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RB's Fossil Fish Prep Thread !!!


RJB

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I still have about 5 or 6 more hours to finish this thing up but its finally gettin there!   Would be more time but my son does NOT want me to fix the missing stuff on the anal fin or the outside parts of the rock.   Its his fish do he gets what he wants.   Needs his butt kicked if you ask me. 

 

RB

Casey001J.JPG

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I think it looks great as it is. A little imperfection here & there makes it look more genuine as opposed to a pristine piece. But that's my opinion.. Personally, I'd be proud to have that fish or one like it. My dad would have loved something like that. He was an avid fisherman & before cancer took him away, he'd be out there fishing whenever he went into remission... rain or shine. :)

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

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I agree, I prefer broken real as opposed to manufactured..   That is one beautiful fish RJB.. those large fins must give a hint to what its nature was... kinda reminds me of the "Black Widows" I have in my fish tank....

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Your son needs to practice "catch and release" when he's fishing. I'll forward the release address promptly.

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Mark.

 

Fossil hunting is easy -- they don't run away when you shoot at them!

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7 hours ago, Mark Kmiecik said:

Your son needs to practice "catch and release" when he's fishing. I'll forward the release address promptly.

Yeah, but how did you get my address?:D

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15 hours ago, Fossilis Willis said:

 

Yeah, but how did you get my address?:D

Curses, foiled again. :default_faint:

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Mark.

 

Fossil hunting is easy -- they don't run away when you shoot at them!

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  Ok,  been doing some 'get ready' for prep stuff.   Got some big plates glued back together and then glued onto some dura rock with silicone.  Moved our old picknic table over to the front of the garage so I can start prepping out these big plates.  These big plates are waaaaaay to big for my cabinet.  I still need to get me 25 foot piece of air hose so I can take my air abrasive machine and put it onto my picknic table. 

 

My son Casey brought out some bigger slabs from my other garage for me to prep.  He's holding a rather large Diplomystus! 

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Here are two big slabs all glue up and ready to go.  One is going to my son Coleton so he can practice on a big one. 

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 Besides doing a bit of prep on another fish this morning and not being ready to do any work on the big slabs I found this fish thats been sittin around for a few years.  it was litterally covered in dust.  

 

 

 Here is what it looked like before i got started. 

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I started off with my air abrasive unit and realized that maybe the scratch and blow would be more effective?  I realized that the final layer was super hard, (paper thin) and was 'popping' off like a dream!!!  Prepped this out in less than 4 hours!   Its got some jaw problems but over all it came out purty dang nice!!!  Ive still got to trim the rock, I may oval it? 

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RB

 

 

 

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  I can not tell you how many times this little tool comes in handy!!!   Its a chain saw file.  I would get these for free from a chain saw store.  Once worn out they simply throw them away.  They are very very hard steel and make for a very nice pointed tool for prepping fish, (fantastic for the 'scratch and blow' method),   or for just that little area that needs a little probing and lots of other stuff too.  I keep mine sharp with a stone and honing oil.  Came in handy several times today.  Prepping can and is an exspensive hobbie but with free files and I even found the stone at a garage sale for free too, its not too expensive for some things. 

 

RB

DSCN0194.JPG

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11 hours ago, RJB said:

 Besides doing a bit of prep on another fish this morning and not being ready to do any work on the big slabs I found this fish thats been sittin around for a few years.  it was litterally covered in dust.  

 

 

 Here is what it looked like before i got started. 

DSCN0191.JPG.143de1f8710901780c70ec2d0e375160.JPG

 

 

I started off with my air abrasive unit and realized that maybe the scratch and blow would be more effective?  I realized that the final layer was super hard, (paper thin) and was 'popping' off like a dream!!!  Prepped this out in less than 4 hours!   Its got some jaw problems but over all it came out purty dang nice!!!  Ive still got to trim the rock, I may oval it? 

DSCN0196.JPG.21cf1c369a1b97aac401283d39299b0f.JPG

 

RB

 

 

 

That little Phareodus is absolutely beautiful.:wub: I know a guy who would love to have it (it's me, I'm the guy).

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4 hours ago, Fossilis Willis said:

hat little Phareodus is absolutely beautiful.:wub: I know a guy who would love to have it (it's me, I'm the guy).

sorry man, im purty sure this one is going on the wall.

 

RB

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4 hours ago, RJB said:

sorry man, im purty sure this one is going on the wall.

 

RB

As it should.

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    I had a ruff week healthwise but finally got out into the garage today to finish up some of the small stuff. 

 

 

 gots me a large serrata that needs trimin but also got a line up of some Cockerellites liops ready for the air abrasive unit. 

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Did some work on these little guys with some bicarb and have to go to my 50/50 mix to finish them up.  Oh, and also started a Diplo but had to quite with the bicarb cause it was burning through some bone too much.  Will have to finish that one with the 'scratch and blow' method.  Could take some serious hours?  Really soft bone in places.

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These are now finished and ready to go. 

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Hard to see the ray bones on the fins but came out purty dang nice!!! 

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and while I was at it I finshed up this little Mioplosis.  Very soft and saved what I could and then glued up the intire slab, back, sides and front cause the rock is really soft too.

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Sorry to hear about the health problems! I hope your doing much better now. 

As always the fish are just beautiful! :wub:

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8 minutes ago, Randyw said:

orry to hear about the health problems! I hope your doing much better now. 

As always the fish are just beautiful! :wub:

  Dont worrie about me Randy.  It is what it is and i do what i can.  and thank you for the compliment. 

 

RB

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Sorry to hear about your rough week. I'm glad to see you out in the garage again. Fantastic work(as usual).

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@RJB those are looking great. I have decided that my Micro Jack is far superior to the scratch and blow method. Under the microscope, I can actually be more precise with it than I can with a needle! Plus, it has a nice ear splitting whine to add ambiance to the otherwise quiet prep lab. :P

 

Good to see you're making progress on your horde of fish. How's the smoker wood working out?

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2 hours ago, Ptychodus04 said:

 Plus, it has a nice ear splitting whine to add ambiance to the otherwise quiet prep lab. :P

 

 

The sound is something like a hornets nest playing the kazoo at high volume. Very relaxing.:P

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1 hour ago, Fossilis Willis said:

The sound is something like a hornets nest playing the kazoo at high volume. Very relaxing.:P

Clearly you’re well acquainted with the Micro Jack!

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43 minutes ago, Ptychodus04 said:

Clearly you’re well acquainted with the Micro Jack!

I haven't used one but I've been in a few prep labs that ran micro jacks. Someday I'll add one to my arsenal. 

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2 minutes ago, Fossilis Willis said:

I haven't used one but I've been in a few prep labs that ran micro jacks. Someday I'll add one to my arsenal. 

I love mine under the right circumstances. It's a very situationally driven relationship.

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42 minutes ago, Ptychodus04 said:

I love mine under the right circumstances. It's a very situationally driven relationship.

What size micro jack do you use? I'm guessing 1 or 2 since you're working under a microscope.

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