I_gotta_rock Posted February 25, 2019 Share Posted February 25, 2019 I found this beautiful whale vertebra this weekend. It fell out of the cliff face just a few days ago and tumbled into the Potomac River (brackish?) just far enough for the waves at the tide line to gently lapped it clean. Gotta love it! It is currently soaking in clean water to get the salt and anything else out as much as I can, but I've never done anything this big before. I'm used to stabilizing little stuff and blocks of matrix that really just need a thick, hard outer shell. The little bones air dry quickly enough that I don't have to worry about moisture at the center, but this thing is 4 1/2 inches in diameter! I have both Paleobond and Paraloid on hand. Anyone have any practice at this? 2 I refuse to give up my childish wonder at the world. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StevenJD Posted February 25, 2019 Share Posted February 25, 2019 @Ptychodus04 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ptychodus04 Posted February 25, 2019 Share Posted February 25, 2019 Thanks for the tag @StevenJD. @I_gotta_rock, once you have cycled through several soaks of fresh water, wrap your vertebra up in a bath towel and dump a little water (a couple cups) on the towel. Then place the damp mass of bone and towel in a cardboard box and fold it closed. Let it sit like this for a month. By this time, it should have fully dried at a very slow rate. At this point, if the bone is soft or seems unstable, consolidate with Paraloid dissolved in acetone at an approximate ratio of 1 part Paraloid to 50 parts acetone by weight or volume. The best way is to submerge it completely in solution until it stops bubbling. Then lay it in a cardboard flat for a few days to allow the acetone to fully outgas. Nice find BTW! 4 Regards, Kris Global Paleo Services, LLC https://globalpaleoservices.com http://instagram.com/globalpaleoservices http://instagram.com/kris.howe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I_gotta_rock Posted February 25, 2019 Author Share Posted February 25, 2019 1 minute ago, Ptychodus04 said: Thanks for the tag @StevenJD. @I_gotta_rock, once you have cycled through several soaks of fresh water, wrap your vertebra up in a bath towel and dump a little water (a couple cups) on the towel. Then place the damp mass of bone and towel in a cardboard box and fold it closed. Let it sit like this for a month. By this time, it should have fully dried at a very slow rate. At this point, if the bone is soft or seems unstable, consolidate with Paraloid dissolved in acetone at an approximate ratio of 1 part Paraloid to 50 parts acetone by weight or volume. The best way is to submerge it completely in solution until it stops bubbling. Then lay it in a cardboard flat for a few days to allow the acetone to fully outgas. Nice find BTW! Thank you so much! I refuse to give up my childish wonder at the world. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I_gotta_rock Posted February 25, 2019 Author Share Posted February 25, 2019 @Ptychodus04, Bath towel or small hand towel/dish towel? I refuse to give up my childish wonder at the world. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ptychodus04 Posted February 25, 2019 Share Posted February 25, 2019 22 minutes ago, I_gotta_rock said: @Ptychodus04, Bath towel or small hand towel/dish towel? The more fabric the better. What you want to do is significantly slow the drying process. You can also use damp newspaper. Regards, Kris Global Paleo Services, LLC https://globalpaleoservices.com http://instagram.com/globalpaleoservices http://instagram.com/kris.howe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I_gotta_rock Posted February 25, 2019 Author Share Posted February 25, 2019 @Ptychodus04 Thanks again. Thought as much. Used to do ceramics and it's the same idea, but wanted to make sure. I refuse to give up my childish wonder at the world. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJB Posted February 26, 2019 Share Posted February 26, 2019 I just saw this on Face book. Nice vert. Im wondering what 'process' that is that didnt break off? RB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I_gotta_rock Posted February 26, 2019 Author Share Posted February 26, 2019 1 hour ago, RJB said: I just saw this on Face book. Nice vert. Im wondering what 'process' that is that didnt break off? RB The paired bumps on the ventral side are the processes that articulate with the chevrons. Here are some nice, detailed pictures. The epiphysis - or where it attached? - is 4.5 inches in diameter. It has a really weird texture at the center. I have a volunteer at the Smithsonian that was interested in taking a look at some pictures. He thought it looked pathological, like maybe arthritis. 3 I refuse to give up my childish wonder at the world. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Natalie81 Posted February 26, 2019 Share Posted February 26, 2019 Nice find! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJB Posted February 27, 2019 Share Posted February 27, 2019 On 2/26/2019 at 8:11 AM, I_gotta_rock said: The paired bumps on the ventral side are the processes that articulate with the chevrons. Here are some nice, detailed pictures. The epiphysis - or where it attached? - is 4.5 inches in diameter. It has a really weird texture at the center. I have a volunteer at the Smithsonian that was interested in taking a look at some pictures. He thought it looked pathological, like maybe arthritis. Thank you RB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I_gotta_rock Posted February 27, 2019 Author Share Posted February 27, 2019 FYI, all, I talked to the trip leader and she recommended that from this locale I don't even soak it. If it isn't stable now, stabilize without soaking, but if it feels solid, dry it and leave it. Soaking may actually make this one less stable. Lesson learned. I refuse to give up my childish wonder at the world. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caldigger Posted February 27, 2019 Share Posted February 27, 2019 Taken from the old adage... " If it ain't broken, don't fix it!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobby Rico Posted February 27, 2019 Share Posted February 27, 2019 Wow that’s pretty nice I found plenty of fossils for the North Sea. I always soak them to get rid of the salts . For about 3 or 4 day changing the water every day. Then as Kris said dry very slowly in a towel. But saying this if it stable now you can keep an eye on it until it has properly dry but be carful once dry, getting it wet also can course problems . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sagebrush Steve Posted March 1, 2019 Share Posted March 1, 2019 On 2/27/2019 at 10:38 AM, caldigger said: Taken from the old adage... " If it ain't broken, don't fix it!" Would you want to fly an airline that took that approach to maintenance? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caldigger Posted March 1, 2019 Share Posted March 1, 2019 I was actually a commercial airline mechanic and we took the preventative maintenance approach. We kind of had to fix it before it broke. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LiamL Posted March 1, 2019 Share Posted March 1, 2019 Very nice find! Yorkshire Coast Fossil Hunter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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