Jump to content

Priscacara Prep from 18" Layer


Sagebrush Steve

Recommended Posts

39 minutes ago, RJB said:

Very neat diagram, though I myself dont bother with the names of indevidual bones.  I just like to prep. 

 

RB

I just like to know what I should be expecting as I am prepping.  For example when I first started work on the unprepped slab I didn’t know there should be any anal rays on the specimen because they didn’t appear as raised areas in the matrix.  But I looked at photos of Priscacara and saw there should be something there.  So I started scribing in the area they should be and sure enough, they showed up.  As I am fairly new to this kind of prep I need all the help I can get.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Sagebrush Steve said:

I just like to know what I should be expecting as I am prepping.  For example when I first started work on the unprepped slab I didn’t know there should be any anal rays on the specimen because they didn’t appear as raised areas in the matrix.  But I looked at photos of Priscacara and saw there should be something there.  So I started scribing in the area they should be and sure enough, they showed up.  As I am fairly new to this kind of prep I need all the help I can get.

 

I typically refer to a line drawing if I am prepping a known specimen in order to take some of the strain off my x-ray vision, especially when I'm working on something I have not prepped before. For example, I started getting a handful of D. newarki specimens to prep. They are VERY small, preserved in diamond hard slate, and are often covered in pyrite. This is not a scenario where you want to do much exploratory scribe work. Even under the microscope it is very easy to obliterate the hair thin bones. So... I moseyed on over to @Fossildude19's gallery and printed his line drawing to have as a reference point for those little fishies. It is very helpful.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, Ptychodus04 said:

typically refer to a line drawing if I am prepping a known specimen in order to take some of the strain off my x-ray vision

 

How come my x-ray vision doesn't work?  :)

 

RB

Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 minutes ago, RJB said:

Hey @Sagebrush Steve, while i was working on a Dilplomystus today I thought about your diogram.  Now I want one.  How do I get one like that to have on my desk for reference?

 

RB

Here you go.  The diagram I posted is on page 20.  Lots of other info about Green River fish but some of the names have changed since 1984.  The diagrams should be fine, though.

http://www.wsgs.wyo.gov/products/wsgs-1984-b-63.pdf

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, RJB said:

 

How come my x-ray vision doesn't work?  :)

 

RB

You must have worn yours out after all these years of use. Don’t forget, you’re significantly older than me. :P

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Another week, another several hours of prep.  My hand is worn out, so I'm going to take a few days off to recover.  Question: would it make sense to invest in an air abrasive system (e.g. Paasche AECR) with dolomite to get off the rest of the matrix or do I risk damaging the fossil if I do so?  It would be a significant investment so I don't want to do so unless it will work.  I have three more slabs like this waiting to be prepped.

 

Here's what he (or she?) looks like now:

Priscy-8a.jpg.bbdc6c9bfee2b1d8c83f3d05217edccc.jpg

 

And here's what she aspires to be when she is fully prepped (dream on, little fishy!):

5a947d91474bc_ReferencePriscy-Grande.jpg.d1ee9d46faadd4eda6675542634dd1cb.jpg

From Grande, The Lost World of Fossil Lake

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

30 minutes ago, Sagebrush Steve said:

Another week, another several hours of prep.  My hand is worn out, so I'm going to take a few days off to recover.  Question: would it make sense to invest in an air abrasive system (e.g. Paasche AECR) with dolomite to get off the rest of the matrix or do I risk damaging the fossil if I do so?  It would be a significant investment so I don't want to do so unless it will work.  I have three more slabs like this waiting to be prepped.

Oooh boy.   Looking good!  I think you're doing fine without air abrasive.  Just takes a little more time without it, and perhaps less risk of blowing away pieces of the fossil...  Just MHO :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Sagebrush Steve said:

Another week, another several hours of prep.  My hand is worn out, so I'm going to take a few days off to recover.  Question: would it make sense to invest in an air abrasive system (e.g. Paasche AECR) with dolomite to get off the rest of the matrix or do I risk damaging the fossil if I do so?  It would be a significant investment so I don't want to do so unless it will work.  I have three more slabs like this waiting to be prepped.

 

Any preparation comes with a risk of damaging the specimen. You can wreck a specimen with a needle, it just takes less time to do it with a pneumatic scribe or abrasive.

 

A bit of practice is all you need for powered tools. I think abrasive will do wonders for cleaning up the nooks and crannies of the specimen that are hard to do by hand.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I agree, You are doing fine without abrasives.  Plus, dolomite would do a number on destroying your fish.  You'd want a softer meadia like carbonate of soda.

 

RB

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...