amour 25 Posted February 7, 2016 Share Posted February 7, 2016 I have one that I bought way back last year. At a point,where don't know if I should drive deeper into it. Any help appreciated. Plus the ammo I got from Mike last year should i put the matrix back on and air scribe it off? Or just finish it ,as it is coming apart ,as some shell stays on the matrix, have a few that way, as I have won 3 for the forum deal. Thanks again. This is is another I purchased. Jeff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snolly50 Posted February 7, 2016 Share Posted February 7, 2016 If the skull were mine, I couldn't keep myself from preppin' it. It's begging to be free! I am disoriented however. Is picture #4 the same piece? There appears a major fracture/glued join? I'm not following it in the other shots??? The matrix has the appearance of White River material. Is that the origin? If so, I have found that matrix relatively easy to work. 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...
jpc Posted February 7, 2016 Share Posted February 7, 2016 what kind of tools do you have? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amour 25 Posted February 7, 2016 Author Share Posted February 7, 2016 Snolly nope a different one have two more and one more to buy , so no a different skull. The Matrix has gone real hard. On the tools I have a dremel deal ,and a small air scribe the $70.00 or so one. About all. And yes begging to come out. So any help just go slow? Should I come from bottom up,towards the teeth? Thanks again. Jeff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcbshark Posted February 7, 2016 Share Posted February 7, 2016 Can't help with advice Jeff but that skull looks sweet : ) 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...
snolly50 Posted February 7, 2016 Share Posted February 7, 2016 (edited) If it were mine I would approach it in the manner outlined in this old post. Oreodont Prep Series - Fossil Preparation - The Fossil Forum Now, that choice is mostly because of the tools I have available and it's the approach with which I have experience. Pro Level preppers, like jpc, could do a masterful job much quicker with air-driven tools. However an electric engraver, carbide needles in a pin vise, and patience can give a very nice result. You didn't say if it is White River Formation matrix, as I suspected it was. If it's not from the Badlands, my observation about the nature of the matrix is of no particular value. I note the big canines hanging out there. Be careful, I almost lost one years ago. I wasn't prepping anywhere near that tooth, but in manipulating the piece while working I dislodged it and was not even aware it was gone. To make matters worse I was outside over dead grass. That made finding the tooth a challenge! It's not just teeth. It's easy to get involved in the area you are working and inadvertently do damage with careless handling. Good luck, have fun. Edit: You said you have a Dremel If it's the engraver, you're golden. The Dremel rotary tool is of little value in this situation. I have used one to quickly grind away matrix that is well away from the fossil, but not near the fossil itself. I have used a Dremel engraver and it works fine, however, the ergonomics are not nearly as good as an ElectroStylus. The Dremel will make your hand hurt with prolonged usage. Edited February 7, 2016 by snolly50 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...
amour 25 Posted February 8, 2016 Author Share Posted February 8, 2016 If it were mine I would approach it in the manner outlined in this old post. Oreodont Prep Series - Fossil Preparation - The Fossil Forum Now, that choice is mostly because of the tools I have available and it's the approach with which I have experience. Pro Level preppers, like jpc, could do a masterful job much quicker with air-driven tools. However an electric engraver, carbide needles in a pin vise, and patience can give a very nice result. You didn't say if it is White River Formation matrix, as I suspected it was. If it's not from the Badlands, my observation about the nature of the matrix is of no particular value. I note the big canines hanging out there. Be careful, I almost lost one years ago. I wasn't prepping anywhere near that tooth, but in manipulating the piece while working I dislodged it and was not even aware it was gone. To make matters worse I was outside over dead grass. That made finding the tooth a challenge! It's not just teeth. It's easy to get involved in the area you are working and inadvertently do damage with careless handling. Good luck, have fun. Edit: You said you have a Dremel If it's the engraver, you're golden. The Dremel rotary tool is of little value in this situation. I have used one to quickly grind away matrix that is well away from the fossil, but not near the fossil itself. I have used a Dremel engraver and it works fine, however, the ergonomics are not nearly as good as an ElectroStylus. The Dremel will make your hand hurt with prolonged usage. yep sure is , and yes gets old fast. Do have the air scribe from a company also. I got it from a site I think yes badlands white river stuff. Jeff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ptychodus04 Posted February 8, 2016 Share Posted February 8, 2016 As for the ammonite from Mike, I would continue to prep as is and not glue it back together. My experience with hard concretions and fractured shell has been that the shell is usually adhered well to the matrix and doesn't clean up well. I would just go after it with a good scribe under magnification. 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...
jpc Posted February 8, 2016 Share Posted February 8, 2016 snolly's link is very good (Thanks for the nice words,snolly). have a bit of glue around if you see a crack develop it can't hurt to put a drop of glue on it. esp in the teeth,before they fall into the dry grass to join snolly's tooth frag. This superglue ios nice... it seeps into cracks and holds nicely. For micro-cracks you may need a micro quantity of glue. Put a wee drop on apiece of cardboard... not corrugated, but cereal box type, and scratch it quickly with a very pointy dental pick. You will end up with a few threads of cardboard with some glue on them. Quickly apply to crack. This will avoid getting too much glue on the specimen. Super glue is nice, but excess stuff is tough to remove. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJB Posted February 8, 2016 Share Posted February 8, 2016 If we lived in a perfect world all preppers would have a sandblaster. Looks like some cool prep projects. I wish you all the luck, and fun. RB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amour 25 Posted February 17, 2016 Author Share Posted February 17, 2016 A few more pics think I have found most of the teeth, maybe one missing. Well not missing just have not found where it starts at. So should I come in from inside towards the outside, or outside towards the inside? No damage done so far from what I see. Also the piece on the side I think is bone , maybe I should try and remove that? See the piece on the side, might be part of the arch, maybe. Thanks. Jeff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
josh_2727 Posted February 18, 2016 Share Posted February 18, 2016 in regards to the bone on the side, my advice would be once you are prepping the bone in the surrounding area see where that leads and the condition around the bone and the bony projection your talking about. From that you can make a better understanding if the bony projection is attached to the skull, a piece broke off or something of the sort. I wouldn't however immediately remove it without further knowledge of the surrounding area Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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