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Tools Of The Trade.


Guest Nicholas

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Bowkill thanks for the info on the blaster. I am going to try Hobby Lobby and Michaels for one.

For others just starting out, you might want to know that a rotary tool using the barrel shaped sanding pieces can remove a lot of hard matrix easily. Just make sure to stop before actually getting to the fossil. (even though with practice, you can hold the tool steady enough to remove the matrix right down to the fossil). I find that the ones with a flexible shaft are easier to control when you need to get into more detailed cleaning.

Riobi makes a nice unit with all the pieces and a flex shaft for around $30

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Ok I'll add my two bits but I have no special equipment...

Hand Tools: all types of hunting I do

bricklayers Hammer with chisel edge about 2lb

cracking hammer

chisels lots of them from 1/8 - 3" trust me spend the money on 1"+ and get the rubber guards

dental Picks

various old screwdrivers with special grind ends for different hard to reach areas

various small hammers think kids toys .5 - 3 oz no need for a 30oz framing hammer and a 1/8" chisel

silicate sand paper 150-1600 grit (anything coarser and it just falls apart on a stone...)

tweesers amazing how many people don't have a set... ones with magnifyer built in are awesome

couple of trowles in various sizes

good sharp knife and a very dull knife I like the airforce survival knife for the dull one...

Paint brushes no spunge types. range from a few packs of kids art brushes to 4" priming brushes

Syringes Various sizes several of each. (mark ones you use for what)

hack saw blades

flat cookie sheets for removing things preserved as clay shapes only (danged isotelus)

Large tools: Major expidition / Large medium work

Safty gear... FULL leather gloves I like welders gloves, close fitting safty glasses or goggles long sleeves etc.

Sledge

Pick

Spud bar

8-10 3lb strait wedges (no don't try the wood grenades...) use the cheapest ones u can find

long and D-handled short fiberglass handled shoves

a long axe or a grub axe and a hatchet (for clearing overburden)

a probe (the three to four foot long T thingie)

15 galons of water (not for you... it softens alot of stones when their soaked for an hour or two)

Shop Tools:

Bench grinder (I use a diamond wheel and a silica wheel diamond is super fine for polishing and silica I have a range depends on your grinder)

4 1/2 angle grinder NOTE:use only the 9.99 cheapo's stone dust kills them quickly even the dewalt... I use only diamond blades on these.

A chain hoist is an awesome advantage (but I'll stick to my bobcat /wink)

Lots of scrap wood I get most of it at the local saw mill for $20 / pickup load it's all the bark side cuts but it works great on large blocks.

Hacksaw if working soft stone is alot easier and cheaper than anything else on thin stuff

Lab Equip (remeber I'm a cheapskate)

Jewlery type hypersonic cleaner does up to about 1/2 oz items quickly but be careful

bench mounted magnifier

electric engraver

a good spot lamp and a good flexable desk light with a few colors of bulbs I use white red blue yellow and green it can help shift the color spectrum to where your fossil stands out better while u work.

a small white gas stove or electric burner (I use a backpacking stove) this is for the heat cool trick to removing things gently

I invested in graduated cylenders because I find I can repeatedly get a acid mix work on fossils from a given area w/o burning them. use to keep ratios very closely...

If you plan on acid treating a fossil I love my Burette it's a slow drip that allows the acid to be spilled a drop at a time onto a given area and that way you eat at one point instead of the whole surface.

Chemicals:

I'll leave glues to others I only use superglue and acitone there...

Clear nail polish

Boraxo

Rubbing alchohol

Muriatic Acid (should have 10lb of baking soda on hand per gallon stored in my opinion)

White vinigar

Baking Soda (buy this at the local farm store)

Spray in insulation is an awesome bedding for transport. for rough transport use the self expanding hard foams

And EVERY step where you use tools or Chemicals you should have appropriate first aid supplys (if your using acid have baking soda for example)

It's my hodge podge list of tools I've gathered and used enough to make a space in my area's for...

Oh on a side note if you use one of engravers that have 1/8" replaceable tips get ahold of me I have solid carbide 1/8 broken drills I get from work and grind to new points and chisel shapes I'd be happy to share.

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There is a product; Super Iron Out, that will remove the iron staining, crust, crud, etc and not even harm calcite or limestone

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  • 8 months later...

