The QCC Posted December 2, 2016 Share Posted December 2, 2016 Although this is the same thin section of Rugose Coral posted earlier, they are substantially different in what has been revealed with further polishing. The original thin section was approx. 80microns thin. The additional polishing with 1200 and 2000 grit diamond disks has proved to reveal additional and unexpected detail at a thickness of 35 microns. The new slide photos were taken with a Canon 100D on a Zeiss 305edu microscope. Slide 1 is the cross section as previously posted. Hints of what lay hidden are visible, but the slide is too thick to see detail. Slide 2 is the thin section after another hour of polishing. There are some disc lines in the slide, but I was at the limit of my set up and feared polishing the specimen to oblivion. Slide 3 is viewed through a Dark Field stop. Slide 4 is a close look at the centre of the coral. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aek Posted December 2, 2016 Share Posted December 2, 2016 Nice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Herb Posted December 2, 2016 Share Posted December 2, 2016 Nice work "Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence"_ Carl Sagen No trees were killed in this posting......however, many innocent electrons were diverted from where they originally intended to go. " I think, therefore I collect fossils." _ Me "When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth."__S. Holmes "can't we all just get along?" Jack Nicholson from Mars Attacks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doushantuo Posted December 2, 2016 Share Posted December 2, 2016 very,very nice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ynot Posted December 2, 2016 Share Posted December 2, 2016 It is like a fireworks show picture!! Love it. Thanks for sharing. Tony Darwin said: " Man sprang from monkeys." Will Rogers said: " Some of them didn't spring far enough." My Fossil collection - My Mineral collection My favorite thread on TFF. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sdsnl Posted December 2, 2016 Share Posted December 2, 2016 Your pictures should appear in textbooks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rumi Posted December 2, 2016 Share Posted December 2, 2016 This is really excellent! Is anyone else cutting thin sections of fossils? I would very much like to learn the older methods of thin-sectioning with hand tools, as it is unlikely that I will ever be able to have sufficient space for lapidary equipment. It is essential to have thin sections if one hopes to identify fusulinids or bryozoans, hence my interest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The QCC Posted December 2, 2016 Author Share Posted December 2, 2016 Making thin sections by hand using a lapping plate, powdered grit, sheet grit and polishing compound takes almost as much space and more money per slide than a hybrid system. I started out that way buying my supplies from Lee Valley Tools and quickly became a first name customer at the Lee Valley store. My hybrid system consists of a glass lapping plate, a Hi Tech Diamond 6" flat lap machine and six diamond grit discs. The Hi Tech machine comes with three backing plates, a 180 grit "carving" disc, 600 & 1200 grit polishing discs, a small container of 1 micron diamond paste and polishing disc. I added 100 and 2000 grit diamond discs. I still do a final 1 micron polish by hand on the lapping plate. Space wise, a small work bench (30" x 48") is sufficient. I managed to make about 12 slides using the manual method and over 120 with the hybrid system in much less time and at a lower cost per slide. The photos show my manual method and the HiTech lap machine. Did I forget to mention the manual method is messy. The lapping plate in a roasting pan with sheet grit. The slide carrier I made to hold the slide while polishing. The Hi Tech Diamond flat lap machine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goatinformationist Posted December 2, 2016 Share Posted December 2, 2016 Yeah, I want one of these. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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