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Trying to make the best of it


Ludwigia

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I've been showing some of my finds here from the Middle Jurassic Callovian stage in the Wutach valley recently and I've been busying myself today with this:

 

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You can see the mineralized inner whorls clearly and also a faint outline of the more outer whorls. It wasn't quite clear from the outset how much of this ammonite was hidden under the matrix, but there were at least a few indications as to where I could begin setting the airscribe, so I carefully chipped off a bit of matrix from the two blocks in order to get my bearings and then glued the two pieces together.

 

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You can now imagine roughly where the ammonite runs around, although I was starting to have my doubts about the preservation of the outer whorls, particularly on the right hand side. There are a lot of iron oolites in this particular matrix, which sometimes cause some heavy corrosion. But in order to find out, all I could do was to dig away a bit more and try to get down as close to the shell as possible. The next photos show front and back after this procedure. You can see a white streak at the bottom in the first photo, which indicates a bit of shell from an outer whorl showing how large, or maybe even larger it may have been, but that has long since been a victim of corrosion.

 

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Now it was time to get down to some serious abrading in order to see what kind of condition the shell was in. The matrix is a relatively friable iron rich marly limestone, so it gives way quite easily. I know that the shells at this exposure can take up to 80psi, but just to be on the safe side I started with 60.

 

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At this point it became obvious that the outer whorl from 9 to 3 o'clock was too corroded to be of any use, so there remained no other choice than to remove that part. Front and back views follow again.

 

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Now that I knew what could be made of it, it was time to abrade the rest of the matrix off the shell. I wasn't quite finished with the back as I took the next photos.

 

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Here it is after the finishing touches; abrading the inner whorls on the back, smoothing up the block with air pen and abrader and finally applying a thin coat of beeswax finish. A Homeoplanulites sp. with a diameter of 7cm.

 

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Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger

http://www.steinkern.de/

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Wow! How did that become that! Great job!

“...whilst this planet has gone cycling on according to the fixed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been and are being evolved.” ~ Charles Darwin

Happy hunting,

Mason

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You are a magician, Roger! :wub: 

Well done, sir. 

    Tim    -  VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER

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"In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks."

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Outstanding work.

Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, also are remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so. - Douglas Adams, Last Chance to See

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I don't know which is more magnificent- the ammonite or your efforts to reveal it. Wonderful job!!! Congratulations, Roger.

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8 hours ago, Peat Burns said:

Beautiful.

 

8 hours ago, Bobby Rico said:

Unbelievable work. Wow

 

8 hours ago, Fossildude19 said:

You are a magician, Roger! :wub: 

Well done, sir. 

 

7 hours ago, snolly50 said:

Outstanding work.

 

5 hours ago, FossilDudeCO said:

Absolutely stunning Roger!

 

4 hours ago, Jeffrey P said:

I don't know which is more magnificent- the ammonite or your efforts to reveal it. Wonderful job!!! Congratulations, Roger.

 

Thanks guys. Glad you enjoyed the show! :D

 

 

Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger

http://www.steinkern.de/

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That was quite the show Roger!  Just love the pictures from start to finish.  It really is amazing how something that looks so insignificant can turn out so wonderful.  Really nice job of prepping.

 

RB

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8 hours ago, Jeffrey P said:

I don't know which is more magnificent- the ammonite or your efforts to reveal it. Wonderful job!!! Congratulations, Roger.

 

 My opinion says it is definitely Ludwigia's  efforts to reveal it by far. Wonderful show!

 

Mike

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Outstanding job Roger! Another beauty!

-Dave

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Geologists on the whole are inconsistent drivers. When a roadcut presents itself, they tend to lurch and weave. To them, the roadcut is a portal, a fragment of a regional story, a proscenium arch that leads their imaginations into the earth and through the surrounding terrain. - John McPhee

If I'm going to drive safely, I can't do geology. - John McPhee

Check out my Blog for more fossils I've found: http://viewsofthemahantango.blogspot.com/

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6 hours ago, RJB said:

That was quite the show Roger!  Just love the pictures from start to finish.  It really is amazing how something that looks so insignificant can turn out so wonderful.  Really nice job of prepping.

 

RB

 

6 hours ago, minnbuckeye said:

 

 My opinion says it is definitely Ludwigia's  efforts to reveal it by far. Wonderful show!

 

Mike

 

5 hours ago, Shamalama said:

Outstanding job Roger! Another beauty!

 

3 hours ago, FossilDAWG said:

Wow! It's amazing how you almost bring these ammonites back to life! :wub:

 

Don

 

2 hours ago, Ptychodus04 said:

Beautiful work Roger. @Ludwigia  You are an amazingly skilled preparator sir.

Wow! Thanks, guys :D I gotta watch out or my head's gonna start to swell :P

 

 

Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger

http://www.steinkern.de/

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