Penn Dixie - April 27, 29, 30

[MeargleSchmeargl]

I wish I could split till I was sore every day. Gives me something fun to do.

[fifbrindacier]

Wow, thanks for your sharing Kane.

[Darktooth]

Great haul Kane! I am glad that you and Deb had a wonderful extended weekend.

[Troodon]

Nice trip report,  looks like hard work but the rewards are there.   Cool spot.

[ischua]

Nice stuff ..I wish I could have joined you. I'm hoping the back surgery worked and I will get out to PD soon.

[Kane]

5 minutes ago, ischua said:

Nice stuff ..I wish I could have joined you. I'm hoping the back surgery worked and I will get out to PD soon.

Best of luck with the surgery. I'm hoping it will get you back out in the field with us.  

[goatinformationist]

Wow, quite a long chapter to read.  Can't wait for the next photo filled issue.

[Kane]

21 minutes ago, goatinformationist said:

Wow, quite a long chapter to read.  Can't wait for the next photo filled issue.

Aye, the finds are coming once I can get to them. Not enough love goes into the process. You're never too old to haul out the goodies. Heck, my my missus hauled out her first slab! Some of my collecting comrades are in their 60s and 70s doing the same thing.  

[dalmayshun]

That place is in my bucket list, i was so close last year, but only a day ahead of a storm that blanketed the area with tons of snow... Hope to get back there in the middle of summer

[Monica]

Your report has made me excited for the trip that Viola and I will be taking during PD's "Dig with the Experts" weekend!!!  And although trilobites are great (and I'm sure we'll spend some time splitting rocks in an effort to find some), you know how much Viola loves her "shells" - hopefully we'll be able to find a nice bunch of brachiopods, too 

[Kane]

On 5/2/2018 at 5:49 AM, Monica said:

Your report has made me excited for the trip that Viola and I will be taking during PD's "Dig with the Experts" weekend!!!  And although trilobites are great (and I'm sure we'll spend some time splitting rocks in an effort to find some), you know how much Viola loves her "shells" - hopefully we'll be able to find a nice bunch of brachiopods, too 

Just go to the right at the end of the walkway that leads directly from the entrance. Toward the stream, there are lots of brachs just weathering out ready for Viola to put them in her collecting bucket.  

[Kane]

A rainy day, so found some time to sit at the prep bench. I have a few things glued and clamped waiting for a day to cure. First two pics is the prone I prepped today, 3.8 cm (1.5").

 

The unfinished one is quite wee (15 mm, or about 1/2 an inch). Working on these tinier ones, even under a scope, makes me a bit nervous. It is also jutted out a bit, so some careful matrix sculpting may be required to ensure it doesn't split. When my confidence lowers, and I start getting a bit nervous, that's usually a sign for me to step away from the bench, and maybe practice on easier things until I can improve technique.

 

So that leaves three other prones to work on from this trip, with one measuring in at 5+cm (~2"). That one is also getting the glue treatment. I hope to get to it tomorrow.

 

And just a quick before and after: 

 

[Fossildude19]

Nice job on this one, K!   

 

[Kane]

Thanks, Tim.  I'm hoping Deb will be surprised and pleased with it when she gets home. 

[Paciphacops]

Nice bug!   

[Tidgy's Dad]

Beautiful prep job! 

[digit]

I keep tellin' y'all, that there boy's got some skills!

 

 

Nice prep job on a great looking bug.

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

[Kane]

Thanks, all.  Some bigger challenges ahead tomorrow, but I finally got the scribe working the way I want it to. I have a lot of bulk matrix on one of them to deal with on the 2-incher that I hope to get to and complete tomorrow once the glue cures.

 

Those prepped ones above were not scribed, but Dremel, pin vise, and some light dolomite blasting.

[Darktooth]

Great job Kane! Looking forward to the rest!

[Peat Burns]

Whoa nellie!, that's a good looking specimen and prep.

[Malcolmt]

Thumbs up.... 

[Jeffrey P]

That Eldredgeops couldn't possibly look any better. Congratulations Kane on a wonderful find and a spectacular prep. Hope to see more. 

[Kane]

Thanks all.  

 

I don't want to bombard this thread with prepping the same species, so I'll limit this to a few more.

 

This is the 2 inch (~5 cm) one, beginning with how it was found in the field. Sadly, the rock had split diagonally across this one, which meant it lost a few pleurae. I glued it together in the field for home prep.

 

 

[Kane]

Here are some pics of it through the stages.

 

After the glue had cured, it was time to scribe off the bulky matrix. This took a bit more effort with the ARO clone as this likely needed something more powerful to remove matrix a bit faster. After an hour of that, I was able to trench around it for finer touches. 

[Kane]

And the final product after sanding off some of the scribe marks, and some blasting with dolomite. The major challenge was in picking off the glue. The acetone was not helping too much in this regard. It is not perfect, but a suitable representative of this species at this size. PD bugs usually come out a bit smaller than this.