cowgirlfossils Posted April 20, 2014 Share Posted April 20, 2014 (edited) First thought it was a fence post...then a little closer, I thought an ancient piece of tin...but no! Just could not believe it. Quite a climb to it. Fossil26 and myself climbed to it. I'm sure anyone in ear shot heard my whahoo! It is in a cobble layer. Any good ideas on the best way to remove? I'm sure it's very heavy. We will need to stabilize it as it may be fragile. You can see the size. After we get it out I'll have better pictures of all the angles. It's about 14" wide at the widest...still buried so a little hard to see. About 4' to 5' long. I tried to fix the pictures...pretty bright out this morning. Fossil26 is thinking whale snout?? Anybody? Bobby?? Then Fossil26 found the giant vertebra. Walked by looked..got a foot or 2 away and said that looks like something...looked again and WOW! Her husband was nice enough to carry it to the truck! Will clean up for a later post. Fossil26 should post it..she found it. Good day! Not bad for 2 or 3 hours of hunting! Sorry..was so excited forgot to put...North East Simi Valley...Pliocene..Miocene.. Edited May 13, 2014 by cowgirlfossils Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rylawz Posted April 20, 2014 Share Posted April 20, 2014 what is it? dino bone? I don't think u said in ur post. Post your Proboscidea!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowgirlfossils Posted April 20, 2014 Author Share Posted April 20, 2014 what is it? dino bone? I don't think u said in ur post. I think I tagged it whale. No dinos here...bummer....But pretty cool piece! Thanks for taking a look! CGF Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulgdls Posted April 20, 2014 Share Posted April 20, 2014 (edited) The stuff of legend. Must be a lot more of it there I'd imagine. congratulations! Paul P.S. looks like part of the upper jaw Edited April 20, 2014 by paulgdls Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fossil26 Posted April 20, 2014 Share Posted April 20, 2014 All I can say is "WOW" what a day cowgirlfossils and I had!! Couldn't believe my eyes seeing such a large fossil all exposed sitting on the hillside. Then finding the extra large vert on the way down! pics below. At least 3X the size of the ones I usually find! I'd say it was a whale of a find!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gdarone Posted April 20, 2014 Share Posted April 20, 2014 Amazing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike from North Queensland Posted April 20, 2014 Share Posted April 20, 2014 Nice chunky piece Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnJ Posted April 20, 2014 Share Posted April 20, 2014 Bravo! I hope you are able to retrieve it safely. The human mind has the ability to believe anything is true. - JJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plantguy Posted April 20, 2014 Share Posted April 20, 2014 Yep, those are pretty cool finds. congrats! Especially like the picture showing the graveling sediment the large piece was found in. Regards, Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowgirlfossils Posted April 21, 2014 Author Share Posted April 21, 2014 Does anyone have a suggestion on just what we should do to remove it? Plaster? Bond? Big job and we don't want to make any mistakes. I'm thinking once we have it lose we will put it on a heavy cardboard sled, secure it and slid it slowly down the hill. Also found a maybe rib bone about 6' to the left and will remove it also. Of course it goes into the hill and not parallel. But so excited about it all! Hey Lisa! Dance of JOY!!! Thank you all for your interest! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnJ Posted April 21, 2014 Share Posted April 21, 2014 The size and angle of the bone sure does present a problem. It looks like 'pedestalling' that sand could cause everything to slide. First, you may need to do some field consolidation with an acetone soluble consolident, then plaster. Then pedestal, then plaster. Maybe jpc, Bobby, or others with large plaster jacket field experience can offer better suggestions. The human mind has the ability to believe anything is true. - JJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichW9090 Posted April 21, 2014 Share Posted April 21, 2014 You need to get some help with this - I think it is a partial whale skull. Don't try to jacket it yourself - if you haven't done that a lot, it can only end badly. Rich The plural of "anecdote" is not "evidence". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowgirlfossils Posted April 21, 2014 Author Share Posted April 21, 2014 No worries...I would never attempt it on my own. Fossil26 is experienced having done it all at Shark Tooth Hill. Hoping to start today...Thanks, will keep all informed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xiphactinus Posted April 21, 2014 Share Posted April 21, 2014 Take lots of photos! Good luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lissa318 Posted April 21, 2014 Share Posted April 21, 2014 How exciting! Looking forward to more pics! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichW9090 Posted April 21, 2014 Share Posted April 21, 2014 Great - I sent Bobby a link, so he should weigh in on it soon. The plural of "anecdote" is not "evidence". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpc Posted April 21, 2014 Share Posted April 21, 2014 NIce find, but I agree with Rich... this is not an easy project. And it should not be your first pl;aster jacket job. 4 feet of bone laying vertically is a challenge for even those of us with lots of plastering miles on us. I hope fossil26 can help. But first get some consolidant on it. The Black Hills Institute sells Vinac that you dissolve in acetone. This should work. http://www.bhigr.com/store/product.php?productid=262&cat=37&page=1 I just ordered some, but you gotta buy at least 15 bucks worth of stuff to buy online, so check out some of their tools and books. