minnbuckeye Posted January 19, 2016 Share Posted January 19, 2016 Not sure where to post this .My collected fossils have always been distributed as best possible to organizations that can use them for educational purposes. Brachiopods are tough to give to entities like schools and nature centers because of the number of people that handle them as they are small and many fragile. This is the solution that I have been toying with to make access to these fossils more palatable. Clear epoxy resin can be purchased at Walmart or Hobby Lobby, or many other places. Mixing the brachiopods in allows a nice display that shows both sides of the fossils. If it gets scratched, a quick squirt of lacquer spiffs up the surface. There are 2 types of epoxy. A 100 to 1 epoxy to hardener and a 1 to 1 mix. I suggest the 1 to 1 mix. It is much easier to come up with the right mix. If you look, there are some examples of mine that are rougher than others. These were the 100 to 1 where I added a bit too much hardener and it set fast with a lot of heat. The rough surface (only on the down side) resulted. The other thing to note, with many brachiopods, there can be a concave surface that retains a bubble when dropped into the epoxy. Make sure to be aware of this or results can be like a few of my examples. I am going to attempt to drill a hole down to the bubble and then inject a bit of resin. Hopefully this will work! There was someone that asked for suggestions as to how to display loose crinoids. It was this epoxy that I had referred to. Hopefully this will get to be seen by him. If a mix of crinoid (layered) and resin were placed in a nice glass, it would make for a great display. I may even try this with my leftover resin. Here are my results: 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minnbuckeye Posted January 19, 2016 Author Share Posted January 19, 2016 continued Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
izak_ Posted January 19, 2016 Share Posted January 19, 2016 Really nice! And great idea, I might start to experiment with that.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossil Claw Posted January 20, 2016 Share Posted January 20, 2016 Very cool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossildude19 Posted January 20, 2016 Share Posted January 20, 2016 (edited) What a cool idea! I was actually thinking of doing an epoxy base to one of the fish I have to prep, as I am afraid the block will come apart if I jostle it too much. Thanks for the write-up. Regards, EDIT: What did you use for the mold? Edited January 20, 2016 by Fossildude19 Tim - VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER VFOTM --- APRIL - 2015 __________________________________________________ "In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks." John Muir ~ ~ ~ ~ ><))))( *> About Me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted January 20, 2016 Share Posted January 20, 2016 Genius! "There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant “Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley >Paleontology is an evolving science. >May your wonders never cease! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malcolmt Posted January 20, 2016 Share Posted January 20, 2016 neat idea.... looks like it does the trick for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Pristis Posted January 20, 2016 Share Posted January 20, 2016 What a cool idea! I was actually thinking of doing an epoxy base to one of the fish I have to prep, as I am afraid the block will come apart if I jostle it too much. Thanks for the write-up. Regards, EDIT: What did you use for the mold? That's how the fish from the Messel shale are prepared. Fish from Messel take special preparation because of the crumbly nature of the shale. This fish was prepared on one side, then a layer of resin was poured over the prepared side. The now-stabilized specimen was then completely prepared from the other side, removing all the shale matrix, but leaving all the bones! 2 http://pristis.wix.com/the-demijohn-page What seest thou else In the dark backward and abysm of time? ---Shakespeare, The Tempest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZiggieCie Posted January 20, 2016 Share Posted January 20, 2016 Great idea to add to the bag of tricks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plantguy Posted January 20, 2016 Share Posted January 20, 2016 Nice! brings back some very fond memories as a kid when I was putting pesky plant specimens in resin blocks ..my plant fascination started really early... Thanks for the post. Regards, Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Herb Posted January 20, 2016 Share Posted January 20, 2016 great idea "Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence"_ Carl Sagen No trees were killed in this posting......however, many innocent electrons were diverted from where they originally intended to go. " I think, therefore I collect fossils." _ Me "When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth."__S. Holmes "can't we all just get along?" Jack Nicholson from Mars Attacks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minnbuckeye Posted January 20, 2016 Author Share Posted January 20, 2016 great idea Herb Thanks for the help!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amour 25 Posted January 21, 2016 Share Posted January 21, 2016 (edited) That's how the fish from the Messel shale are prepared. Fish from Messel take special preparation because of the crumbly nature of the shale. This fish was prepared on one side, then a layer of resin was poured over the prepared side. The now-stabilized specimen was then completely prepared from the other side, removing all the shale matrix, but leaving all the bones! fish_messel_amia.jpg Yep sure are. Too bad they closed that down was great going there. Edited January 21, 2016 by amour 25 Jeff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minnbuckeye Posted January 21, 2016 Author Share Posted January 21, 2016 What a cool idea! I was actually thinking of doing an epoxy base to one of the fish I have to prep, as I am afraid the block will come apart if I jostle it too much. Thanks for the write-up. Regards, EDIT: What did you use for the mold? You can purchase cheap forms to pour the epoxy in at the same location that one finds the epoxy. If one google searches epoxy molds, there is a vast array of choices in all sorts of sizes and shapes 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossildude19 Posted January 21, 2016 Share Posted January 21, 2016 You can purchase cheap forms to pour the epoxy in at the same location that one finds the epoxy. If one google searches epoxy molds, there is a vast array of choices in all sorts of sizes and shapes Thank you. Regards, Tim - VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER VFOTM --- APRIL - 2015 __________________________________________________ "In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks." John Muir ~ ~ ~ ~ ><))))( *> About Me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
louisvillefossiller Posted February 12, 2016 Share Posted February 12, 2016 Fantastic idea! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billheim Posted February 12, 2016 Share Posted February 12, 2016 Minnbuckeye,On some of your Rafinesquina sp. and Strophomena sp. Brachiopods there are small circles. Are those circles Edrioasteroids? They look like them but I would need an enlargement to confirm.Great idea on encasing the brachiopods in resin. I found a resin block with fossils like this at a flea market once. I imagined it had been prepared many years ago and was impressed with the idea that resin can help preserve the fossil for many years to come.The down side of it is that it is not easy to remove from the resin if one of the specimens is needed for study, such as if there were a rare Edrio on one. It would still be possible to cut the resin so only the one special brachiopod is shown separately, if that were needed.Thanks for showing us this.Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnBrewer Posted February 12, 2016 Share Posted February 12, 2016 What a great idea. I've a lot of duplicate fossils and have been toying with giving them to my daughters school (5-11 year olds) and was worried they wouldn't last long. Conveniently I have some 1:100 resin in my studio from an artwork that didn't materialise John Map of UK fossil sites Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minnbuckeye Posted February 12, 2016 Author Share Posted February 12, 2016 Minnbuckeye, On some of your Rafinesquina sp. and Strophomena sp. Brachiopods there are small circles. Are those circles Edrioasteroids? They look like them but I would need an enlargement to confirm. Great idea on encasing the brachiopods in resin. I found a resin block with fossils like this at a flea market once. I imagined it had been prepared many years ago and was impressed with the idea that resin can help preserve the fossil for many years to come. The down side of it is that it is not easy to remove from the resin if one of the specimens is needed for study, such as if there were a rare Edrio on one. It would still be possible to cut the resin so only the one special brachiopod is shown separately, if that were needed. Thanks for showing us this. Bill Bill, I only wish they were Edrioasteroids. Unfortunately they are unwanted air bubbles from a beginner working with a new media. Live and learn. Would they pass for the real thing? Maybe I will sell them and see if they show up on TFF under the " are these real' category! LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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