Ecphora prep

[Miocene_Mason]

6 minutes ago, Peat Burns said:

Looks good!, and 

Thanks! 

[belemniten]

Great job and I cant wait to see the other one prepped 

[Miocene_Mason]

3 hours ago, belemniten said:

Great job and I cant wait to see the other one prepped 

Thanks! I can’t wait to get it prepped!

[Miocene_Mason]

Okay, good news  and bad new. 

Good news, it’s looking complete

Bad news, I’ve already got a fracture. It’s on the top spires and I’ve realized I can’t find any glue, which I stupidly didn’t have with me. I stopped here. Will need to get glue before proceeding.

matrix is proving a bit annoying, sticks to itself and my tool and clumps up. 

[siteseer]

On 7/9/2018 at 6:39 PM, WhodamanHD said:

I thought about it, then I changed my mind. I didn’t want to break out the consolidation yet and it was too crumbly. It wasn’t a great quality Ecphora so I was mostly doing it for the experience rather than the product if you know what I mean.

 

Yes, I understand.  It is good prep for prep when you practice on an incomplete specimen or two before attempting to take on a complete one.  That's when you understand levels of fragility and patience.  Some things can't be helped, stuff breaks, so you learn quick if prep is for you.  It's quiet work but time-consuming.  

[Miocene_Mason]

@siteseer The practice is definitely paying off, It’s getting easier with every snail! Quiet, yes (save the mental playlist in my head) and time consuming too, but time well spent in my opinion.

[Miocene_Mason]

Here’s an update on my Ecphora prep endeavors:

Got some glue, it’s just Elmer’s clear glue (water soluble) which works surprisingly well for my purposes. It holds well, doesn’t bubble, and spreads itself thin. It does yellow but I’m using such little amounts, and mostly in places where you can’t see it.  So, I fixed to problem area. Some significant drying has occurred and the block it really brittle now. This makes prep easier but a bit scary, ou feel like the Ecphora could crumble at any moment. Here is the Ecphora before I started today’s prep on it

[Miocene_Mason]

Did some work on the back, which is the front of the Ecphora 

[Miocene_Mason]

And the top

[Miocene_Mason]

As I worked I noticed the front was already a bit beat up

[Miocene_Mason]

And sorry I didn’t take any more pictures, was kinda “in the zone.” Here’s the finished product, specs coming

[Miocene_Mason]

[Miocene_Mason]

Size: 1.1 inches

Umbilicus: decent, but not full

top whorls: a bit damaged

ribs: nice

overall: purty good but by no means perfect

Total Prep time: probably around an hour or a bit more

 

This Thread will be my permanent Ecphora prep thread by the way, so if you don’t want to keep seeing this you may unfollow. 

[Miocene_Mason]

Okay, new one! Got this on Friday the thirteenth, removed from a bigger block. Hopes on this guy are moderate. The fronts already blown out but it is bigger and the back might still be nice. Will start prep tomorrow!

[Miocene_Mason]

[Miocene_Mason]

I’m starting to love this Ecphora prep, it’s more action packed than one might think. 

 

I got up first thing in the morning, turned on some Queen music and got to prepping. I think I’ve got some plastic deformation going on in this piece.

[Miocene_Mason]

[Miocene_Mason]

Sorry that went backwards for some reason

[Miocene_Mason]

Final:

[Miocene_Mason]

[Miocene_Mason]

Just shy of 1.5 inches.

Almost perfect top, complete back, damaged front.

prep time: 30 minutes about.

Came our better than expected. I worked on the back first. A little crack in the front but was stabilized with a small drop of glue. The spiral was nerve wracking to clean but it ended up well. Had to use a sewing needle for that. I cleared out the middle. I thought there what’s a crack forming so I filled it with glue, but upon examination with a flashlight it was clam that imbedded itself into the Ecphora. Glue was still wet so it came out easy and there is no sign it was there in the first place. Mistakes were made, mistakes were fixed, and a nice fossil ended up popping out. All in all a good prep. That’s my last Ecphora though, need to go out and find more at some point.

Hope you enjoyed this one.

[ynot]

Looks nice.

[Miocene_Mason]

23 hours ago, ynot said:

Looks nice.

Thanks!

[Miocene_Mason]

Went out and found two more yesterday, neither look good. I started on the More promising of the two. Promising because the whole thing is in matrix:

[Miocene_Mason]

Well so much for more promising, I found out about an hour ago that this thing has been ruled around in the waves one time too many, as it isn’t just Ecphora fragile, it’s like trying to prep out a cookie baked inside a larger cookie. It’s just falling apart like it’s sand. I just slathered the whole thing in glue, this is a salvage more than a prep. I don’t know if it’s saveable. While that dry’s I’ve started on the next which suddenly seems a lot nicer. I already know it’s worse for wear, but at least it’s not sand.