RJB Posted June 19, 2018 Share Posted June 19, 2018 I bought two crab concretions from a guy about 3 weeks ago. Not happy with these concs, but if you don't gamble you don't win. In this case, I lost. These will be b-grade crabs. Simply not good enough to make it into my crab collection. In the second picture you can see what I see when I sit back and just look at what ive done. In this case, Im sittin back and lookin at how im doing with the 'rock smoothing'. Lookin purty good for a b-grade piece of cow poop. Im also very spoiled. Belive me, with what I payed for these and the amount of time spent,,,, after I sell these dang things I will hopefully make about $10 an hour!!! Just letting you know that there is no moneys to be made on prepping fossil crabs. Oh, these are Pulalius vulgaris from the Lincoln Creek Formation in Washington and Eocene in age. RB 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ynot Posted June 19, 2018 Share Posted June 19, 2018 Better luck on the next set. 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...
RJB Posted June 19, 2018 Author Share Posted June 19, 2018 31 minutes ago, ynot said: Better luck on the next set. This happens to me more than you know but I also do a lot of 'gambling' when it comes to concretions of many kinds. Luckily I have about $20 left for my next concretion buy? RB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shellseeker Posted June 19, 2018 Share Posted June 19, 2018 49 minutes ago, RJB said: Lookin purty good for a b-grade piece of cow poop. Ron, tell us what you really think. You realize that I know zip about what/how you perform your magic.. Just give me a point or 2 about the difference between cow poop and Ecstasy. The White Queen ".... in her youth she could believe "six impossible things before breakfast" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJB Posted June 19, 2018 Author Share Posted June 19, 2018 2 minutes ago, Shellseeker said: ust give me a point or 2 about the difference between cow poop and Ecstasy. Here ya go Jack. these are not what I call 'cow poop'. these are the type of crabs I want. Very far and few between. RB 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ynot Posted June 19, 2018 Share Posted June 19, 2018 9 minutes ago, RJB said: these are not what I call 'cow poop'. these are the type of crabs I want. I can see why You keep "gambling" on the concretions! 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...
RJB Posted June 19, 2018 Author Share Posted June 19, 2018 1 minute ago, ynot said: can see why You keep "gambling" on the concretions! If I was in this for the money, I would be broke! heck, i am broke. how bout a no interest loan,,,,,,, ole buddy? RB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ynot Posted June 19, 2018 Share Posted June 19, 2018 Which "AAAA" grade crabs do You want to put up for collateral? Would be like pawning one of Your kids. 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...
goatinformationist Posted June 19, 2018 Share Posted June 19, 2018 Yep, I know cow poop and those last pictures are not cow poop. Very nice and thanks for the pics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolf89 Posted June 19, 2018 Share Posted June 19, 2018 4 hours ago, RJB said: I bought two crab concretions from a guy about 3 weeks ago. Not happy with these concs, but if you don't gamble you don't win. In this case, I lost. These will be b-grade crabs. Simply not good enough to make it into my crab collection. In the second picture you can see what I see when I sit back and just look at what ive done. In this case, Im sittin back and lookin at how im doing with the 'rock smoothing'. Lookin purty good for a b-grade piece of cow poop. Im also very spoiled. Belive me, with what I payed for these and the amount of time spent,,,, after I sell these dang things I will hopefully make about $10 an hour!!! Just letting you know that there is no moneys to be made on prepping fossil crabs. Oh, these are Pulalius vulgaris from the Lincoln Creek Formation in Washington and Eocene in age. RB If you dont want them I think I could... uhhh... dispose of them properly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peat Burns Posted June 20, 2018 Share Posted June 20, 2018 I think we need to consult @GeschWhat on this. .. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miocene_Mason Posted June 20, 2018 Share Posted June 20, 2018 8 hours ago, RJB said: these are not what I call 'cow poop'. these are the type of crabs I want. Very far and few between. If I look like that at around 40 million years old, then I’ll have broken some laws of thermodynamics! Shame about the one pair, though they’ll turn out beautiful I’m sure. Your B-grades are better than most’s wildest fossil crab dreams. 1 “...whilst this planet has gone cycling on according to the fixed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been and are being evolved.” ~ Charles Darwin Happy hunting, Mason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnBrewer Posted June 20, 2018 Share Posted June 20, 2018 18 hours ago, Wolf52893 said: If you dont want them I think I could... uhhh... dispose of them properly. Me too! John Map of UK fossil sites Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJB Posted June 21, 2018 Author Share Posted June 21, 2018 On 6/19/2018 at 5:11 PM, Wolf52893 said: If you dont want them I think I could... uhhh... dispose of them properly. 20 hours ago, JohnBrewer said: Me too! Its not that I simply dont want them, its that they are not good enough to go into the collection. ive got quite a few b-grades now cause I have not put any up for sale in quite awhile. ive got a guy who wants to buy all of them but I havent gotten around to giving him pictures and prices, and also, once people see the prices, they almost always bow out. I have to be in the mood to sell fossils and I havent been in the mood for quite awhile either. Someday. RB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJB Posted June 21, 2018 Author Share Posted June 21, 2018 Aaaaaaaaaalrighty then. I finally finished the best one of these crabs. Took waaaaay too long, but was really good for me. Gives me something fun to do, keeps my hands and mind occupied too. Im guessing about 17 hours for this one. This is what I consider a B-Grade fossil crab. Now,,, being a fossil crab collector and after doing this for about 27 years now and also having a couple of really nice A-Grade specimens in my collection, im going to critique this as the collector and preparator that I am. Also, please forgive me for my bad spelliing. Ok, here goes. This crab is what I call a B-Grade fossil crab because,,,,,, look at the 'rear end', its disarticulated and high up making it impossible to expose the lower back end of the crab carapace. Not a good thing. Only 5 legs with only 2 of them being almost complete and not the best preservation and 3 others that are only partials. Not a good thing. The carapace is split along the intire shell and slightly misplaced. Not a good thing. The left claw is going very deep in the rock and I was too lazy to remove more rock and try to get the lower pincer. its really a very tuff thing to do. Not a good thing. The right pincers are going underneath the 'face' of the crab. Not a good thing. So over all, this fossil crab is a piece of cow poop to the 10'th degree!!!!! Now, the other side of looking at this piece of cow poop. Its nice to have legs of any kind on a fossil crab. That's a good thing. Its also nice to have both front arms of a fossil crab. Always a good thing. The rear end has problems, but its always nice to have some rear end instead of no rear end at all, so,, this is a good thing. The carapace does have a problem, but much nicer than having one with some missing carapace. A good thing. And what most folks don't think about is the rock itself. This crab is in some rather nice rock and also has a rather nice rind around the rock. Another nice thing. So, overall looking at it this way, makes for a rather nice B-Grade fossil crab with some rather nice eye appeal. RB 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ynot Posted June 21, 2018 Share Posted June 21, 2018 Yep-- that is a b grade for sure. Have You thought about doing a partial underside prep on one of these b crabs? 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...
