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I am trying to prepare this nice plant fossil I found in Wyoming, but can’t figure out how to remove the glue marks left over from stabilizing the fossilized piece of branch in the center. The glue marks are the dark area near the fossilized branch. Anyone have any advice?

Looking for material to practice, like the u prep site but not as much of a gamble

Looks like a new set of photography techniques will assist us in determining what is associated and what was added to those drool worthy discoveries. Progressive Photonics

Does anyone create fossil prep videos/ tutorials. Or do you know of any videos worth a watch? Would be great to expand my knowledge and enjoyable to watch others work!

I only prep with hand tools at the moment so I can rarely get all the matrix off a fossil. However, when wet, the matrix is usually impossible to see and the fossil looks very well prepped. Is there a coating I can use to keep the fossil looking wet? I’m looking to try this on trilobites in particular.

Okay, so everyone else is doing one it looks like, so I figured I would jump into the fray.

So, finally on the last leg of my trip and headed home tomorrow. Am thinking ahead about trying to prep my DSR Dipleura. Doubt I could but does anyone think it would it be possible to flip the cephalon to straighten this bug out? There is about 3/8 inch of matrix between at tip of cephalon. Otherwise the plan is just to re-glue the pygidum break, cleanup the cephalon and enjoy my beginners luck Dipleura

I had the pleasure of attending the recent Penn Dixie Dig With The Experts and had the opportunity to catch up with some old collecting friends and make some new ones. As one of the people helping out collectors and cutting a heck of a lot of bugs out of rock for people I had the opportunity to see most of the really awesome bugs found that weekend. Without a doubt this one found by Scylla's son was one of the best and one of the rarest finds to be had a Penn. Gus and his son were kind enough to trust me with their prize find. The bug was damaged a bit and split between two sides of the matrix. I will look at repairing some of this at the end of the prep. Regardless this is a huge bela and has remarkable preservation. This is being prepped with relatively low PSI dolomite / sodium bicarbonate mix with some minimal scribing using a Pferd MST-31 with fine stylus. At the point of this picture I have already trimmed down the counter part to make it ready for reassembly. Reassembly was by super thin cyano acrylate clamped for 24 hours

does anyone know how to prep this aust cliff jaw bone and tooth out the rock? It is not the goldeny brown bone and the bone looks pretty strong and stable so i'm not sure if acid prepping is fine. any ideas? thanks in advance.

Well this year I've started collecting items to begin preparing crabs and trilobites. Obviously the crab nodules are a bit tougher than the trilobites so I'll need to take that into consideration. I recently purchased a CP9361 for a pretty good deal and also have a decent microscope with 20x magnification. I'll build an air cabinet for micro blasting later and then pickup a medium hopper and micro sand blaster for trilobites eventually but I'm going to start off preparing crab nodules which is why I went for the CP9361. Also probably going to pickup a long 2" tungsten point tip for the CP9361 as their stock tip isn't that good (or so I've heard). I work at my nearby museum preparing a Barosaurus and they use everything from the ARO (couldn't find one of those), ME9100, Micro Jacks, and the CP9361. The museum curator advised going with the CP because they are cheaper and he said he's never had one break down on him and he's had a couple ME9100 break down. So now I have to look ahead and decide what compressor to get! I'll probably be preparing fossils for no more than 2-3 hours at a time but want to be prepared just in case. Everyone who is experienced at preparing on this forum suggests prepping for as long as possible to avoid shutting the compressor on and off thereby fluctuating the hardwares air regulation system. A few things to keep in mind when working on fossils for a long time with a compressor as your power source: * Avoid oil lubricated compressors as the oil can leak from your air line to the fossil. * Go with a compressor that outputs at least 90-110 PSI since most scribes operate at this level. Also make sure it outputs at least 2 CFM (cubic feet per minute). Most tools I've observed require about 1 CFM but it's always good to have more in case you want to use your compressor for other things or more heavy duty tools. * Go with a compressor that holds 20 gallons of air or more if you're going to be working on fossils for a while. Here's a couple I had my eye on: 15 Gallon Dewalt: https://www.lowes.ca/air-compressors-kits/dewalt-16-hp-15-gal-200-psi-portable-electric-air-compressor_g1335346.html @Malcolmt didn't you say you had one like this? This one is 15 gallons and I thought you recommended 20 gallons? Thanks. 27 Gallon Dewalt: https://www.homedepot.com/p/DEWALT-27-gal-200-PSI-Portable-Vertical-Electric-Air-Compressor-DXCM271-COM/303655008?MERCH=REC-_-PIPHorizontal2_rr-_-206796177-_-303655008-_-N 20 Gallon Husky: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Husky-20-Gal-175-PSI-Portable-Electric-Air-Compressor-C201H/206189626 10 Gallon California Air Tools: https://www.homedepot.com/p/California-Air-Tools-10-Gal-2-0-HP-Ultra-Quiet-and-Oil-Free-Electric-Air-Compressor-10020C/206644539?MERCH=REC-_-PIPHorizontal2_rr-_-206796177-_-206644539-_-N Probably won't go with 10 gallon as that won't produce enough air for longer preps. As long as the compressor runs continuously for a few hours that should be sufficient. I'm leaning towards the more expensive 27 gallon Dewalt because it has such a good rating and a bigger tank then the 15 gallon Dewalt or 20 gallon Husky. I'm a bit surprised both the 27 and 15 gallon Dewalts are priced the same from two different stores. What are your thoughts here? Obviously I'll get the three year warranty with this unit. Can't skimp on that!

