Airscribe Question

[MatthewS.Paleofan]

SO I have a Question, For preparing fossils I know I should use an airscribe now, but what do I plug it into for the air?  Does it come with something like a air bed blower? Or does it plug into the wall or some kind of special air tank?

[ynot]

You will need a compressor to provide pressurized air.

[oilshale]

1 hour ago, MatthewS.Paleofan said:

For preparing fossils I know I should use an airscribe now....

 It's nice to have one - but an airscribe is not always necessary. Depends on what you want to prep. Quite often other simple and less expensive tools will also do. An electric engraver costs much less (price starts at around 20US$) and you don't need to buy a compressor. Even a simple steel needle is excellent for microprep work.

Have a look at these links:

http://preparation.paleo.amnh.org/3/evolution-of-techniques

http://preparation.paleo.amnh.org/12/initial-steps-and-discussions

An airscribe will require a compressor to provide pressurized air. Recommended air pressure is around 100PSI, the air consumption will be around 2 cf/m (1,7m³/h). And, yes, an air compressor is very loud!!!

https://www.paleotools.com/which-tool-is-right-for-me

Thomas

[jpc]

an air bed blower is not at all powerful enough, but it is the right idea.  It is quite a commitment to get into prep with air tools.   You will need some space for a compressor, the compressor and tools are loud, they will need accessories such air line driers, and pressure gauges.  It will cost a wee but as well.  See the discussion recently with the fellow from the UK who found and wants to prep a big ammonite.  

 

Any of you guys with a prep lab have any photos handy to show Matthew.... 

[Malcolmt]

Any low end (cheap ) compressor that is not fairly heavy duty will not last under continual usage from scribing and air abrasion. I run my compressor from the garage via a 100 foot line into my basement area. It is too loud to have a compressor and air filtration unit running where you are prepping. I bring the air in at 110 PSI but the tank on the compressor 15 gallon stores air at 200 PSI. Once in my prep area I have a desiccator and then I branch off the air to run multiple air scribes and air abrasion units each of which has its own pressure regulator and water trap. I put a lot of hours on my equipment and for me a $500 compressor (Dewalt 15 gallon 200 PSI upright) will last about 3 years before it is caput. I am on my third of this type. The Porter cable and Craftsman ones I had before this just did not have the adequate airflow to run my equipment properly. Mind you I run it year round and it is powered on 24 hours per day so in the winter it can get to minus 20 in my garage and over 100 on  hot summers day. The compressor turns on automatically when the pressure in the tank drops below 165 pSI.

 

My compressor is capable of 5.0 CFM at 90 PSI which is very good for running scribes and air abrasion. I generally run my scribes at 110 and my Comco is fed at 90 but I use anywhere from 2 PSI to 90 on the COMCO air abrasion unit depending on what I am working on

 

Advice to those just starting.... begin your prepping very simply and work only on fossils you can afford to destroy. To start use sharpened dental tools, scalples, pin vices and some form of magnification along with a variable speed engraver and perhaps a dremel tool. Make sure that you like prepping before you invest much money. Many people just don't like the tedium of it, so make sure you like it and that it is not just a fad before you invest a lot of money.  Personally The tedium and listening to talk radio as I prep is the best stress reliever anywhere.

 

A very simple initial low end prepping setup with an air compressor, bast box, air filtration (shop vac) and a used scribe will easily cost you over a $1500 by the time you are ready to go. A good professional set up even with some used equipment is going to cost a heck of a lot more than that. Between scopes, many air scribes , desiccator, air abrasion units,  lights, airlines, connectors and other goodies I probably have probably spent about $8000

[jpc]

1 hour ago, Malcolmt said:

 

Advice to those just starting.... begin your prepping very simply and work only on fossils you can afford to destroy. To start use sharpened dental tools, scalples, pin vices and some form of magnification along with a variable speed engraver and perhaps a dremel tool. Make sure that you like prepping before you invest much money. Many people just don't like the tedium of it, so make sure you like it and that it is not just a fad before you invest a lot of money.  Personally The tedium and listening to talk radio as I prep is the best stress reliever anywhere.

 

 

This is the best advice yet.  

[Ludwigia]

I can't really add anything to what Malcolm has already written. As you can probably now imagine, it can quickly get a bit more complicated than one had first imagined.