. it slowly works the softer matrix away from the harder bones and scales. you have to be careful but if done correctly it will shine beautifully.

brock

Thanks for the explanation.

I found some videos on the internet showing how an air abrasive operates on fossils. It is very impressive! cool.gif

Air abrasive

The webpage on Discovery says that it requires some safety measures .... sad.gifsad.gif

Air abrasive used on a trilobite!

I didn't find anything about air scribes but i guess it is more like a needle-shaped tool!

So which one is the best in order to prepare fossil fishes from the Green River? air scribe or air abrasive?

I mean which one is mostly used by those who prepare them?

Thanks,

Dapalis1

Dapalis1

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Guest solius symbiosus

I've never prepped a fish, but scribes are used for removing the overlying material to get to the fossil, then use of an abrasive to remove very small amounts of material still attached. The idea is to use an abrasive compound with a hardness that is less than the fossil. Anything that can be done with a scribe, can also be done with small hammers, chisels, and pin vises... it just takes longer. The same can't be said for abrasives.

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So which one is the best in order to prepare fossil fishes from the Green River? air scribe or air abrasive?

I mean which one is mostly used by those who prepare them?

Hey Dapalis1. No easy way out of spending the money. You need both. But remember, once you have these tools, then you can prep other fossils as well. I have a comco, but I also have a little ECO blaster that I got from Swam Blast that I do most of my fish with. It works, but not as good as a more expensive unit.

RB

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an airscribe would be the first thing to buy. you can get most of the fish prepared with it in record time. then with a pin vise and a brown gum eraser you can clean up the small stuff that is in the cracks and such. you are looking at around $300 for a scribe. sometimes you can find them on ebay from china or taiwan for $150 or so. they work fine. the best part is that if you start to have probelms with it you can order replacement parts from bill murry (paleotools.com) and make it a ver nice one for about 50 buck cheaper than buying one from him in the first place.

Brock

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an airscribe would be the first thing to buy. you can get most of the fish prepared with it in record time. then with a pin vise and a brown gum eraser you can clean up the small stuff that is in the cracks and such. you are looking at around $300 for a scribe. sometimes you can find them on ebay from china or taiwan for $150 or so. they work fine. the best part is that if you start to have probelms with it you can order replacement parts from bill murry (paleotools.com) and make it a ver nice one for about 50 buck cheaper than buying one from him in the first place.

Brock

Okay guys you are very helpful! ;)

I believe "THE PALEO-ARO" is the most suitable for what i want to do. As far as i know these tools run on pressure so i will have to purchase a compressor in addition?

I am going to get me first an air scribe!!

Dapalis1

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yes you have to have an air compressor that will supply a constant 90 psi or more to run the paleo aro. up to a max of 110 psi. so you may also need a pressure regulator. you should be able to find a compressor fairly cheap well under $100 used

brock

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Hey Dapalis1. I think you are going to start not liking us with all these ideas of tools and how much money they cost?!!! But what a freakin nice hobbie this is!!! If your going to spend money, why not on something you truly enjoy. I have a 33 gallon 5 hourse compressor that I run at 120 psi, but I also have a regulater/water trap that I can put at any psi that I want. I usualy have it at about 100 to 110 psi but can turn it down when Im using my airabrasive unit. And someday I will get my comco and dryin unit set up, and with my 6 airscribes, 3 of them are the bigger ones, 2 are the ARO's and one is the 'micro' and then you need all the media's, I use mostly the bicarbonate of soda, but have the dolomite and the aluminum oxid for my gastropods. i still need to invest in a smaller comco unit and all this has taked me years to aquire, but its all good stuff!!! This hobbie seems to have no end in the kind of fossils you can find/buy/trade and you can spend a small fortune on the tools. I wish you all the luck in the world.

RB

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Hey Dapalis1. I think you are going to start not liking us with all these ideas of tools and how much money they cost?!!! But what a freakin nice hobbie this is!!! If your going to spend money, why not on something you truly enjoy. I have a 33 gallon 5 hourse compressor that I run at 120 psi, but I also have a regulater/water trap that I can put at any psi that I want. I usualy have it at about 100 to 110 psi but can turn it down when Im using my airabrasive unit. And someday I will get my comco and dryin unit set up, and with my 6 airscribes, 3 of them are the bigger ones, 2 are the ARO's and one is the 'micro' and then you need all the media's, I use mostly the bicarbonate of soda, but have the dolomite and the aluminum oxid for my gastropods. i still need to invest in a smaller comco unit and all this has taked me years to aquire, but its all good stuff!!! This hobbie seems to have no end in the kind of fossils you can find/buy/trade and you can spend a small fortune on the tools. I wish you all the luck in the world.

RB

Don't worry RJB i am not going to start not liking you because of that. On the contrary i truly appreciate your advises through your experience in fossil fishes preparation.

I am going to go first for an airscribe and later on for an air abrasive.

It seems pretty easy to find a store that sells airscribes (like Paleotool for example) wink.gif but pretty hard to find one selling air abrasives designed for fossil (fishes) preparation... sad.gif

The Paleo Aro will be my first purchase! biggrin.gif

I live in France!! If you have any information about fossil tools retailers in western europe please let me know! Otherwise i am going to buy it at Paleotool.com.

Thanks,

Dapalis1

Dapalis1

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but pretty hard to find one selling air abrasives designed for fossil (fishes) preparation... sad.gif

paleotools also sells the crystal mark swamblaster air abrasive units. (i know it sounds like i work for the guy or something. but i don't. i just have been very happy with his service and products)

Brock

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Don't worry RJB i am not going to start not liking you because of that. On the contrary i truly appreciate your advises through your experience in fossil fishes preparation.

I am going to go first for an airscribe and later on for an air abrasive.

It seems pretty easy to find a store that sells airscribes (like Paleotool for example) wink.gif but pretty hard to find one selling air abrasives designed for fossil (fishes) preparation... sad.gif

The Paleo Aro will be my first purchase! biggrin.gif

I live in France!! If you have any information about fossil tools retailers in western europe please let me know! Otherwise i am going to buy it at Paleotool.com.

Thanks,

Dapalis1

Dapalis1, don't cry, in France you have Le Atelier la Trouville, where you find ALL you need for your fish:

http://www.atelierlatrouvaille.com/

Have a good day

smile.gif

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