RJB Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 I haven't done any prepping for almost a year now, but I kept looking at this one Tumido crab concretion and whilst I was waiting for my baked potato to get done, I decided to go on the prep attack. I was at a loss at how this crab was situated in the rock so I decided to get down to the big claw and just see. What a surprise! Not only is the hand part 'NOT' surrounded by rock and hollow all around it, but the movable finger is not even attached!!! What gives? Not used to this. Anyways, once I could see all that I could see what was ventral and what was dorsal. So,, I made a hole on the top side and was second guessing myself quite a bit cause I had to go real deep to find the carapace! A bit of calcite too. But now I can also see that I have one heck of a lot of rock to remove! Dang!!! Now what im worried about is that one side only has one leg showing? Whats up with that? uuuuugh... No wonder I cuss a lot. RB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fossilized6s Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 That cavity is strange. I know with some of my Mazon Creek fossils the specimen gets completely replaced with soft, powdery calcite. And sometimes they crumble apart because they are so delicate. But this is just a theory regarding your crab cavity. ~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...
Plantguy Posted January 25, 2015 Share Posted January 25, 2015 RB, looking forward to see what comes out of it. I was gonna to suggest giving up potatoes in lieu of more prep time, but I had a killer one Wednesday with dang near everything but the kitchen sink piled on it and it was a meal for a king.. Keep after that crab! Regards, Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJB Posted January 26, 2015 Author Share Posted January 26, 2015 This crab I call, 'One Mean Tumido', im now calling,,,, The Crab from H-E Double toothpicks!!! Waaaaay too much calcite for me, and all the hollow spots I am not used to! ive taken a bunch of time removing tons of rock and have problems in lots of places! This crab will NOT go into my collection. I hate to sound sooooo spoiled, but ive done 2 or 3 crabs in the past and this one is not up to snuff for me! But,,, all in all, its really not too bad? it seems to have most of the legs on the left side, both claws and a complete carapace but will have nightmares tonight about the legs on the right side! The first leg, so far, appears to me missing? Hopefully its just a bit lower than usual? Here are some update pics. RB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fossilized6s Posted January 26, 2015 Share Posted January 26, 2015 Looks nice to an untrained eye so far RB. ~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...
Doctor Mud Posted January 28, 2015 Share Posted January 28, 2015 Nice work as usual RJB! From my limited experience at this site, there seems to be quite a mixed bag, but this is the case with all concs. I guess this is due to processes in the rock and what happens to the concretions after they pop out onto the beach. Just wondering what you used for bulk removal. Is that a chisel bit on an ME-9100? Welcome to my H-E Double toothpicks The shear size of some of these concretions mean a lot of rock needs to be removed. But I'm not going to complain too loudly as a large concretion usually means a complete or large crab. Looking forward to seeing your progress. Will you use you air abrader to remove that calcite? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJB Posted January 28, 2015 Author Share Posted January 28, 2015 Hey Dr. Mud. Im not sure what to do with all the calcite! Just tons of it, everywhere!!! For bulk removal I use my paleotools junior jack. You have to be real careful with that cause if you make a mistake, its a HUGE mistake! RB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJB Posted January 28, 2015 Author Share Posted January 28, 2015 Well,, ive put in a few more hours and I keep having 'heart attack' moments! Im not use to having 'cave ins' and they look small in these picture, but belive me, with an opti-visor, they are HUGE!!! Lots and lots of calcite too. Just hate that stuff. The good thing is, lots of leg on the right side where I thought there may be only one? So,, for completeness, this is a good crab, but with all the problems, then not so good. You have to take what mother nature gives you and then do the best that you can. Here are some more pics on my progress. You can easily see what im dealing with. Im gunna have more nightmares tonight!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJB Posted January 31, 2015 Author Share Posted January 31, 2015 Here is another update photo. ive had to do some gluing here and there but this thing is purty dang complete. Just wish it was in better preservation? Ive watered it down with a toothbrush and a bowl of water to wash off all the dust and you can see its coming along, but a long ways to go still, but its getting there. Woooop!!! Wooooop!!! RB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ludwigia Posted January 31, 2015 Share Posted January 31, 2015 I can see that you're desperately combating the mineralization, but you're doing a good job going step by step. Is the air abrader any help at all in this situation? You'd probably have to use a lot of pressure, but you don't want to damage the shell either. Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger http://www.steinkern.de/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJB Posted February 1, 2015 Author Share Posted February 1, 2015 Hey Ludwigia, I tried that years ago, but the soft bicarb didn't do much of anything. I knew if I went to dolomite or harder that I would get that smooth 'lumpy bumpy' look. I think Im just gunna fix the worst places and call it good. I think I will call this guy,,,,,, Mr Calcite. At least this crab is almost complete and with some long leg to boot. RB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ludwigia Posted February 1, 2015 Share Posted February 1, 2015 A treatment with potassium hydroxide is somewhat time consuming but its a gentle method which generally brings good results in the end. Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger http://www.steinkern.de/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJB Posted February 1, 2015 Author Share Posted February 1, 2015 Hey Ludwigia, ive never heard of that, but not sure if I want to put that kind of time in this? Im always looking for the next 'better' crab. ive got lots of crab concs still to do someday. RB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ludwigia Posted February 2, 2015 Share Posted February 2, 2015 The actual work isn't at all time consuming, but rather just waiting for it to do its job. You can be doing other things in the meantime, however. Over here you can order the stuff at your local drug store. It comes in a plastic bottle as little plates which you crush up, disperse over the clayey matrix to be dissolved, sprinkle it with water and leave overnight to work. It works slowly and gently, so you often have to repeat the process many times after having rinsed it under running water. I'm not suggesting you need necessarily do that with this one if you've anyway got enough of them to keep you busy. Just an idea to keep in mind. Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger http://www.steinkern.de/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJB Posted February 3, 2015 Author Share Posted February 3, 2015 Thank you Ludwigia. RB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJB Posted February 6, 2015 Author Share Posted February 6, 2015 I got lazy today and decide to 'play' instead of doing actual labor. My compressor is still kinda working and did about 6 more hours of work on this crab. Did a bit more 'ruff out' and then did some 'smoothing out' work. Its actually starting to look Purdy good? here is an update photo. RB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doctor Mud Posted February 7, 2015 Share Posted February 7, 2015 Lookin good RB. It's gonna be a good one. Amazing how the smoothing transforms the piece and the crab is really starting to pop. Nice legs on the right. Will look even better once you give the crab a coat of whatever magic coating you use. Do you put a protective coating on the rock at all or just leave it natural. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJB Posted February 7, 2015 Author Share Posted February 7, 2015 I put nothing on the rock, but there has been a time or two where I would take my air abrasive and holding it away from the rock/fossil a ways, just blast it lightly and that makes the rock itself look older, more anitique. RB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MB Posted February 7, 2015 Share Posted February 7, 2015 (edited) Don't stop Great RB Edited February 7, 2015 by MB http://www.mbfossilcrabs.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plantguy Posted February 7, 2015 Share Posted February 7, 2015 Yeah RB I should be still working on my home projects some more as well, but am eating and browsing the forum and then headed for fossil club mtg later. More work tomorrow. Appreciate you showing the latest! Looks mighty good. Regards, Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amour 25 Posted February 8, 2015 Share Posted February 8, 2015 Nice work indeed. I guess for my slacking butt way to much work. LOL Jeff Jeff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJB Posted February 8, 2015 Author Share Posted February 8, 2015 Ok, an update photo. I did a bit of work on this but found that the lower finger on the right claw is disarticulated! Dang! But I also found a tippy tip on the front leg on the righthand side. A give and take I quess? Its always something. But all in all it will be a purty dang good crab. RB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ludwigia Posted February 9, 2015 Share Posted February 9, 2015 Well, for a mean one, it's pretty cute and nobody's perfect, anyway. Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger http://www.steinkern.de/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texas Fossil Hound Posted February 11, 2015 Share Posted February 11, 2015 Thanks for sharing your progress! Your patience really paid off. I would like to try a crab prep some day. It looks quite challenging! Right now I am mostly doing black cat mountain trilobites under a microscope. Pretty little guys, but, like you, I tend to do my fair share of cussing at them during the prep process! Jon "Silence is Golden, but duct tape is Silver." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJB Posted February 11, 2015 Author Share Posted February 11, 2015 Hey Jon, Someday I would like to prep out some black cat trilos. Its still on my bucket list. Not sure if I will ever make it out there? Longs ways to go for fossil hunting. RB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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