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Best tool for preparation and cleaning


swag72

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I know that the recommendation for cleaning and prepping fossils appears to be an air compressor with the air engraving type tool.....but I CANNOT use an air compressor, it freaks my dog out!!

 

So I have looked at Dremmels today and various other small tools for fine work. They appear to be only rotating tools? So can anyone make a recommendation for an electric tool for me? I guess one that can have interchangeable heads?

 

I look forward to your recommendations :)

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Something else I am unclear on - With a compressed air tool, is it just the force of the compressed air that removes the matrix from the fossil or does the compressed air machine run the tool like an engraver so that the metal point removes the matrix? Sorry for such noob and silly questions :(

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Not silly questions at all. :)

Every one of us had to start somewhere. 

 

An air pen or engraver uses the metal point to remove matrix from around the fossil. It's kind of like a jack hammer, or piston - the tip moves in and out very quickly. (Blows per Minute.)

I think the Dremel engraver does 7200 BpM.

 

Then, most people use an air eraser or air abrasion tool to remove the left over matrix from the fossil itself.

Think mini sand blaster - the compressed air pushes a gritty medium through the pen and abrades the softer matrix from the fossil. 

But again, a compressor is needed.  

 

Many people have great success just using hand tools, such as sharpened and hardened sewing needles, pin vices, or manual scribes/pocket scirbes.

 

As far as the rotary type tool, they have some uses, but are rather unwieldy to use, unless you have a flexible shaft extension for it. 

 

I use mine to smooth out tool marks in the matrix around the fossil. 

 

Also, not all engravers work the same way. Many of the cheaper electric engravers just vibrate, rather than using a piston motion.

Make sure the one you choose has a BpM rating. 


Hope that helps. :) 

Regards,

 

    Tim    VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER

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The type of equipment/tools needed really depends on the type of material you're working on and the amount of time you plan to spend prepping.   Hand tools are great and I have been successful on soft matrix but my air scribe is the only way to go on harder matrix.       

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So an air scribe is like the mini sandblaster that was mentioned by Fossildude19.... or is it like an engraver? I'm not clear on that :)

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Just now, swag72 said:

So an air scribe is like the mini sandblaster that was mentioned by Fossildude19.... or is it like an engraver? I'm not clear on that :)

 

Air Scribe is an engraving tool. 

Air abrader/eraser is a blasting tool. ;) 

Regards,

    Tim    VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER

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"In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks."
John Muir ~ ~ ~ ~   ><))))( *>  About Me      

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Thanks Tim - that's very helpful....... I'll take a look at some engravers then...... On the Dremel one I guess you can change the tip? If so, what tips do you recommend are useful?

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De nada! :) 

 

On the Dremel engraver, ... just regular steel,...  carbide steel, or diamond tipped points, ... depending on the hardness of the matrix you are dealing with.

Regards, 

 

 

    Tim    VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER

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__________________________________________________
"In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks."
John Muir ~ ~ ~ ~   ><))))( *>  About Me      

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Item links on ebay are temporary.  We discourage the use of auction site links because those posts quickly lose their content and meaning.  ;)

The human mind has the ability to believe anything is true.  -  JJ

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44 minutes ago, JohnJ said:

Item links on ebay are temporary.  We discourage the use of auction site links because those posts quickly lose their content and meaning.  ;)

 

As a total beginner would have been good to see the link :) If it only stayed up for a day

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29 minutes ago, swag72 said:

 

As a total beginner would have been good to see the link :) If it only stayed up for a day

 

Carbide points for engravers can be searched online.  ;)  The best advice we have for total beginners is to review the pinned topics and other suggestions in Fossil Preparation forum.  :)

The human mind has the ability to believe anything is true.  -  JJ

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6 hours ago, JohnJ said:

Item links on ebay are temporary.  We discourage the use of auction site links because those posts quickly lose their content and meaning.  ;)

Sorry I didn't know it's a two year old post here but Still gets you to more points. look under mydiggingfossil on eBay 

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My vote for the most important prep lab tool is a set of dental picks...


These can be used for all sorts of things: scraping off matrix from specimens, digging small specimens from clay, picking out debris from small pores in bones and shells, etc. No fossil prep lab is complete without a set of these with different shapes and diameters.

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