Herb Posted September 15, 2014 Share Posted September 15, 2014 Here's a tip for the more inexperienced microfossiliers. If you use brass or steel mesh sieves. Use hot water to wash out the sieves between matrixes. The hot water will cause the mesh openings to expand and washing out the embedded particles will be easier. 6 "Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence"_ Carl Sagen No trees were killed in this posting......however, many innocent electrons were diverted from where they originally intended to go. " I think, therefore I collect fossils." _ Me "When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth."__S. Holmes "can't we all just get along?" Jack Nicholson from Mars Attacks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fossilized6s Posted September 15, 2014 Share Posted September 15, 2014 Thanks for the free tip Herb! Winter is coming.....my micros are stirring. ~Charlie~ "There are those that look at things the way they are, and ask why.....i dream of things that never were, and ask why not?" ~RFK ->Get your Mosasaur print ->How to spot a fake Trilobite ->How to identify a CONCRETION from a DINOSAUR EGG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mediospirifer Posted September 15, 2014 Share Posted September 15, 2014 Thanks! I'll have to try that. Poking trapped bits out of the larger meshes with a needle is OK, but for the smaller meshes it gets extremely tedious! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Herb Posted September 15, 2014 Author Share Posted September 15, 2014 Using a pin will also stretch brass mesh sieves. "Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence"_ Carl Sagen No trees were killed in this posting......however, many innocent electrons were diverted from where they originally intended to go. " I think, therefore I collect fossils." _ Me "When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth."__S. Holmes "can't we all just get along?" Jack Nicholson from Mars Attacks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mediospirifer Posted September 15, 2014 Share Posted September 15, 2014 Also good to know. I've been careful so far, now I'll be more careful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creto Posted September 25, 2014 Share Posted September 25, 2014 I use a plastic brush on my finer sieves, it works well and has little effect on the sieve itself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squali Posted September 26, 2014 Share Posted September 26, 2014 Smart post Herb. Soils labs employ the same techniques to save the sieves. Force hot air works well too. Think hair dryer. It's hard to remember why you drained the swamp when your surrounded by alligators. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted September 26, 2014 Share Posted September 26, 2014 OK, a show of hands: how many inspect the lees you dislodge from your sieve? "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! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squali Posted September 26, 2014 Share Posted September 26, 2014 Gotta look before ya leeve haha. Great question Auspex. It's hard to remember why you drained the swamp when your surrounded by alligators. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted September 26, 2014 Share Posted September 26, 2014 I asked, in jest, because I can't imagine a micro collector just washing them down the drain (I know I couldn't). "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! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcoSr Posted September 26, 2014 Share Posted September 26, 2014 I moved away from metal sieves to nylon/plastic. The metal sieves are much more difficult to clean and ten times the cost. I'm much more worried about contamination from the metal sieves than the sieve mesh openings slightly changing. Aqua culture companies sell a wide variety of nylon sieves, both in mesh opening sizes and sieve diameters. My favorites are nylon/plastic sieves that fit over five gallon buckets which are very easy to use for washing/rinsing matrix. I typically use .4mm which clean up very easily after drying and are very easy to inspect because of the white color. e-bay has a good number of different sizes for very reasonable prices. Marco Sr. "Any day that you can fossil hunt is a great day." My family fossil website Some Of My Shark, Ray, Fish And Other Micros My Extant Shark Jaw Collection Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Herb Posted September 30, 2014 Author Share Posted September 30, 2014 I use mainly a small (4") 6 piece pvc and brass set ( cover, 1/4", #10, 40, #100 and pan sizes) costs about $40. The #100 sieve will filter out 99% of all microfossils. "Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence"_ Carl Sagen No trees were killed in this posting......however, many innocent electrons were diverted from where they originally intended to go. " I think, therefore I collect fossils." _ Me "When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth."__S. Holmes "can't we all just get along?" Jack Nicholson from Mars Attacks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcoSr Posted October 1, 2014 Share Posted October 1, 2014 Some raw matrix that I get in trade processes down to a small amount of residue which I wash in PVC/nylon Aquaculture sieves around 3.5 inches in diameter. However most times I have a large amount of matrix to wash after processing, so I use the Aquaculture plastic/nylon sieves that fit over five gallon buckets. I still use 12 inch diameter metal sieves (.5mm and 1mm stainless steel flour sieves) when I take and process matrix in the field either by dry or wet sifting. Marco Sr. "Any day that you can fossil hunt is a great day." My family fossil website Some Of My Shark, Ray, Fish And Other Micros My Extant Shark Jaw Collection Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rumi Posted August 12, 2016 Share Posted August 12, 2016 Another source for metal mesh sieves is a store for ceramics supplies. They typically have sieves that look like a 12" plastic pan with a 6" round metal mesh circle set into the bottom. They are used for sieving glazes. Available in several mesh sizes. I use 60 and 100 mesh, and they fit very nicely over a large plastic bucket. They are very sturdy, and clean easily with a plastic-bristle brush. They can be nested also, as there is about 1/2 inch clearance between them when they are stacked. Rumi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HFVC Fossils Posted September 9, 2016 Share Posted September 9, 2016 Great tips! Thanks!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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