I have an assortment of tools, many of which others are familiar with. But here are a couple of my more unique ones:

Modified clam rake, with 1/2" screen, to sift, dig, toss stuff on the beach, rake, move material, etc.:

ClamRake.jpg

My pick up tool, used when beachcombing for sharks teeth and other fossils:

PickUpTool.jpg

Kevin Wilson

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I have an assortment of tools, many of which others are familiar with. But here are a couple of my more unique ones:

Modified clam rake, with 1/2" screen, to sift, dig, toss stuff on the beach, rake, move material, etc.:

My pick up tool, used when beachcombing for sharks teeth and other fossils:

Good designs!

Obsessed1 uses something of a hybrid of the two.

"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!

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DON'T use oxalic acid if there is calcium carbonate, (chalk, limestone etc) present as this will coat the fossil with calcium oxalate which is very hard to remove, unless it's removed mechanically.

KOF, Bill.

Welcome to the forum, all new members

www.ukfossils check it out.

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  • 1 month later...

im getting a 2lb piece of dino coprolite in the mail that is cut on two sides to show the color... what can i buy from the hardware store or even walmart or somewhere that will polish the cut sides?

I arise in the morning torn between a desire to improve the world and a desire to enjoy the world. This makes it hard to plan the day. ~ E. B. White

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Guest solius symbiosus

I've never polished a fossil, but I would think using 600 grit wet, and then buffing, would probably do the job.

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I've never polished a fossil, but I would think using 600 grit wet, and then buffing, would probably do the job.

thanks! yeah i wouldnt normally think of polishing but since it's already cut, i might as well bring out the color!

I arise in the morning torn between a desire to improve the world and a desire to enjoy the world. This makes it hard to plan the day. ~ E. B. White

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I've never polished a fossil, but I would think using 600 grit wet, and then buffing, would probably do the job.

I have a hand held rock grinder/polisher that I use for polishing. I change 8 grits from 50 to 3000 and then buff. I am not sure how you can really polish a rock manually - I think it will take too long...You might try to use regular sanders, they are cheaper, but they are not meant to be used for polishing rock. SOme people use vibrating laps but they are very very expensive.

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i seriously don't think there's a way for you to do that by hand where you'll be satisfied. if the saw blade used to cut the two flats ran true, then you'll at best have a relatively flat surface that looks dull and has maybe 240-grit equivalent scratches in it. if the saw wasn't good, then things could be much worse. the first thing necessary would be to get the thing perfectly flat. i shudder to think what it would be like trying to do that by hand, because i've done it with machines and don't even like doing it that way. then, as was previously stated, progressively finer grits have to be used to remove the scratches from each previous grit, until a finish is achieved that is "polished". with a nice flat to start with, i would end up using 240 to start with and end up with 14000. 600 grit is what i consider the final shaping, beginning polishing stage. and remember, stones are usually polished with diamond grit using lots of water to keep rock dust out of the air. that stuff causes permanent damage to your lungs.

you could spray the flats with something like lacquer or urethane, which would give them a "wet" look and show the color, but any saw marks would be visible when the flat was held at a certain angle to the light. you could also take the rock to a place that works granite for countertops, etc. and ask if they could polish the sides for you. or you could negotiate polishing it with someone who has the proper lapidary equipment.

good luck with your stone.

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i seriously don't think there's a way for you to do that by hand where you'll be satisfied. if the saw blade used to cut the two flats ran true, then you'll at best have a relatively flat surface that looks dull and has maybe 240-grit equivalent scratches in it. if the saw wasn't good, then things could be much worse. the first thing necessary would be to get the thing perfectly flat. i shudder to think what it would be like trying to do that by hand, because i've done it with machines and don't even like doing it that way. then, as was previously stated, progressively finer grits have to be used to remove the scratches from each previous grit, until a finish is achieved that is "polished". with a nice flat to start with, i would end up using 240 to start with and end up with 14000. 600 grit is what i consider the final shaping, beginning polishing stage. and remember, stones are usually polished with diamond grit using lots of water to keep rock dust out of the air. that stuff causes permanent damage to your lungs.

you could spray the flats with something like lacquer or urethane, which would give them a "wet" look and show the color, but any saw marks would be visible when the flat was held at a certain angle to the light. you could also take the rock to a place that works granite for countertops, etc. and ask if they could polish the sides for you. or you could negotiate polishing it with someone who has the proper lapidary equipment.

good luck with your stone.

yeah the "wet" look is what im going for, i saw a picture of it wet and it looks ok to me. if it was worth a million dollars maybe i would do all of that machine stuff myself. ill see what condition it's in when it arrives.

I arise in the morning torn between a desire to improve the world and a desire to enjoy the world. This makes it hard to plan the day. ~ E. B. White

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