FossilDAWG Posted June 21, 2018 Share Posted June 21, 2018 Considering the problems with my own legs and rear end, not to mention that I have no claws at all, now I'm feeling like a piece of cow poop. Don 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJB Posted June 21, 2018 Author Share Posted June 21, 2018 43 minutes ago, ynot said: Have You thought about doing a partial underside prep on one of these b crabs? Actually, I have thought about doing that, but im sure it will never happen. 41 minutes ago, FossilDAWG said: Considering the problems with my own legs and rear end, not to mention that I have no claws at all, now I'm feeling like a piece of cow poop. if it was morning and I was in the middle of a sip of coffee and read this ,there would be coffee all over my computer and keyboard. RB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crabfossilsteve Posted June 22, 2018 Share Posted June 22, 2018 Boy, all this sounds sooooo familiar. So many grade B versions of crabbies and sooooo few really nice ones. This is why crab preppers ain't rich...ha ha. Still so much fun when you finally expose a great one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shellseeker Posted June 22, 2018 Share Posted June 22, 2018 Ron, I am starting to get it, does it have a well preserved carapace, lined up in a way that 2 enormous pincers lift into the air, away from the mouth with 6 multiple segment legs out to the tips, nicely separated.? YES !!!!! I would never be able to afford that one, just look at it in a museum or rich man's collection. 19 hours ago, RJB said: So, overall looking at it this way, makes for a rather nice B-Grade fossil crab with some rather nice eye appeal. But now for a rather nice B-Grade....I possibly could think about acquiring one of those... hmmm 17 hours plus materials and coverage for all those that are worth very little after you open them up plus a premium for artistic talents.... It occurs to me you should "sign" your works The White Queen ".... in her youth she could believe "six impossible things before breakfast" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJB Posted June 23, 2018 Author Share Posted June 23, 2018 22 hours ago, Shellseeker said: It occurs to me you should "sign" your works I actually did put RB and 2018 onto the bottom of this one and a few folks in the past have asked me to do that too. RB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plantguy Posted June 23, 2018 Share Posted June 23, 2018 On 6/21/2018 at 5:55 PM, ynot said: Yep-- that is a b grade for sure. Have You thought about doing a partial underside prep on one of these b crabs? On 6/21/2018 at 6:41 PM, RJB said: Actually, I have thought about doing that, but im sure it will never happen. RB So RB, how do you decide what side is the top of the crab and where to start?...Do you see an appendage sticking out that gives you a clue to the orientation or is it the shape of the concretion you are looking at or something else intuitive--do they have a bottom/flatter side? Nice crabs! Regards, Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shellseeker Posted June 23, 2018 Share Posted June 23, 2018 4 hours ago, RJB said: I actually did put RB and 2018 onto the bottom of this one and a few folks in the past have asked me to do that too. RB My take is that it adds value to the item, just like provenance on a fossil or piece of art. I acquired a whale tooth in 2015:, the artist who did the scrimshaw is Robert Spring. He is well known, I wish he had added the year to his signature. Everything you create is more valuable over time with your initials and date... Your work is famous, Ron.... at least in my mind.... The White Queen ".... in her youth she could believe "six impossible things before breakfast" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJB Posted June 24, 2018 Author Share Posted June 24, 2018 22 hours ago, Plantguy said: So RB, how do you decide what side is the top of the crab and where to start?...Do you see an appendage sticking out that gives you a clue to the orientation or is it the shape of the concretion you are looking at or something else intuitive--do they have a bottom/flatter side? Nice crabs! If I can 'read' the rock, flatter side is dorsal, rounder end is back end of crab, then its easy, but if I cant read it, then WHACK!!! and hope for the best. If I feel I can make a good guess then I simply dig a hole down into the rock and hope I hit dorsal, if not, fill up hole and turn over. 17 hours ago, Shellseeker said: Your work is famous, Ron.... Now I have to go into town and get a bigger hat. RB 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ynot Posted June 24, 2018 Share Posted June 24, 2018 2 minutes ago, RJB said: Now I have to go into town and get a bigger hat. Do they make hats that big? 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...
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