ElToro Posted December 13, 2015 Share Posted December 13, 2015 This is my first attempt at cleaning a Badlands fossil. Brutal. SO much hard chalky rock it took me about 4hrs wit a pic and a little while on the toothbrush. Anyone else here have experience with these fossils? (Pics are before and after) "That belongs in a museum!" - Indiana Jones Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coco Posted December 13, 2015 Share Posted December 13, 2015 Ouah ! Marvelous job ! Coco ---------------------- OUTIL POUR MESURER VOS FOSSILES : ici Ma bibliothèque PDF 1 (Poissons et sélaciens récents & fossiles) : ici Ma bibliothèque PDF 2 (Animaux vivants - sans poissons ni sélaciens) : ici Mâchoires sélaciennes récentes : ici Hétérodontiques et sélaciens : ici Oeufs sélaciens récents : ici Otolithes de poissons récents ! ici Un Greg... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElToro Posted December 13, 2015 Author Share Posted December 13, 2015 Thanx! Now my elbow hurts. I'll start on the other side of the jaw later. Phew! Hard work! "That belongs in a museum!" - Indiana Jones Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snolly50 Posted December 13, 2015 Share Posted December 13, 2015 Very nice result. I find that an ElectroStylus device works great on that White River matrix; then a carbide needle in a pin vise for the close work. Such an approach will provide some relief from the physical stress of such a prep; a benefit with only a modest expenditure. 1 Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, also are remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so. - Douglas Adams, Last Chance to See Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElToro Posted December 13, 2015 Author Share Posted December 13, 2015 Very nice result. I find that an ElectroStylus device works great on that White River matrix; then a carbide needle in a pin vise for the close work. Such an approach will provide some relief from the physical stress of such a prep; a benefit with only a modest expenditure. Thanx mate! I saw a TV ad for an Electrostylus today. Looks cool and cheap. Would a Dremel work, you rekon? Yea, using only hand tools is very hard on the elbows and joints! "That belongs in a museum!" - Indiana Jones Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snolly50 Posted December 13, 2015 Share Posted December 13, 2015 Thanx mate! I saw a TV ad for an Electrostylus today. Looks cool and cheap. Would a Dremel work, you rekon? Yea, using only hand tools is very hard on the elbows and joints! This is the tool I've always used (snipped from Amazon web site). I have a Dremel engraver as well, but it is much less...ummmm...refined. The Dremel can power through matrix (of course not as effective as an air engraver); but the ElectroStylus is powerful as well and adjustable. There is much less felt vibration and hand fatigue with the ElectroStylus. It's pencil-shape is just more ergonomic. Good luck, have fun. 1 Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, also are remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so. - Douglas Adams, Last Chance to See Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElToro Posted December 13, 2015 Author Share Posted December 13, 2015 Thanx again! I'll checkout the hardware store tomorrow. Still, it was good learning doing it by hand first. "That belongs in a museum!" - Indiana Jones Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fossilized6s Posted December 13, 2015 Share Posted December 13, 2015 A bath in cleaning vinegar will also help loosen up the clay. Soak it for 10-15 max at a time. Then I use a dental pick or an upholstery needle to scrape it. Then I'll brush it with a stiff bristled toothbrush. 1 ~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...
jpc Posted December 13, 2015 Share Posted December 13, 2015 (edited) An electric scribe would help too. They make these things to write your name on your things so that when someone steals all your stuff you can reclaimit..."look there is my name on the back of the TV"... I am not sure what they really call them. I started with electric things but moved on to compressed air and that is the best way to go. Electric might be good for you, but it won't last too long. BTW, your fossil is not from Utah... Utah does not have any White River Fm...it is either form South Dakota, Wyoming, Colorado or Nebraska. Edit... I just realized that your two pix are before and after, so you really didn't take off that much. The tool I described above would be for removing larger quantities of matrix. For what you did,air abrasive is the way to go. There are a bunch of posts on here about cheap air abrasive machines available. they do all run on compressed air, so you also gotta have a compressor. The work that took you 4 hours and lots of elbow grease would take 10 minutes with an air abrasive machine. Edited December 13, 2015 by jpc 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElToro Posted December 14, 2015 Author Share Posted December 14, 2015 An electric scribe would help too. They make these things to write your name on your things so that when someone steals all your stuff you can reclaimit..."look there is my name on the back of the TV"... I am not sure what they really call them. I started with electric things but moved on to compressed air and that is the best way to go. Electric might be good for you, but it won't last too long. BTW, your fossil is not from Utah... Utah does not have any White River Fm...it is either form South Dakota, Wyoming, Colorado or Nebraska. Edit... I just realized that your two pix are before and after, so you really didn't take off that much. The tool I described above would be for removing larger quantities of matrix. For what you did,air abrasive is the way to go. There are a bunch of posts on here about cheap air abrasive machines available. they do all run on compressed air, so you also gotta have a compressor. The work that took you 4 hours and lots of elbow grease would take 10 minutes with an air abrasive machine. Thanx mate! Yea, I just checked and it is from Nebraska. Being a dyslexic Aussie, that happens sometimes Yea, I need an air scribe eventually but the Aussie $ is about US$0.69 and our economy is terrible. The electric scribe seems like a good temporary fix. And since there isn't that much matrix on these the electric should be OK for the time being. Thanx guys! (Now I gotta go back and edit...) "That belongs in a museum!" - Indiana Jones Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcbshark Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 Wow, that turned out great! Very nice job Every once in a great while it's not just a big rock down there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElToro Posted December 14, 2015 Author Share Posted December 14, 2015 Ugh. Can't seem to ba able to edit posts. I have, however changed the labels in my gallery. "That belongs in a museum!" - Indiana Jones Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnJ Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 Ugh. Can't seem to ba able to edit posts. I have, however changed the labels in my gallery. Changed to Nebraska. 