Another Auction Prep

[Ptychodus04]

@holdinghistory was the winner of the most recent prep auction that I held to support our great community here. He sent me a Diplomystus from the Green River Formation 18” layer. I finished up some other preps and got started on this today.

 

Here’s how this started out:

 

[Ptychodus04]

Here’s what it looks like after 2 hours removing matrix mostly with the CP9361.

 

 

I noticed a hairline crack running perpendicular to the orientation of the fish. It is very small, so I’m hoping it is shallow also. Either way, I dumped a pile of PVA in it to hold it together.

[Bone guy]

Cool!

[holdinghistory]

Nice job Chris! Can't wait to see how it turns out. How close do you usually get with the CP? Sounds a lot faster than using an Aro for the whole thing, which is what I planned to do with a few I have here.

[Ptychodus04]

1 hour ago, holdinghistory said:

Nice job Chris! Can't wait to see how it turns out. How close do you usually get with the CP? Sounds a lot faster than using an Aro for the whole thing, which is what I planned to do with a few I have here.

I usually keep the CP about 1/16 or 1/32 away from the bones. This is usually pretty doable on GRF material as the matrix has a slight color change a few layers above the larger bones.

 

I wouldn’t recommend this for novice preppers as it takes a steady hand and a knowing eye to determine the right place to stop.

 

All the exposed bone was done with the Aro.

[RJB]

Looks like the lower jaw is in place.  always a good thing when doing a diplo.  Cant wait to see this completed.

 

RB

[Ptychodus04]

8 hours ago, RJB said:

Looks like the lower jaw is in place.  always a good thing when doing a diplo.  Cant wait to see this completed.

 

RB

Hopefully, my fingers are crossed for this one.

[Ptychodus04]

Well, I’m back in the crosshairs of the prep bench again. A couple of nasty lung infections and a handful of construction projects kept me away for a bit.

 

I braved the upper 90s temps and spent 3 more hours on this guy today. I’m still mostly roughing out the shape. Whenever I stumble upon a bone, I stop and consolidate. For an 18” layer fish, this one has brittle bones. I also found that what I hoped to be a surface crack previously is in fact all the way through the slab!

 

Thankfully, I discovered this before it opened itself up. So... the very next thing I will do is mount this slab to the plywood to insure its stability.

 

 

 

 

 

[holdinghistory]

Looking great! Really starting to take shape.

[RJB]

Hey Kris,  I do not know what you use to mount a fish slab onto a piece of wood, but I use Type II silicone.  Works fantastic.  Oh, I also usually wash the back of the rock and let dry before I attempt to glue. 

 

RB

[Ptychodus04]

27 minutes ago, RJB said:

Hey Kris,  I do not know what you use to mount a fish slab onto a piece of wood, but I use Type II silicone.  Works fantastic.  Oh, I also usually wash the back of the rock and let dry before I attempt to glue. 

 

RB

I used to mix up a batch of really thick PVA but after seeing how well your silicone worked on the fish you sent me, I'm switching to it. Much less laborious as I can mosey on down to Home Depot and pick some up.

[RJB]

6 hours ago, Ptychodus04 said:

used to mix up a batch of really thick PVA but after seeing how well your silicone worked on the fish you sent me, I'm switching to it. Much less laborious as I can mosey on down to Home Depot and pick some up.

Im glad I can help.  Im also sorry o hear about the lung thing.  being sick sucks man.  Looking forward to seeing the progress on this. 

 

RB

[Ptychodus04]

I finally got some time to get back to this guy. The fish is now mounted to a piece of plywood (this got the crack under control before it tore apart) and I spent 2 more hours on the prep tonight. This puts me at 7 hours to date.

 

[holdinghistory]

Looking great!

[Ludwigia]

Comin' along just fine

[Ptychodus04]

It’s been slow for prep time with the heat we have had this summer (and a never ending string of jobs from the wife)! I hope to make some serious progress on it over the next few weeks. I’m sure Nathan wouldn’t mind actually seeing his fossil. 

[Bone guy]

It's coming along nicely. Catch of the day!  

[holdinghistory]

2 hours ago, Ptychodus04 said:

I’m sure Nathan wouldn’t mind actually seeing his fossil. 

 

Take your time, I am a patient guy . 

[RJB]

Looks like most everything is in place.  Gunna be a nice fish.  Its a really good thing that the famous SSP is on the job.  SSP is our super hero 'Super Skilled Preparator'.  Goooooooooooo Kris gooooooooo.  All you need now is a super hero cape and mask. 

 

RB

[Ptychodus04]

2 hours ago, RJB said:

Looks like most everything is in place.  Gunna be a nice fish.  Its a really good thing that the famous SSP is on the job.  SSP is our super hero 'Super Skilled Preparator'.  Goooooooooooo Kris gooooooooo.  All you need now is a super hero cape and mask. 

 

RB

I’ll stick with the kilt!

 

This prep just got a bit harder. My trusty CP9361 just seized up and I can’t get it to play no matter what I do to it. I switched to the ARO but that’s much slower going. 

 

I gues I’m calling Brook and ordering a ME9100 Monday morning. That’s an expense I wasn’t planning for...

[Ptychodus04]

I’m 4 more hours into this now and it’s just way too blasted hot to continue working in my garage today! This puts me at 11 hours all in. Thankfully, most of my bulk removal is done so the lack of the CP9361 isn’t a game stopper. I spent some time with abrasive today. This matrix is really hard so I had to push the pressure up to 80psi to get anything accomplished!

[Kane]

Looking good, Kris!  Hopefully not too nerve-wracking having to crank the abrasion to 80 (the bones look like they might blow right off!). 

[Ptychodus04]

1 hour ago, Kane said:

Looking good, Kris!  Hopefully not too nerve-wracking having to crank the abrasion to 80 (the bones look like they might blow right off!). 

 

I’m keeping a steep angle on the pen just to be safe but so far, they seem to be very well adhered to the slab. That’s good and bad because the same characteristic makes the matrix hard to remove!

[RJB]

Hey Kris, im wondering what media you are using with 80 lbs of pressure.  Im guessing bicarb?  If so, have you ever tried mixing a bit of dolomite with your bicarb?  

 

RB

[Ptychodus04]

51 minutes ago, RJB said:

Hey Kris, im wondering what media you are using with 80 lbs of pressure.  Im guessing bicarb?  If so, have you ever tried mixing a bit of dolomite with your bicarb?  

 

RB

Yes sir, bicarb it is. I need to try some dolomite. I’ve read some of your posts espousing that mix. There’s a pottery store not too far from my office. I think they sell it there.