Rugose Coral from the Herb Miracle Collection. Stem 1

[The QCC]

I received several small Rugose Coral from member Herb to make microscope thin sections..

This is the first completed slide. There should be at least six or seven more slides in the collection.

This slide is from the Pennsylvanian formation in Mineral Wells TX, USA
Geologic age: Phanerozoic | Paleozoic

There were six fossils in this group. The largest is the subject of this post.

This is a slice of the specimen through the centre.

This shows the cell structure of the Rugose Coral and the minerals that replaced the soft part of the Coral.

A web version of this post may be found here.

Edited February 4, 2016 by The QCC

[Herb]

progressing well, nice pics

[The QCC]

Thank you Admin for correcting the post.

[The QCC]

An update to the original post.

These photos are of a new transverse slice as photographed through a Zeiss 305 edu stereo microscope.

The slide was cut from the circled coral with a full scan of the specimen at 10x

The details are a closer look at the internal structure of the coral at 20x and 30x

Thanks to member Herb for the Rugose Coral specimens.

A web version of the update is here.

[Herb]

An update to the original post.

These photos are of a new transverse slice as photographed through a Zeiss 305 edu stereo microscope.

The slide was cut from the circled coral with a full scan of the specimen at 10x

IMG_1124-Edit.jpg RugoseCoralMinWellsFS67-RLZX-1_0365.jpg

The details are a closer look at the internal structure of the coral at 20x and 30x

RugoseCoralMinWel-FS67-RLZX-1_0398.jpg RugoseCoralMinWel-FS67-RLZX-2_0402.jpg

Thanks to member Herb for the Rugose Coral specimens.

A web version of the update is here.

really cool pics

[Raggedy Man]

I love these images. Is this a hobby of your or does your profession involve this technique? I'm interested in the process and the time frame from start to finish.

Best regards,

Paul

[The QCC]

Making thin sections is strictly a hobby to create specimens for my microscopes.

The actual making of thin sections is not difficult, but having lots of free time and patience is helpful.

There are a few costs if you want to reduce the time to produce a thin section slide. They are a decent wet saw or tile saw to cut the specimen in slices ($90.00) and an 8" flat lap disc grinder ($600.00).

A mandatory requirement is a flat lap glass plate ($25.00),

The time to make a thin section slide is approximately 20-30 hours including about 15 hours drying time for the bonding agent.

I generally prepare about 4 - 5 slides at a time which considerably reduces the total time.

Practice and learning from the mistakes also helps to reduce the time per slide.

Making thin sections is fun, but not all tin sections are photogenic.

[Auspex]

I am fascinated by both the process and the results, and am glad that you are sharing them with us.

[Troodon]

Very interesting and a time consuming process but we'll worth the effort. Thanks

[Mike Pocock]

Very nice looks like you have a project on your hands, looking forward to seeing more.

Thanks for the post

Regards

Mike