A question about clearing away rock debis

[Heteromorph]

  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. 

[Fossildude19]

Canned air can work, but will get expensive over time. 

 

You could try one of these:

Camera dust blower.

 

 

Should be available in most retail outlets.

 

If you want to spend a bit of money you could go with something like THIS.

Good luck. 

[Heteromorph]

3 minutes ago, Fossildude19 said:

Canned air can work, but will get expensive over time. 

 

You could try one of these:

Camera dust blower.

 

 

Should be available in most retail outlets.

 

If you want to spend a bit of money you could go with something like THIS.

Good luck. 

Thank you! Those look like two very good options.

[Ptychodus04]

I use a nasal aspirator (yes, the thing you use to suck snot out of your baby's nose) when hand prepping. They are super cheap and can be found at any pharmacy.

 

Just give it a squeeze and all your dust is gone.

[Bullsnake]

11 hours ago, Fossildude19 said:

Canned air can work, but will get expensive over time. 

 

You could try one of these:

Camera dust blower.

 

 

Should be available in most retail outl

Some of those have soft bristles also, don't they?

[Heteromorph]

1 hour ago, Bullsnake said:

Some of those have soft bristles also, don't they?

  Yeah, they do. I bought a kit that came with one as well as a spray bottle. Very cheap! 

3 hours ago, Ptychodus04 said:

I use a nasal aspirator (yes, the thing you use to suck snot out of your baby's nose) when hand prepping. They are super cheap and can be found at any pharmacy.

 

Just give it a squeeze and all your dust is gone.

  Thanks! I will try this and also the bulb to see which works the best for me. I will post my results here.

[JohnBrewer]

A drinking straw in your mouth works. Maybe a vacuum cleaner, house type or small computer type powered by an USB plug depending on size of specimen you’re working on.

[Ptychodus04]

4 hours ago, JohnBrewer said:

A drinking straw in your mouth works. Maybe a vacuum cleaner, house type or small computer type powered by an USB plug depending on size of specimen you’re working on.

 

The straw only works if you don’t practice lung safety. 

 

 

[JohnBrewer]

On 19/11/2017 at 2:58 AM, Ptychodus04 said:

 

The straw only works if you don’t practice lung safety. 

 

 

Indeed, very valid point. I have used this method with prep using a pin vice. Certainly I wouldn’t use a straw with a pen or even worse an air abrasive set up. 

 

 

[jpc]

I am not a fan of the drinking straw, cuz it doesn't take long for you to be blowing spit onto the fossil.  Camera lens cleaner is best.  Take the brush off and it is even better.  Medium sized kids bathtub toys work, too.  And these latter come in all sorts of animal shapes.  

 

OK, I googled bathtub toys, and I got all sorts of things, but this is the sort of thing I was thinking of.  

https://www.fatbraintoys.com/toy_companies/munchkin/squirtin_sea_buddies_bath_toy_10_pk.cfm