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fossil26 Posted April 21, 2014 Share Posted April 21, 2014 NIce find, but I agree with Rich... this is not an easy project. And it should not be your first pl;aster jacket job. 4 feet of bone laying vertically is a challenge for even those of us with lots of plastering miles on us. I hope fossil26 can help. But first get some consolidant on it. The Black Hills Institute sells Vinac that you dissolve in acetone. This should work. http://www.bhigr.com/store/product.php?productid=262&cat=37&page=1 I just ordered some, but you gotta buy at least 15 bucks worth of stuff to buy online, so check out some of their tools and books. I'm mixing up a big batch of Acryloid B 72 as I'm writing this. Going to stabilize it and cowgirlfossils and I will talk over some ideas of removal. I have done jackets before, but not one in such a difficult postion. Waiting to hear back from a few people and anyone on the forum with experience in jacketing would be great! We also want to check the surrounding area for any possible associated fossils so they don't get covered when we remove the big one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MOROPUS Posted April 21, 2014 Share Posted April 21, 2014 Wow! Niiiice find! In my opinion, it looks like a whale mandible ( down one). Good luck with the restoration! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpc Posted April 21, 2014 Share Posted April 21, 2014 f26 and cowgirlfossils... Arcyloid is good. This will be a tough one. Here is what I would do. start by stabilizing it with your Acryloid. And stbilize a bit of the matrix around it. The expose a little bit behind the top side and put a first coat of plaster jacket, so that the jacket has something to hang onto on top. Then do a bit of undercutting on the sides... not too much, then put more plaster and burlap on the sides with a bit more on the main surface (what we see in the pix). Then add a 2x4 to the "main" side with plaster and burlap. You may want to extend the plaster jacket to 8 plus inches below the bone so that if the whole thing falls off at some point it will snap the rock below the bone, rather than the tip of the bone. But let's hope it doesn't fail. Then do more undercutting on the sides and another layer of burlap and plaster. Make your plaster somewhat thick in small batches so it doesn't set up on you. If you need something to keep the plaster soaked burlap wrapped around the bone in your undercuts (sidecuts in this case), stuff some rocks in there. At some point you will have a skinny pedestal of rock behind the bone. Before you break it off, also do a little bit of undercut under the actual bottom of the specimen... 4 feet below the top. Then also dig a few tunnels in your pedestal and string a chunk of plasterized burlap through them as well. Something to keep in mind. It is good to keep stabilizing the rock as you expose new rock, BUT in situations like this where you have vertically exposed rock, if you put Acryloid on a previously acryloided surface, the first thing that will happen is that the acetone in the new acryloid will dissolve the old acryloid and soften everything up and even allow things to collapse. I hope this helps. It is kind of rambly. It is good to envision the process in your head before you start. And with the two of you brainstorming, that is even better. I am PMing you my phone number.. fee free to call me. Just so you know I have done dozens of plaster jackets from coffee cup sized to an 18 foot one containing a partial T rex. And I can count on one hand how many have failed, and even then the fails were not too bad. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scylla Posted April 21, 2014 Share Posted April 21, 2014 Can't wait to see it all out Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boesse Posted April 22, 2014 Share Posted April 22, 2014 Whoa, that's a big bone. It looks to be the posterior half or 2/3 of a right mysticete maxilla - normally the tooth-bearing bone in the upper jaw, but this is the baleen-bearing bone in the skull of baleen whales. Unfortunately both ends are missing, but it is probably still be identifiable if it is collected carefully. I recommend you get into contact with Howell Thomas at the Los Angeles County Museum - call this number and ask for Howell: (213)763-3325. If you're OK with them collecting the specimen for LACM collections, I'm sure they'd be happy to go out and dig it up. If they're not interested, there are folks at the Raymond Alf Museum in Claremont - 909-624-2798 - ask for Dr. Andy Farke, he does fieldwork in Utah, digging up dinos. In either case, it's okay to tell them that I (Bobby Boessenecker) directed you to them. In the offhand chance neither museum is interested, I recommend getting in touch with another socal fossil forum member who knows how to do plaster jacketing. Anyway, nice find, and good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowgirlfossils Posted April 22, 2014 Author Share Posted April 22, 2014 So it has begun! Yesterday we "painted" it with Acryloid B 72 to stabilize. Next we will jacket. Will keep all updated. This may take while as time is a factor here in the real world...This is a lot higher up than it looks and just getting to it is a challenge not to mention getting it out and down the hill safely. Keep watching!! Thank you all for your interest. What fun! What nice people on TFF! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roz Posted April 22, 2014 Share Posted April 22, 2014 That's huge! I hope you can get it down when it's time without too many problems! Way to go, ladies! I will be following your progress and wish you luck with it all. More hard work than luck though. Welcome to the forum! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnJ Posted April 22, 2014 Share Posted April 22, 2014 You ladies are having way too much fun. Best of success with the plastering. The human mind has the ability to believe anything is true. - JJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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