Let's go on what may turn out to be an extended journey. It is my intention to try to take pictures ever few hours along the way while prepping this little guy. In a few minutes I will post a picture of an unprepared trilobite exactly as found with no preparation whatsoever. What is a bit exciting about this one is that it is actually my bug and eventually when finished I will actually get to keep it for my own collection. Unfortunately for me, most of the really nice bugs and crinoids I prep end up not being mine, but at least I get the chance to experience them and see them come alive in person. I actually have 4 bugs and a nice plate sitting beside me right now that are not mine and waiting for a couple more to be done before packaging off to the owner. To set the scene a piece of matrix a little larger than my fist was split very cleanly into two pieces. The trilobite was cleanly dissected into two pieces across the split as are many trilobites when they are found. I am very hopeful from what I can see that the trilobite will be essentially complete; but that is really only known by the fossil faerie's at this time. You know those little gnomes that during the night hide the fossils for us to find, But they often try to trick us with those pesky partials. To help you out a little bit I have placed the picture with the trilobite roughly in the correct orientation. Eventually the two halves will be reunited by using a super thin cyanoacrylate that is made for Radio Controlled airplanes. So to answer a prep question that is often asked , Do you glue first then prep or prep then glue. The answer is it depends on the type of split you have, the amount of matrix to be removed and the quality of preservation of the fossil. In about 80% of the fossils I will do some prep first , then glue. I specifically want to see that I do in fact have the correct orientation for the fossil. I am also at this point trying to determine how complete the bug is. You do not want to spend 100 hours on a bug only to discover it is a partial. I once prepped 3 Oklahoma dicranurus for someone and sadly they all turned out to be partials. For example once you determine where the cephalon or pygidium is, go to where you think the opposite end of the big should be and see if it is there. If you are dealing with a spiny bug like a dicranurus look to see if the free cheeks are there and check that the long pygidial spines are there. If they are not you may be better off investing the 100 plus hours it might take in a better specimen. You will often find partially prepped dicranurus for sale that have been abandoned at the point the preparator discovered that something that should be there is missing. It takes almost as long to prep a dike missing say 1 free cheek as a perfect one, but the price difference between the two bugs when finished could easily be double. It is very important that you know the anatomy of the bug you are prepping. If I am working on a less common bug I will always have a picture of that bug at my prep station . However, reality is that I end up prepping the same 5 types most of the time (eldredgeops, greenops, ceraurus, isotelus, flexicalymene) as this is generally what I and my clients actually find. If it is a spiny bug you must know where the spines are likely to be on your matrix or you will without any doubt destroy them. If the bug is say a phacopid then you are off to clear sailing and can use very different methods to get down to the bug. I for instance on a non spiny trilobite will often use a Dremel with a diamond wheel to quickly remove a lot of the overlying matrix. I would never do this on a spiny trilobite. So without further rambling delay here is the mystery bug prior to any preparation. I am not at this point going to even tell you what the bug is, but if you would like to hazard a guess then send me a PM and I will let you know if you are correct Now here is the same side of the bug after about 15 minutes of preparation. At this point I have not discovered anything that would lead me to believe that the bug will not be complete. Note that you can see black sharpie lines on the left. I always put sharpie lines across the split to make it easy to line them back up when time to reassembly. You cannot see it here but all sides have them If you have anything interesting that you would like to consider having prepped you can always send me a PM and we can discuss. My next plan of attack is to spend about 15 minutes on the opposite side of the split. Following that I will come back to this side and use a Pferd MST31 air scribe with the fine stylus to remove some of the matrix well away from the actual fossil. Note that at this point I already know where the head and tail should be on the fossil and the correct orientation that I am going to prep from.

