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a Robot From Far Away

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I was hunting the peace river a few days ago and found an osteoderm. I was overjoyed to be able to add it to my collection. I have wanted one since I started collecting! When I pulled it it was in great condition. I left it in a zip lock baggie so it had some moisture on the way home. I took it out and let it dry on my desk away from direct sunlight. i was picking some debris from the holes and noticed a very tiny hairline crack. Today it has grown much larger and seems to continue to widen. I don't know what to do as I am a nube. What can I do to save my osteoderm? What did I do wrong? What should I have done? What should I do in the future with specimens like this? (Sub dermal wet bone) Please help.

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On the home page of TFF, go to upper right and type the word "Butvar" in the search window. There is a massive amount of detailed information on how to preserve fossils and a lot of other finds.

Peace River fossils are extremely varied. Some (dugong ribs for example) are black rocks that are impervious to anything less than a hammer. Others like some shark teeth roots are perfect when I first pick them up , but start to crumble in my hand or on the transport back home.

After a couple of years, you will get to know the difference. I have a large gator osteoderm, found in 2009, that looks like weak fossilization, a number of cracks, never preserved, that remains as good as the day it was found in the Peace River.

If the cracks are widening, you do need butvar to stabilize. SS

The White Queen  ".... in her youth she could believe "six impossible things before breakfast"

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Shellseeker is right, but until then get it into an environment where it will stop drying out and where temperature is more stable, like a tupperware container. A cheaper but not as good alternative is soak it in dilute white glue.

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A good rule-of-thumb is: All vertebrate fossils should be consolidated with plastic soon after they are collected.

Some well-preserved fossil bones and teeth may appear well-mineralized and too stable to need consolidation . . . but, surprises happen, sometimes after years in your drawer. This has happened to me too many times to hesitate to make the recommendation . . . consolidate, consolidate, consolidate!

You can see my suggestions for consolidation here: http://www.thefossilforum.com/index.php?/user/42-harry-pristis/

post-42-0-41550700-1431632625_thumb.jpg

http://pristis.wix.com/the-demijohn-page

 

What seest thou else

In the dark backward and abysm of time?

---Shakespeare, The Tempest

 

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A good rule-of-thumb is: All vertebrate fossils should be consolidated with plastic soon after they are collected.

Maybe so for bones and teeth pulled out of wet Florida streams, but not so for bones pulled out of dry western rocks. Many of these are pretty darn well permineralized and stable.

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Maybe so for bones and teeth pulled out of wet Florida streams, but not so for bones pulled out of dry western rocks. Many of these are pretty darn well permineralized and stable.

And . . . ? Your advice to a Robot From Far Away in Tampa would be . . . ?

http://pristis.wix.com/the-demijohn-page

 

What seest thou else

In the dark backward and abysm of time?

---Shakespeare, The Tempest

 

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Thanks Shellseeker for the info I will follow your recomendations. Thanks Scylla at the cost of this specimen I will wait till I can afford the Butvar. I appreciate your input to Harry Pristis. I thought you had to wait till a specimen was dry before you consolidate it. Is that the case? If not how are you supposed to dry material out? I looked it up but the information seems mixed.

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You can consolidate a wet specimen with a PVA/Butvar emulsion (PAV/PVB + water) If you are going to use a PVA/Butvar solution (PVA/PVB + acetone) I would recommend it being quite dry. I have run into problems with solution on a wet fossil. The solution doesn't penetrate well and has a milky sheen. I have admittedly never submerged a wet specimen in solution, my experience has been with surface application.

Controlled drying is the key. If the specimen dries quickly, it will often rip itself apart. We have this problem here in north Texas with fossils preserved in shale. If fragile specimens are collected from a creek bed when wet, they often have issues. To counter this, I have wrapped the specimens in wet towels or newspaper and put them into a plastic tub with a lid on to cause a slow drying. This often takes a week or two to complete. But, I have had good luck with the process.

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As Sylla mentioned above a much less expensive solution than Butvar for stabilizing your gator osteoderm might be dilute white glue. While this solution might not be recommended for scientifically significant specimens, it might just be the low-cost solution to preserving crumbling favorite fossil for your personal collection. Get a small tub (disposable food storage containers work well) and dilute in some white glue (the kind used by schoolkids working on paper projects) with water. Any brand of casein-based glues will work but here in the States the one with Elmer the Bull seems to be most prevalent. I've used an approximate ratio of 10 parts water to 1 part glue. Close the lid to the container and shake well to make sure the glue is well dissolved. Place your fossil in for a few minutes and allow it to soak in the diluted glue. Take it out and let the excess drip away. Wipe off any visible on the outside so you don't form any glue puddles. To make sure you don't end up gluing your osteoderm to the table I'd consider letting it dry out on something like a piece of wax or parchment paper. Inspect it as it dries and make sure no unsightly puddles of glue form under the osteoderm as it dries out. This should keep your prized osteoderm from turning to dust. I've had a few turtle shell fragments from the Peace River quite literally turn to dust without consolidation. Hope this helps.

Cheers.

-Ken

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I frequently use Vinac on wet specimens. Sometimes I collect fragile specimens that have clay inside them (mollusks, echinoids, fish material, crustaceans). If I let the clay dry out and then soak in vinac, the clay will expand and destroy the fossil. I have found that if I keep the specimen wet and then submerge it in the vinac solution, nothing breaks. I'm never in a rush to pull the fossils out of the solution so they typically sit in the solution anywhere from a few hours to many days. After I pull the specimens out and let them dry completely I can then clean off the excess clay from the fossil without worrying about crushing the shell or bone.

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Thanks a lot Ptychodus04! I read that you could make a slow drying chamber by using a aquarium or Tupperware container and plastic sheeting in it. This was suggested by Scylla as well. I now believe the crack happened because I let it dry far too quickly. I learned a lot from this and my next wet specimens will look much better when I control the drying.

Thanks Digit, but I really want to do the scientifically approved method which would be the PVB after the specimen has been dried slowly. If I have to do an emulsion I would rather use something less detrimental to the fossil in question. I still appreciate the time you took to respond as I may use this method for partial fossils and specimens I keep for nostalgic reasons!

Al Dente I will read up on the Vinac.

Thanks to all for your help! I have a better understanding of what to do with sub dermal bone and wet crumbly fossils I undoubtedly will find more of here in Fl.

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