Cluros Posted January 19, 2015 Share Posted January 19, 2015 I've decided to try my hand at prepping my own trilobites. After a failed attempt at a nice Triarthrus becki I decided to pull out a specimen that was questionable to begin with and try again. My first attempt was a failure because the matrix was as hard as the fossil and it stuck to the fossil. While the matrix was also sticky with this one, the matrix was somewhat softer than the fossil. While I am not quite done with this one I thought that I would share my progress. The trilobite is a Flexicalymene senaria and I think is interesting because while the cephalon is attached, it is crushed as can be seen by the photos. At first I wasn't sure the cephalon was there. As can be seen by the first photo it is a less than ideal specimen as the dorsal area is well worn but it is a Vermont trilobite and they are not easy to come by. All of the prep work has been done with an American Air scribe and a single tank Comco unit with 44 micron dolomite. Because of the hardness of the matrix I have had to run the Comco unit at 60 psi. The cephalon has been the slowest part because I wasn't sure where all the pieces were and how it was oriented. The first photo is obviously how it was found. It was well worn by water action. The second photo was taken after two hours. The last two photos were taken after four hours. The prep photos were taken with an iPad. So far here are the cardinal rules that I have learned: Don't start off with a nice specimen. Particle size distribution is important. (I started using dolomite from a ceramics store. A big mistake in my opinion. The particle size was too varied and resulted in nozzle clogging.) Good optics are a must. If you can't see the specimen real sharp it is easy to make a mistake. Reassess your pressure on your micro abraider while working as the hardness of the rock can and does change. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enoscrawler Posted January 19, 2015 Share Posted January 19, 2015 Not bad I preped my first trilo last year luckily for me it was in limestone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpc Posted January 19, 2015 Share Posted January 19, 2015 Nice. As a native of New England, I like seeing VT trilobites here. You can get a soil seive (size 40 or so, I think) and seive your pottery store dolomite. If you do a lot of this, it will pay for itself in no time. Yes... lesson to all getting into prep... do not start with your best piece. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul1719 Posted March 19, 2015 Share Posted March 19, 2015 Very Nice! With this never ending winter we have been spending some time prepping our fossils. Hopefully, I will be able to set up the micro-abraser soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJB Posted March 19, 2015 Share Posted March 19, 2015 Looks like a difficult prep job! If you can do that to this specimen, I have a feeling your gunna be a very good prepper. RB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cluros Posted March 21, 2015 Author Share Posted March 21, 2015 Thanks for the compliment RJB. I just posted the next two Vermont trilobites that I prepped. I collected them with my wife a couple of weeks ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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