RJB Posted July 26, 2015 Share Posted July 26, 2015 Well, I still haven't finished up those two small Tunidos but I thought it was time to prep out a larger Tumido. At first I wasn't going to even post this crab cause of all the trouble im having with it, but then I thought I may as well so folks can see that some crabs are just a pain in the you know what! This crab is sooooo sticky and has calcite all over it. I truly feel like im beating this guy up! This so far is over 20 hours and I have one heck of a long ways to go! Still, its got a rather large right claw and lots of leg on the righthand side and should turn out to be a fairly good crab. RB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZiggieCie Posted July 26, 2015 Share Posted July 26, 2015 As hard as it is to get it out of the rock , it looks fine the way it is for now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaleoWilliam Posted July 26, 2015 Share Posted July 26, 2015 Nice job so far! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troodon Posted July 26, 2015 Share Posted July 26, 2015 Wow a daunting project good luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doctor Mud Posted July 26, 2015 Share Posted July 26, 2015 Gosh, Sure looks like a sticky one but its in good hands! Excellent job so far. I've been wondering if air abrasion works on the tumido concretions. Not having any experience with this I could only guess that it would depend on the comparative hardness of the matrix and shell. You would only want to use it once you got close as the matrix is quite hard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJB Posted July 27, 2015 Author Share Posted July 27, 2015 Thanks guys. Incouragment and compliments are always nice. He Dr Mud. I would think that the calcite being so soft and the rock so hard I wouldn't even attempt using some kind of media on it. But I am going to try and get some calcite off with a bit of bicarb and see what happens? Im hoping i can clean it up a bit once im done with removing rock. RB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ludwigia Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 I wish you good luck and lots of patience, RB. Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger http://www.steinkern.de/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJB Posted July 28, 2015 Author Share Posted July 28, 2015 Ok, I put in another 7 hours of prep into this thing, so now I have just under 30 hours. The calcite is driving me nuts! I still have a long ways to go but here is a picture of where im at right now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doctor Mud Posted July 29, 2015 Share Posted July 29, 2015 Looking great! Hope a quick tickle with the air abrader will remove the traces of calcite. I love the orange weathering rind and how it contrasts and frames the piece. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJB Posted July 30, 2015 Author Share Posted July 30, 2015 Thanks Doctor Mud. At least it has that orange rind going for it. Ive almost put this thing aside to prep later twice now! Somehow I made it through the aggrivation and kept going. I may have to have a good cry today, blow my nose, wipe the tears out of my eyes and go on the prep attack again. Ha! RB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJB Posted July 30, 2015 Author Share Posted July 30, 2015 Aaaaaaalrighty then. Yet another 6 hours into this crab! And yet,,, a very long ways to go but its actually getting there. Here is a picture of what it looks like now along with the little guy I did a while back to show size comparison. and yes,,, the calcite is still driving me nuts!!! Its even on the pincers!!! RB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old bones Posted July 30, 2015 Share Posted July 30, 2015 That is coming along so nicely. I love the big fat claws on that one. You do have some patience. Keep the pictures coming, I love to see the crabs crawl out of the stone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike from North Queensland Posted August 3, 2015 Share Posted August 3, 2015 It probably a dumb thought but can you use a dilute acid on the calcite or is that going to eat the crab as well. A coat of paraloid would mask the calcite as a last resort. Nice crab Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJB Posted August 3, 2015 Author Share Posted August 3, 2015 Thanks Mike and Old Bones. I do have acid and have used different types over the years for other kinds of fossils, but too afraid to try it on one of these crabs with this soft calcite!!! RB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fossilized6s Posted August 3, 2015 Share Posted August 3, 2015 RB, vinegar would work nicely for this application. It's not too acidic, but enough to break up the Calcite. Good luck. It's looking good. ~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...
RJB Posted August 5, 2015 Author Share Posted August 5, 2015 Thanks fossilized6s. Ive used vinegar many times, just never on a crab. its a good idea. RB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJB Posted August 5, 2015 Author Share Posted August 5, 2015 This is now my 41 hour fish,,, and still a long ways to go! Im going to have to bring out my 3 inch stylus and do some really deep digging before I can start smoothing out the rock. I also saw that the left claw is going under the face and some of the right claw is also going under the face, so,,,, I went on the attack on the bottom side. Scary stuff for sure!!! Ive washed off all the dust and stuff and took some pics. RB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJB Posted August 5, 2015 Author Share Posted August 5, 2015 Fish? I thought this was a crab? Ha!! RB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ludwigia Posted August 6, 2015 Share Posted August 6, 2015 Veeeery interesting! If all goes well, this guy is going to present himself nicely! Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger http://www.steinkern.de/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJB Posted August 6, 2015 Author Share Posted August 6, 2015 Thanks ludwigia. This is now my 46 hour crab. I did a lot of rock smoothing today, but as you can see it still has a long ways to go. RB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abyssunder Posted August 7, 2015 Share Posted August 7, 2015 Very pretty good job you've done. Congrats! " We are not separate and independent entities, but like links in a chain, and we could not by any means be what we are without those who went before us and showed us the way. " Thomas Mann My Library Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Pocock Posted August 7, 2015 Share Posted August 7, 2015 I would love to have a go at prepping something like that , can you bye small ones to prep and if so how do I go about getting one. Regards Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJB Posted August 7, 2015 Author Share Posted August 7, 2015 Thanks for the compliment abyssunder. Hey Mike Pocock. Im going to the west coast in September to get me a bunch of crab concretions. Im sure I can get you one. RB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Pocock Posted August 7, 2015 Share Posted August 7, 2015 Hi RB, That would be brilliant if you can let me know the postage and I will sort out a way to pay you or I can swap it for some Whitby ammonites that you can prep. Just let me know and we can PM to sort it out. I just recently sent 6 ammonites to Australia and it wasn't to expensive. Regards Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJB Posted August 7, 2015 Author Share Posted August 7, 2015 hey mike, I don't want a trade, it would have to be cash. I will going to the west coast in mid September to get some crab concretions. it all depends on what I have to pay for them. I will let you know. But also remind me cause I do forget things. RB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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