Huntonia's Amateur Prep Work

[Huntonia]

Been a while since I posted on here! I haven't finished anymore trilos but I've still been prepping when I get the chance. Here's a project I did a little while ago and haven't gotten around to posting on here. The first of sever concretions generously given to me by @Fossilis Willis, thanks again Will! This is my first attempt working with this material.

I picked a conc that looked promising and got right to work drilling down into it:

I did this prep entirely with a Chicago Pneumatics 9361, love this scribe! It makes a huge mess however, after this prep I decided that this scribe needs to be used inside the box.

Hit shell material!

From here on out its smooth sailing, just following the fossil

This one could use some more landscaping, haven't gotten around to it yet. I didn't record at all through this prep but I think these concretions will make for some satisfying timelapses.

 

This claw belongs to the mud shrimp Callianopsis clallamensis. Although I'm not 100% certain if that is technically the correct genus. It was originally Callianassa then reassigned to Callianopsis, but a friend of mine says that genus was axed recently? I haven't seen any literature to confirm that. If anyone knows please let me know. 

[fossilhunter21]

You are doing an amazing job!

 

 

I am looking foward to seeing more of your amazing work.

 

 

[Huntonia]

25 minutes ago, fossilhunter21 said:

You are doing an amazing job!

 

 

I am looking foward to seeing more of your amazing work.

 

 

Thanks! I should have more pretty soon, I've got a few projects that are really close to being finished!

[Top Trilo]

Nice work, especially since you said it was your first time with this material. Seeing what everyone preps is one of my favorite parts,

[Huntonia]

I've got one more quick project to post here, I'm sooo close to finishing up a few more trilos but it might take me a while to find the time. 

 

This is the first of several unprepped Nevada bugs I'm working on. A good sized Olenellus gilberti missing the pygidium. This was a quick prep, just clearing away some of the matrix by the cephalon and then lightening the matrix to create the halo 

 

The lighting in the before pic is a bit better. In it's current state it looks much better in person but I found it difficult to photograph. These outlines/halos are an odd thing, a bit difficult to get them to look good from all angles. Personally I think the halo is nice for a more weathered trilo like this but when the preservation is a bit nicer I prefer the natural look. I don't plan on doing a halo on any of the rest of the NV trilos I have at the moment. 

Edited November 24, 2021 by Huntonia

[hadrosauridae]

On 11/15/2021 at 1:11 PM, Huntonia said:

......

 

I did this prep entirely with a Chicago Pneumatics 9361, love this scribe! It makes a huge mess however, after this prep I decided that this scribe needs to be used inside the box.

 

.....

 

Completely agree!  Every time I use my 9361 I have rock chips ALL OVER the prep room.

[Huntonia]

3 hours ago, hadrosauridae said:

 

Completely agree!  Every time I use my 9361 I have rock chips ALL OVER the prep room.

Absolutely! I was shocked at the difference between the 8315B and the 9361. The way I had my blast box setup made getting good angles for scribing difficult, a few modifications and it's much more functional now.

 

The real kicker with the 9361 was that it made me feel my eye protection was inadequate. I had been wearing just regular safety glasses. A couple rock chips flew through the tight spaces between the glasses and my face and came dangerously close to my eyes! If I ever use it outside the box again I'll do so with a full face shield. 

[Huntonia]

Finished up a pancaked E. rana the other day. This was a pretty easy prep, little bit of scribe work to expose the pygidium and then a lot of abrasion. I did my best to really get those last little bits along the between the axial rings. Since this piece is pretty thin and fragile I figured it was best not to use the rotary dremel to smooth out the scribe marks. 

While I was abrading along the cephalon I discovered some cephalic doublure. I exposed as much as I felt could, with this bug being so crushed I didn't feel it was safe to expose it any further.

[Kane]

Well done!

I suppose if you were feeling brave or bored, you could still pursue the ventral side if you use something to consolidate the dorsal first. That would likely be mostly an abrasion job. 
 

That said, just fine as it is.  

