My first foray into prepping

[Miocene_Mason]

I’ve been putting it off to long; I need to get prepping! And as practice I’ve started with what looks like the easiest piece, a whale jaw bit in a concretion I found. I need to dig it out and reattach it to the rest which was found already dislodged from it. I’ve been using a manual scribe and dang this stuff is hard! Most of the cliff sediment is loose but this concretion stuff is not easy to scratch up!  Soaked it in vinegar over night, and it is slightly easier. I’ve put in a little less than two hours I think, and it’s progressing but not at a pace I like, so I used a gift card I forgot I had and bought myself a electric scribe, hoping it will help

Once I got that finished, I am gonna try a larger whale bone in a huge (for me) concretion, which is gonna require consolidation. that’s gonna be a tough. I got a long list of other things I need to prep out and consolidate, crash course time! Here’s my progress thus far

[Miocene_Mason]

[Miocene_Mason]

[Auspex]

Good, steady hands!
If you feel the urge to rush, put it down for a while; Mr Haste is not your friend.

Also, get the salt out of that bone as soon as you can!

[snolly50]

@WhodamanHD Here is an old post of mine from one of the Forum's "poetry" contests. It should be very helpful to you!

 

 

[Miocene_Mason]

4 hours ago, Auspex said:

Good, steady hands!
If you feel the urge to rush, put it down for a while; Mr Haste is not your friend.

Also, get the salt out of that bone as soon as you can!

Yeah, I’ve done it mostly it short sessions. Shouldn’t be any salt in it, it’s very non-porous, whale bones have thick outsides to maintain neutral boyouncy. I’ve rinsed it many times though, mostly to get whatever products from the vinegar put before they crystallized (I haven’t done the equation but I would guess calcium acetate). Thanks!

[Miocene_Mason]

2 hours ago, snolly50 said:

@WhodamanHD Here is an old post of mine from one of the Forum's "poetry" contests. It should be very helpful to you!

Thank you Wise Snolly, I will certainly pour bleach and concentrated acid on it as I am sure that will be a good idea! 

[RJB]

If you ask me,,, I think your in need of a water saw of some kind. 

 

RB

[Ptychodus04]

On 5/27/2018 at 8:11 PM, WhodamanHD said:

Yeah, I’ve done it mostly it short sessions. Shouldn’t be any salt in it, it’s very non-porous, whale bones have thick outsides to maintain neutral boyouncy. I’ve rinsed it many times though, mostly to get whatever products from the vinegar put before they crystallized (I haven’t done the equation but I would guess calcium acetate). Thanks!

 

Fossils found ocean-side have more salt than one would think. Don't assume that bones from a marine animal aren't completely saturated with salt. Porous or not, it can have some nasty stuff in it.

 

The best advice I can give someone starting to prep fossils is a concept on how you approach a prep job. Always remove the matrix from the fossil and never remove a fossil from the matrix. This simple mindset reduces the possibility of much of the damage you can do to a specimen. Whatever you remove is going to break whether it is fossil or matrix. So, remove the matrix rather than the fossil.

[Miocene_Mason]

On 5/28/2018 at 9:41 AM, RJB said:

If you ask me,,, I think your in need of a water saw of some kind. 

 

RB

I think I am too, however I don’t have access to one. Someday maybe?

 

10 hours ago, Ptychodus04 said:

 

Fossils found ocean-side have more salt than one would think. Don't assume that bones from a marine animal aren't completely saturated with salt. Porous or not, it can have some nasty stuff in it.

 

The best advice I can give someone starting to prep fossils is a concept on how you approach a prep job. Always remove the matrix from the fossil and never remove a fossil from the matrix. This simple mindset reduces the possibility of much of the damage you can do to a specimen. Whatever you remove is going to break whether it is fossil or matrix. So, remove the matrix rather than the fossil.

Okay then, I guess I’ll soak the fossils in water to get all the salt out.