Hello I would like to propose an exercise to you. I ask you to put some pictures of your fossils before preparation and after, also the time spent in that preparation and the tools used. The objective are to see the work of some members in the preparation of your fossils and have a ideia of the time spent in that piece... I gona start with a echinoid (Clypeaster found in december of 2016) I am preparing. Is not finished but it took me a several hours to get this. My preparation is made using a engraver Dremel. After removed from a block in the field: The first work: Next works:

Hello other fossil loving people! I am so excited to be diving into fossil hunting and preparation. I was one of those kids who begged to watch Nova documentaries instead of cartoons. I always had an obsession with the past and paleontology in particular. As often happens, other priorities kept me busy and though I never stopped loving paleontology, I believed I would never get to explore it for myself. Fast forward many years later to when the kids have all gone off to college and I finally have the time to focus on myself. Up until this last year my life was devoted to service to others, be it children, husband, elderly parents, etc. So much so that once the last kid left home I got hit with a serious case of empty nest! I am embarrassed to admit it, but it took a good 6 months before it dawned on me that I could finally do what I wanted to do! Of course THEN I had to figure out what that was. Thanks to the wonders of the internet I have been able to explore any thought that pops into my head, and it didn't take long for my interest in paleontology to take center stage. I was so excited to find that fossil hunting, prep, and study are now available for anyone to explore. I poked around until I decided it was time to dive in and try my hand with fossils. I have yet to get my first specimen as I have been researching the topic ahead of time but I am now ready. I found this forum to be of amazing help in guiding my interests and providing resources. I am going to start by getting a few unprepared fossils to learn on before I go out looking for my own. I live in Vermont and this time of year the weather is still not conducive to outdoor activities. I look forward to learning from, and sharing with the people on this forum. I will be choosing my first fossil, a trilobite, this week and I will be sharing the learning process as I go. YEAH SCIENCE!

I'm thinking of investing in a quality work light to serve dual purpose identifying/prepping fossils and also in my woodworking adventures. Do ya'll use combo light/magnifying lamps? What works, what doesn't work? What spectrum works best for you? Any suggestions for best bang for the buck? Thanks

Hello everyone! I found this fish in the Monterey Formation in California and have been unable to get the middle to pop off. I have zero experience preparing fossils of this type so I'm looking for some beginner advice on how to proceed without totally botching it. Thanks!

Hi everyone! I have recently acquired a crinoid from an old collection... I have never seen a crinoid of this type before but I think it comes from a famous fossil site maybe it comes from the usa.... I will soon prepare it but before that I need what exact species is that in order to have a mental image of the specimen and so avoid any damages while preparing it .... thanks for your help!

Hi preparators friends, I know that the method can be different according the preparator but can you explain us your method to map a jacket when you prep one. How do you proceed when multiple fossils are on each other in a jacket. What to do and don't. Please share with us your knowledge and experience.

I'm reading a 1960ish report on a formation near me (Bloomsburg). Among other interesting things it says "The most effective method of extracting the fossils from the claystone is by crushing in a crusher in which fine particles drop out so that they do not constantly undergo breakage." Can anyone elaborate on this process?

I have a chance to acquire a nice T rex tooth that is 3.5 inches in length. It was found in multiple pieces under plant roots and the pieces have all been reattached with cyanoacrylate and very stable. Who can I use as an expert prepper to fill in cracks, possbily, to bring it back to its glory? Thanks in advance

Can coke be used to melt away Lyme Regis limestone?

I'm looking at purchasing another Keichousaurus for preparation, and wondering what the experts' opinions are on which of these two would be easier to prep for a relative beginner like me. The first one looks entirely covered in shale, and the second seems to be a little more exposed. I have my Paasche air eraser that I was planning on using, although if someone recommends an acetic acid prep over the air abrasive for these specimens for one reason or another, I would love to hear suggestions. If the second one is more likely to be incomplete/damaged than the one under rock, I would prefer to stay away from that. But that being said, if it would truly be easier to work with the one that is already partially exposed, I am all for that!

Recently found a decent ammonite at Lake Texoma. I wanted to reveal the specimen in its entirety, but this would require more preparation than I was used to - meaning it would require more than warm water and a soft brushing down. The preparation began with a tack hammer and a variety of nails. After the bulk of the situ was removed, I exchanged the soft taps of the hammer for the electric buzzing of a Dremel with a small carving tip, which seemed to work well for the remaining excavation. A little high quality wax was applied before display.

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?

Hello everyone, I was wondering what tools people would recommend for fossil preparation, I am an absolute newbie in this area and am not familiar with what options there are out there but would really love to learn, so far I only have a pin vise which I have used on rough matrix removal but too scared to get close to the actual fossils. Thank you, Misha

Hi all, I have an ammonite specimen from Folkestone, UK that is locked in a phosphate nodule. Is there any way for it to be removed? Thanks, Jay