swag72 Posted October 29, 2016 Share Posted October 29, 2016 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 Link to post Share on other sites
Ptychodus04 Posted October 29, 2016 Share Posted October 29, 2016 Dremel makes an electric engraver. They work pretty well if you don't run them too hard. Link to post Share on other sites
swag72 Posted October 29, 2016 Author Share Posted October 29, 2016 So it's the engraver that I want - Not the rotary tool? Is there any use for the rotary? Link to post Share on other sites
swag72 Posted October 29, 2016 Author Share Posted October 29, 2016 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 Link to post Share on other sites
Fossildude19 Posted October 29, 2016 Share Posted October 29, 2016 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, 4 Link to post Share on other sites
tmaier Posted October 29, 2016 Share Posted October 29, 2016 Screwdriver... Link to post Share on other sites
Troodon Posted October 29, 2016 Share Posted October 29, 2016 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. 2 Link to post Share on other sites
swag72 Posted October 29, 2016 Author Share Posted October 29, 2016 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 Link to post Share on other sites
Fossildude19 Posted October 29, 2016 Share Posted October 29, 2016 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, 1 Link to post Share on other sites
swag72 Posted October 29, 2016 Author Share Posted October 29, 2016 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? Link to post Share on other sites
Fossildude19 Posted October 29, 2016 Share Posted October 29, 2016 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, Link to post Share on other sites
ischua Posted October 29, 2016 Share Posted October 29, 2016 (edited) I went here for points better than the one I made it's from another post here Edited October 29, 2016 by JohnJ temporal Ebay link removed Link to post Share on other sites
JohnJ Posted October 29, 2016 Share Posted October 29, 2016 Item links on ebay are temporary. We discourage the use of auction site links because those posts quickly lose their content and meaning. Link to post Share on other sites
swag72 Posted October 29, 2016 Author Share Posted October 29, 2016 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 Link to post Share on other sites
JohnJ Posted October 29, 2016 Share Posted October 29, 2016 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. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
ischua Posted October 29, 2016 Share Posted October 29, 2016 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 Link to post Share on other sites
TNCollector Posted October 31, 2016 Share Posted October 31, 2016 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. Link to post Share on other sites
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