Thanks for the advice, that’s really quite helpful. I saw this before I started today’s prep and decided to change tactics, I was going to scribe the top off first all the way so I could assess the situation better, but before I could do so the bone literally fell off. It just fell out, which is strange because minutes earlier it was super solidly in there. I guess the electric dremel jostled it a bit?

 

 

Heres after my first ten minute session with the electric scribe, works great for removing large amounts of matrix.

[Miocene_Mason]

And completed, lost a bit of the “skin” on one side, but for a first prep (disregarding a tiny Triassic sharks tooth) not too too shabby. Apologize for dirty work bench. I may revisit the little bit left in the conc at a later date. I’m having second thoughts about prepping the big piece...

[Miocene_Mason]

[Miocene_Mason]

I’ll get a picture of this reunited with the whole once the glue dries.

 

Things Learned: 

1) Patience is a necessary pain

2) A spoon full of vinegar helps the medicine go down (in calcium carbonate prep)

3) Electric dremel is fast but violent

4) Soak to remove salt (Thx @Auspex and @Ptychodus04 )

5) remove the matrix from the fossil, not the fossil from the matrix (Thx again ptychodus)

6) it is kinda relaxing...

[JohnBrewer]

Well done!

[Kane]

The Dremel will provide you with vibration, which can be beneficial in certain circumstances (such as dislodging a piece from matrix, and even removing dusty debris!). It will have its limits, though. An air scribe will complete the task with more controlled vibration in less time. Pity about the "skin." It seems to have adhered a bit more to the matrix. 

[Ptychodus04]

16 hours ago, WhodamanHD said:

I’ll get a picture of this reunited with the whole once the glue dries.

 

Things Learned: 

1) Patients is a necessary pain

2) A spoon full of vinegar helps the medicine go down (in calcium carbonate prep)

3) Electric dremel is fast but violent

4) Soak to remove salt (Thx @Auspex and @Ptychodus04 )

5) remove the matrix from the fossil, not the fossil from the matrix (Thx again ptychodus)

6) it is kinda relaxing...

I find it to be very relaxing, even when working with fragile specimens under a microscope. There’s an almost meditative quality to prepping. Sometimes  I get going and don’t realize How long I’ve been working.

[Miocene_Mason]

And the finished product:

[Miocene_Mason]

[Miocene_Mason]

A hefty chunk of jaw

[Miocene_Mason]

On 6/5/2018 at 3:20 PM, JohnBrewer said:

Well done!

Thanks John!

[Miocene_Mason]

On 6/5/2018 at 3:31 PM, Kane said:

The Dremel will provide you with vibration, which can be beneficial in certain circumstances (such as dislodging a piece from matrix, and even removing dusty debris!). It will have its limits, though. An air scribe will complete the task with more controlled vibration in less time. Pity about the "skin." It seems to have adhered a bit more to the matrix. 

Yeah, the matrix always seem a lot harder closer to the specimens at the Cliffs. Maybe the fossils act as nuclei which the calcium carbonate concretes to easier? I don’t know, but it’s certainly annoying. I don’t have the commitment or the resources (or the know how) to buy or use an air scribe quite yet, perhaps someday though!

[Miocene_Mason]

On 6/5/2018 at 3:36 PM, Ptychodus04 said:

even when working with fragile specimens under a microscope. T

My first prep experience (though I’m not sure it counts) was prepping our small teeth from matrix @JohnBrewer sent me (which I haven’t completely finished, fish bones still need attention), and I was quite happy, well until the tip of one of the hybontoid teeth broke off. The work I had invested in it was dashed in an instant. Luckily, it was fixed with an extremely small drop of glue. I prefer the larger specimens Because they are harder to mess up, at least at this point.

[Ptychodus04]

3 hours ago, WhodamanHD said:

I prefer the larger specimens Because they are harder to mess up, at least at this point.

Don’t worry; if you keep prepping you’ll have plenty of time to wreck some bigger stuff. 

 

[JohnBrewer]

23 hours ago, Ptychodus04 said:

Don’t worry; if you keep prepping you’ll have plenty of time to wreck some bigger stuff. 

 

Indeed!