Tidgy's Dad Posted February 14, 2018 Share Posted February 14, 2018 Well, i thought I'd show my primitive prepping skills. This is all rather unnecessary as Tony @ynothas already done this thread here and probably better and the pieces shown were kindly donated to me as well. So treat this as a repeat of what Tony does better. Hey ho. So these are the three pieces that Kind Tony sent me. 1. Notice this Elrathia kingii (1.2 cm long) has a break on the anterior margin (cause of death?) .and an upside down Itagnostus interstrictus (5.5 mm) above it and a piece of another to the right of it. 2. This Elrathia (1.8 cm long) has another ones cephalon stuck to its cephalon and some serious damage on the right side pleura. 3. This one is upside down in the matrix. (2.3 cm long) All my prepping was done balancing the specimens on my knee and using a jeweller's loupe to see and a board pin to do the actual prepping. Some water and saliva were also involved, but that was all. First I carefully cleaned as much of the matrix off the first two specimens as i could using the pin and then dug around the third piece so I could 'pop' it out of the matrix. Then I dug all around the other two specimens with the pin and popped them out of the matrix. Here is the third one popped out and with a bit of prep already completed. Sorry for the dreadful photo, but wifey and her camera phone weren't about so i started prepping and then took this photo with my computer as i was impatient to continue. When it was first popped only a tiny bit of the glabella was showing clear of matrix. Here i have popped the Itagnostus before popping the Elrathia. 2 Life's Good! Tortoise Friend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tidgy's Dad Posted February 14, 2018 Author Share Posted February 14, 2018 Notice the tiny Itagnostus at the top of the picture. This ones only 2 mm long. Found it whilst I was fiddling about. And cleaned it. So here are the finished agnostids : 2 Life's Good! Tortoise Friend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tidgy's Dad Posted February 14, 2018 Author Share Posted February 14, 2018 And the Elrathia. : Notice the broken bit broke off and i glued it back. Badly. Probably shouldn't have popped this one. 1. 2. 1 Life's Good! Tortoise Friend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tidgy's Dad Posted February 14, 2018 Author Share Posted February 14, 2018 3. 1 Life's Good! Tortoise Friend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darktooth Posted February 14, 2018 Share Posted February 14, 2018 I say you did a good job using only the pin. But I am curious as why you didn't leave the associated trilos in the matrix? 1 I like Trilo-butts and I cannot lie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tidgy's Dad Posted February 14, 2018 Author Share Posted February 14, 2018 And some other bits and pieces I found smashing up the slabs : This first one 1.5 mm at its widest point. the next 1.3 cm And this cephalon would have been from a biggun, 1.8 cm across.. 7 1 Life's Good! Tortoise Friend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peat Burns Posted February 14, 2018 Share Posted February 14, 2018 Oh boy. Those are some fine specimens. Nice job! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tidgy's Dad Posted February 14, 2018 Author Share Posted February 14, 2018 11 minutes ago, Darktooth said: I say you did a good job using only the pin. But I am curious as why you didn't leave the associated trilos in the matrix? I know i'm a bit dim, but I don't understand. Life's Good! Tortoise Friend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kane Posted February 14, 2018 Share Posted February 14, 2018 Bravo, Adam! Sometimes nothing quite beats a good ol' fashioned pin prep job. It's quieter and feels a bit more "intimate" than using the air tools. But preparing them on your knee? Oh my - we need to get you a table! 1 ...How to Philosophize with a Hammer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tidgy's Dad Posted February 14, 2018 Author Share Posted February 14, 2018 23 minutes ago, Peat Burns said: Oh boy. Those are some fine specimens. Nice job! Bless you, my friend! Life's Good! Tortoise Friend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tidgy's Dad Posted February 14, 2018 Author Share Posted February 14, 2018 21 minutes ago, Kane said: Bravo, Adam! Sometimes nothing quite beats a good ol' fashioned pin prep job. It's quieter and feels a bit more "intimate" than using the air tools. But preparing them on your knee? Oh my - we need to get you a table! Thank you, my friend! I do have a few useful tables, but can't afford any of the other stuff. 'Air tools' ? Not in forty plus years of prep. Ha de ha. Life's Good! Tortoise Friend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darktooth Posted February 14, 2018 Share Posted February 14, 2018 1 hour ago, Tidgy's Dad said: I know i'm a bit dim, but I don't understand. In your first pic you have a specimen with two different species of trilobite. Some people would choose to leave them in the matrix to make the piece more interesting. I am just curious why you chose to take them out? 1 I like Trilo-butts and I cannot lie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snolly50 Posted February 15, 2018 Share Posted February 15, 2018 Delighted. Your post clearly demonstrates that simple prep methods can produce admirable results. 2 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minnbuckeye Posted February 15, 2018 Share Posted February 15, 2018 41 minutes ago, snolly50 said: Delighted. Your post clearly demonstrates that simple prep methods can produce admirable results. Agree totally!! It is nice for people to realize simple techniques can produce almost professional results. I can't tell you how many times I have put a specimen locked in matrix into a simple vice and tightened down. If one get used to the fracture pattern of the matrix you are working with, wonderful results can happen. I can often extract a fossil with BETTER results than using my more high powered drills. Again, something so simple. Do have a little superglue,just in case!!!! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tidgy's Dad Posted February 15, 2018 Author Share Posted February 15, 2018 5 hours ago, Darktooth said: I say you did a good job using only the pin. But I am curious as why you didn't leave the associated trilos in the matrix? Ah, I see! Sorry. The first pic shows a lovely Elrathia kingii, but the Itagnostus interstrictus is upside down. I had to remove the agnostid as it is the only complete large one of this species I have and i wanted to prep it. It came out beautifully as can be seen. The underneath of these things doesn't look nice. Then I was fine with popping out the Elrathia and smashing up the matrix in which I found a couple of other nice things. What I did do though, is leave the matrix piece of the upside down larger Elrathia, so i can put it back in it's original location to show people how I did it. I have unearthed a couple of smaller trilobites in this matrix too as well as a cephalon of Elrathia on the reverse side. 2 Life's Good! Tortoise Friend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tidgy's Dad Posted February 15, 2018 Author Share Posted February 15, 2018 2 hours ago, snolly50 said: Delighted. Your post clearly demonstrates that simple prep methods can produce admirable results. Thank you, Mr Snolly. It is fun to do, though my poor eyeses do water so! Life's Good! Tortoise Friend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tidgy's Dad Posted February 15, 2018 Author Share Posted February 15, 2018 1 hour ago, minnbuckeye said: Agree totally!! It is nice for people to realize simple techniques can produce almost professional results. I can't tell you how many times I have put a specimen locked in matrix into a simple vice and tightened down. If one get used to the fracture pattern of the matrix you are working with, wonderful results can happen. I can often extract a fossil with BETTER results than using my more high powered drills. Again, something so simple. Do have a little superglue,just in case!!!! Thank you, Mike! And I had to use my superglue once! made a bit of a hash of it, but not the glue's fault. Life's Good! Tortoise Friend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ynot Posted February 15, 2018 Share Posted February 15, 2018 You cleaned those nicely. 1 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...
Tidgy's Dad Posted February 15, 2018 Author Share Posted February 15, 2018 8 hours ago, ynot said: You cleaned those nicely. Thank you! But i had help from having read your thread about it! Life's Good! Tortoise Friend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now