I have recently been getting into the world of fossil preparation. The only tools that I have so far are a dental pick given to me by Roger Farish, and a few other picks of about the same tip size that I bought at Home Depot. They are doing well for me now with the kind of basic preparation that I am doing with the Austin Chalk.
The problem that I have is trying to clear away the dust and small rock bits while I am preparing the fossil. So far I have been just blowing it away with my mouth, but in the process it is hard not to breath in some dust, which I know is not good for me. I have tried wearing a dust mask and then taking it off momentarily to blow away the debis, but that is annoying to deal with and I usually still breath in dust.
I know that many of those on here who prepare fossils use air abrasive systems where the dust is blown away by the exhaust from the front of the pen. I am wondering what I can do with my setup. Compressed air? Vacuum? Any and all ideas are appreciated.