1 The human mind has the ability to believe anything is true. - JJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElToro Posted December 14, 2015 Author Share Posted December 14, 2015 Changed to Nebraska. Thanx mate! "That belongs in a museum!" - Indiana Jones Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnJ Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 Thanx mate! No worries. The other topic is changed, too. The human mind has the ability to believe anything is true. - JJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ptychodus04 Posted December 15, 2015 Share Posted December 15, 2015 Well done. It was a glorious day when I bought my first electric engraver for prep work. I burned up the motor a few hours later. Give it frequent cool down breaks. After switching to pneumatic tools, I give out and need a break instead! 1 Regards, Kris Global Paleo Services, LLC https://globalpaleoservices.com http://instagram.com/globalpaleoservices http://instagram.com/kris.howe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElToro Posted December 16, 2015 Author Share Posted December 16, 2015 Well done. It was a glorious day when I bought my first electric engraver for prep work. I burned up the motor a few hours later. Give it frequent cool down breaks. After switching to pneumatic tools, I give out and need a break instead! Thanx mate! I looked at my local hardware store and they have 2 electronic engravers. A $25 one and a $35 one. The 35 runs on batteries tho. My current fossils don't have much matrix so should be OK with regards to burning out the motor. But I'm getting a few Mississippian crinoids soon that require a lot of work. What sort of air scribe have you got? I have a friend here in Australia who actually sells them to the Museums here in Australia. But only top end German ones I can't afford. Something like Cleveland Pneumatic seems more affordable. If I get a second hand one.... (Aussie economy terrible right now) "That belongs in a museum!" - Indiana Jones Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ptychodus04 Posted December 16, 2015 Share Posted December 16, 2015 Thanx mate! I looked at my local hardware store and they have 2 electronic engravers. A $25 one and a $35 one. The 35 runs on batteries tho. My current fossils don't have much matrix so should be OK with regards to burning out the motor. But I'm getting a few Mississippian crinoids soon that require a lot of work. What sort of air scribe have you got? I have a friend here in Australia who actually sells them to the Museums here in Australia. But only top end German ones I can't afford. Something like Cleveland Pneumatic seems more affordable. If I get a second hand one.... (Aussie economy terrible right now) I currently use an Aro with an extra long stylus from PaleoTools. It's great for mid range prep, too small for heavy matrix removal and too large for fine/detail work. I rely 100% on micro abrasive for detail cleaning. Regards, Kris Global Paleo Services, LLC https://globalpaleoservices.com http://instagram.com/globalpaleoservices http://instagram.com/kris.howe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossil Claw Posted January 29, 2016 Share Posted January 29, 2016 Very nice result. I find that an ElectroStylus device works great on that White River matrix; then a carbide needle in a pin vise for the close work. Such an approach will provide some relief from the physical stress of such a prep; a benefit with only a modest expenditure.About to start my first white river jaw prep. I assume this electric engraver from harbor freight would do the trick? Any advantage to using that versus my air acribe? http://m.harborfreight.com/electric-engraver-46099.html?utm_referrer=direct%2Fnot%20provided Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElToro Posted January 30, 2016 Author Share Posted January 30, 2016 About to start my first white river jaw prep. I assume this electric engraver from harbor freight would do the trick? Any advantage to using that versus my air acribe?http://m.harborfreight.com/electric-engraver-46099.html?utm_referrer=direct%2Fnot%20provided Cool stuff. I've recently cleaned two associated Hyaenodon jaws and only used a dremel and a "dental" pick (actually a sewing pick). I use the finishing wire brush on it and it grinds the rock away great and leaves the bone untouched. I use an engraving dremel attachment for matrix removal and then the fine work with the pick. Worked great! I'll post a few pics. "That belongs in a museum!" - Indiana Jones Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElToro Posted January 30, 2016 Author Share Posted January 30, 2016 A few before and after pics "That belongs in a museum!" - Indiana Jones Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElToro Posted January 30, 2016 Author Share Posted January 30, 2016 Here is one of the jaws that I have part finished. Its the one in pic above. I can't take a pic of the wholly finished jaws because they with my vet mate. He just xrayed them for me. Very cool unerupted molars! Its a subadult. Hyaenodon are strange. That last molar doesn't erupt til 3-4 yo. "That belongs in a museum!" - Indiana Jones Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossil Claw Posted January 31, 2016 Share Posted January 31, 2016 Cool stuff. I've recently cleaned two associated Hyaenodon jaws and only used a dremel and a "dental" pick (actually a sewing pick). I use the finishing wire brush on it and it grinds the rock away great and leaves the bone untouched. I use an engraving dremel attachment for matrix removal and then the fine work with the pick. Worked great! I'll post a few pics. Thanks for the tips. The current progress is posted here: http://www.thefossilforum.com/index.php?/topic/60860-subhyracodon-prep-advice/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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