Auction Prep

[Ptychodus04]

Here's a pic of the overall slab which shows the large plant fossil that was hidden under the papers.

 

It cleaned up a little bit as well. Also, the fossilized glue along the left side and top right... Acetone seems to be working but it is slow going. Also, the discoloration from the old repair ans accompanying smear of glue seems to be coming off with some hearty scrubbing and liberal application of acetone. The trick here is to keep from soaking the joint and thus causing a catastrophic failure of the repair!!!

 

[RJB]

You are one very thourow guy Kris.  Just an idea, but I think if this specimen was framed, that might take away from the break and discoloration? 

 

RB

[Ptychodus04]

7 minutes ago, RJB said:

You are one very thourow guy Kris.  Just an idea, but I think if this specimen was framed, that might take away from the break and discoloration? 

 

RB

 

That's a good idea. @snolly50 and I had discussed mounting the slab to a piece of plywood for stability due to its super-thin nature. Framing might make it look really cool.

[snolly50]

4 hours ago, Ptychodus04 said:

Here's a pic of the overall slab which shows the large plant fossil that was hidden under the papers.

 

Thanks Kris, the plant fossil had been covered so long I only had a vague memory of it and had forgotten how large it is!

 

 If you get a chance, can you snap a close-up of the plant's structure. Grande's book, mentioned above, has a large plant section and an ID might be possible if a pattern is visible.

 

 Would hitting the malicious glue crud with the air abrasive tool be helpful? 

[Ptychodus04]

36 minutes ago, snolly50 said:

Thanks Kris, the plant fossil had been covered so long I only had a vague memory of it and had forgotten how large it is!

 

 If you get a chance, can you snap a close-up of the plant's structure. Grande's book, mentioned above, has a large plant section and an ID might be possible if a pattern is visible.

 

 Would hitting the malicious glue crud with the air abrasive tool be helpful? 

 

I'll get you a shot of it this evening. It does have some visible patterning.

 

The radioactive goo is still somewhat pliable yet crystallized and cross-linked at the same time. It's kind of like the booger that time forgot. Straight acetone on a rag with some elbow grease seems to be making a dent. If this method continues to be effective, it will be much faster than trying to abrade it away.

[Ptychodus04]

Here are some close up pics. I got as close as I could and still have my phone focus.

[Ptychodus04]

[snolly50]

Thanks a bunch Kris, I'll enjoy comparing the images to those of the book in the hope of spotting a similarity.

[Ptychodus04]

Here we are after 7 hours. The bulk matrix removal is complete and I've spent a bit of time with the micro-abrasive giving the old girl a gentle cleaning. It is coming along rather nicely.

 

[snolly50]

11 hours ago, Ptychodus04 said:

Here we are after 7 hours. The bulk matrix removal is complete and I've spent a bit of time with the micro-abrasive giving the old girl a gentle cleaning. It is coming along rather nicely.

What a lovely creature!

[Ptychodus04]

9 minutes ago, snolly50 said:

What a lovely creature!

 

Gee Snolly, nobody's ever called me that before. 

[snolly50]

25 minutes ago, Ptychodus04 said:

 

Gee Snolly, nobody's ever called me that before. 

 

"She called me a creachter!"

 

 

[Ptychodus04]

5 hours ago, snolly50 said:

 

"She called me a creachter!"

 

 

That's great! We love Andy Griffith at our house.

[Ptychodus04]

9.5 hours in and here she sits. Microabrasion is complete and as much glue as possible is gone from the surface of the slab. Unfortunately, it did require some abrasion to remove it (along with a layer of rock!) The fish has a VERY thin coat of PVA to stabilize the bones and scales.

 

Next, the whole slab gets mounted to a piece of plywood and she gets a stand made.

[Ptychodus04]

Here's a closer pic of the fish.

 

[RJB]

Nice work.  I will be kind and not say what I think about the fish. 

 

RB

[Ptychodus04]

3 hours ago, RJB said:

Nice work.  I will be kind and not say what I think about the fish. 

 

RB

Is it something along the lines of lipstick on a pig?

[Fossil-Hound]

@Ptychodus04 great work! Speaking of work I'm working on your website tomorrow! I'm also planning on visiting Warfield Quarry hopefully in May.

[Ptychodus04]

6 hours ago, jsnrice said:

@Ptychodus04 great work! Speaking of work I'm working on your website tomorrow! I'm also planning on visiting Warfield Quarry hopefully in May.

 

Thanks Jason. I know I owe you descriptions of the photos but just have not had the time to get down to it...

 

I have always wanted to get up to Kemmerer. Maybe in the next couple of years.

[Ptychodus04]

After an intense counseling session, the Noto is far more stable than she was when she arrived at my doorstep.

 

She is now permanently affixed to a 1/2" piece of plywood with PVA used as the glue. At this point, I am right at 10 hours of work time.

 

Next up is the custom stand.

 

[snolly50]

11 hours ago, Ptychodus04 said:

She is now permanently affixed to a 1/2" piece of plywood with PVA used as the glue.

Excellent! The backing was certainly a prudent move for a slab so large and thin. With this the slab break that I had previously repaired is of little concern for a repeat.

[Ptychodus04]

5 hours ago, snolly50 said:

Excellent! The backing was certainly a prudent move for a slab so large and thin. With this the slab break that I had previously repaired is of little concern for a repeat.

 

There was a 0% chance that she would hold up without some additional support over the long term... although, you did a superb job on the repair. It only took a wee bit of abrasive to remove the surface adhesive.

 

Big and thin is just a recipe for disaster, especially when not sitting flat and supported.

[Ptychodus04]

11.5 hours in the running total.

 

This morning, I took my belt sander to the wood backing in order to even it out with the rock slab. Then,  I built the stand. It is a simple 3 leg easle type stand that will break down for compact shipping.

 

All the stand needs is some paint and the whole thing will be on its way home to good old @snolly50's house.

[Ptychodus04]

[snolly50]

Looks great, sent you a message.