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Kane's Bug Preps


Kane

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  Life throws all of us some curve balls.  Luckily this was a small one.  Great story kane.

 

RB

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You sure it's dead & not just playing possum? Sounds like it tried to escape. :headscratch:

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Accomplishing the impossible means only that the boss will add it to your regular duties.

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Well, I haven't yet abandoned the pedestal idea. Of course, I could be flirting with another potential prodigal. :P 

 

This is a WIP of a roller Deb found this past weekend. It needs a good deal more abrasion and some matrix work, but this gives a rough idea of where I'm going with it. 

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...How to Philosophize with a Hammer

 

 

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10 hours ago, Kane said:

but this gives a rough idea of where I'm going with it. 

 

Back to the laundry room searching? :shrug:

Accomplishing the impossible means only that the boss will add it to your regular duties.

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And it's done: my first pedestaled bug. It didn't pop off and run away!

 

This was one of Deb's finds from our trip to Penn Dixie this past weekend. The field fresh state was only showing a bit of the thorax encased in a chunk of rock. I used the ME-9100 for removing excess rock, switched to the Aro for detailing around the bug, and then used the Paasche with 18 gauge needle at various pressures. The matrix was hand-filed and sandpapered in descending grit size. 

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...How to Philosophize with a Hammer

 

 

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Nice Job, K-man.  :)  :default_clap2:

    Tim    -  VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER

   MOTM.png.61350469b02f439fd4d5d77c2c69da85.png      PaleoPartner.png.30c01982e09b0cc0b7d9d6a7a21f56c6.png.a600039856933851eeea617ca3f2d15f.png     Postmaster1.jpg.900efa599049929531fa81981f028e24.jpg    VFOTM.png.f1b09c78bf88298b009b0da14ef44cf0.png  VFOTM  --- APRIL - 2015  

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"In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks."

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Thanks, gents. :) 

 

@Ptychodus04 -- Having the right tools makes all the difference, as I can take new prep risks and cut down the aggravation time I was experiencing with the clunky tools!

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...How to Philosophize with a Hammer

 

 

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So that's what they look like when they don't get away.. Very nice! :thumbsu:

Accomplishing the impossible means only that the boss will add it to your regular duties.

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Great work Kane :thumbsu:

Many greetings from Germany ! Have a great time with many fossils :)

Regards Sebastian

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  • 2 weeks later...

As I move through my queue, I may as well post to one thread.

 

The most recent prep is another Asaphus lepidurus. I learn something new with each one. 

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...How to Philosophize with a Hammer

 

 

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Now armed with good tools, this will cut down work time. In this case, I used just the ME-9100 as I'm awaiting a replacement stylus for the Paleo Aro. It is not generally advisable to use the ME-9100 for detailed prep on trilobites, but to use it exclusively for bulk matrix removal. However, in a pinch, the BPM can be dialed down, and extra care can be taken under the scope. 

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...How to Philosophize with a Hammer

 

 

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Looking forward to seeing how these progress. Take intermediate photos (if you remember). ;)

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

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The sequence of prep. There was some sticky calcite to contend with, which makes for a bit of slowdown as it needs to be removed by patient scribe-kissing. The one error I had been making on previous Russian asaphids was in using abrasion. Two expert Russian preparators had pretty much informed me that they do not use it for asaphids at all. Even at very low PSI using the softest blast media (baking soda), it will burn the skin, which effectively lightens the colour of the bug and removes the terracing lines. That means any stubborn gunk has to be done by hand (or with a Micro-Jack, which I do not have). 

 

The approach is to level down rather than trench. Picture the trilobite sitting in a bathtub while you pull the drain. In this case, I “drain” the matrix down.

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...How to Philosophize with a Hammer

 

 

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Once all the finicky detailing is done, and the matrix leveled, the end result is a nice, robust trilobite. This one measures about 80 mm.

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...How to Philosophize with a Hammer

 

 

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great bug and excelent prepwork :D

 

growing old is mandatory but growing up is optional.

 

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She's a beaut!

 

Somehow, seems to have a bit of a frog-face look to me. :)

 

For those who don't intimately know the 20,000+ species of trilobites and who live where trilobite-bearing layers are a few miles subsurface, where it this little beauty from?

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

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Thanks, gents. :) I like to think that the practice helps. 

 

Ken, this Ordovician asaphid comes from the St Petersburg region of Russia. It is the most commonly found trilobite there, and functions as an index fossil, having its own zone or horizon!

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...How to Philosophize with a Hammer

 

 

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Nice! The Russian references make sense now. Didn't know if this was one of the species found in Canada but it did look quite different in form (and color) to these inexperienced eyes.

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

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Thats a amazing trilobite there and what do you do to the trilos when you finish because it looks like your going to sell it or are you going to add that to your collection?

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8 hours ago, Ptychodus04 said:

Well done @Kane. You sure short circuited the typical learning curve.

Thanks, Kris. :) This one was meant to be, it seems... Some matrix flew off with small bit of shell from on top of one eye while I was working in the blast box. The box was already pretty loaded with tiny rock bits, and I could feel my heart splash into my stomach, thinking I'd never be able to find that tiny, delicate flake in all that debris. Luckily for me, it had landed shell-side up and close to where I was working. Glued it back on like it never happened. :D 

13 minutes ago, suchomimus20 said:

Thats a amazing trilobite there and what do you do to the trilos when you finish because it looks like your going to sell it or are you going to add that to your collection?

Thank you. :) I haven't given any thought to selling it. It's likely going to join the others in the display case. 

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...How to Philosophize with a Hammer

 

 

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7 hours ago, Kane said:

Luckily for me, it had landed shell-side up and close to where I was working. Glued it back on like it never happened. :D

Did you run a free home for orphaned children in a previous life? There's no other way to explain the kind of karma you seem to have!

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