[Malcolmt]

You definitely need to use a blast box even when scribing. Keep up the good work looks like you are having some fun as you learn Always feel free to ask questions if you run into some roadblocks

[Huntonia]

1 hour ago, Kane said:

Well done!

I suppose if you were feeling brave or bored, you could still pursue the ventral side if you use something to consolidate the dorsal first. That would likely be mostly an abrasion job. 
 

That said, just fine as it is.  

Thanks!!

I've already consolidated this one with a little bit of paraloid, I've taken to applying paraloid to all my trilobites once I'm done prepping them. It's a bit hard to see in pictures but due to the way it's compressed I'm afraid that further abrasion would be pretty risky, hopefully you can see a bit better in this pic

That being said having looked at it again I think the doublure continues straight down into the matrix. I could definitely dig a bit deeper to expose more but I think that's a job to be done at a later date with a more precise scribe. 

 

I'm down to three more E. rana from this batch! Now it's time for the really nice and really tricky ones that I've been saving for last. The one I'm working on right now is such a mess I'm not entirely sure how I want to continue with it. I think I'll set that one aside and do a couple Nevada bugs while I come up with a plan of attack. 

[Huntonia]

1 hour ago, Malcolmt said:

You definitely need to use a blast box even when scribing. Keep up the good work looks like you are having some fun as you learn Always feel free to ask questions if you run into some roadblocks

Thanks Malcolm! I'm having an absolute blast learning as I go. I've gotten pretty comfortable with these Eldredgeops so this one felt like a nice relaxing break from my more novel projects, I think I'll have to grab some more for once I finish this group. 

 

I definitely will! You and everyone else have been such a huge help in this journey so far, I never would have made it this far without this forum, I can't thank you all enough!

[FossilNerd]

It’s been a while since I last checked in on your prep projects. Shame on me!

 

Very nice work. Going through the thread again and seeing your improved progression on each project is a treat. Can’t wait to see more.  

[Huntonia]

11 hours ago, FossilNerd said:

It’s been a while since I last checked in on your prep projects. Shame on me!

 

Very nice work. Going through the thread again and seeing your improved progression on each project is a treat. Can’t wait to see more.  

Thanks!! It's crazy, I just realised the other day it's been over a year since I started using abrasive! I've improved so much since then, can't wait to see where I'll be next year! 

 

Not sure if I'll get any prep down super soon, it's dead week and then finals for me but then I'm on break and should be able to get lots done. 

[Huntonia]

Finished up a quick prep last night on a Nephrolenellus geniculatus. The cephalon is disarticulated and flipped over on this one, leaving the ventral side of the cephalon next to the dorsal thorax and vice versa. I debated gluing it back together but decided to leave it as a split and just clean up the cephalon from the ventral side.

It's possible that this is a molt, Olenellids lacked facial sutures and would jettison the entire cephalon of the old exoskeleton when molting. But I had a more knowledgeable friend look at it and he says it's more likely just disarticulated for some other reason.

Some slow careful abrasion later:

I might go back and expose a bit more later but I don't like abrading so close to the thorax.

Check out that gorgeous calcite! Pictures just don't do it justice.

It's difficult to see and harder to photograph but this Nephro actually has part of the opistothorax intact!

[fossilhunter21]

Nice job!

 

Very cool.

 

Looking foward to seeing more of your work. 

[Ptychodus04]

On 11/28/2021 at 1:06 PM, Malcolmt said:

You definitely need to use a blast box even when scribing. Keep up the good work looks like you are having some fun as you learn Always feel free to ask questions if you run into some roadblocks

 

I agree 100%. The only time I work outside my box is when I'm working on a specimen that is too big/bulky to fit. I don't have room in the lab for a giant box to fit all manner of goofy specimens. I much prefer prepping in the box with the dust control over out of the box wearing a respirator with the looming task of cleaning up all the debris...

[Huntonia]

On 12/9/2021 at 5:54 AM, Ptychodus04 said:

 

I agree 100%. The only time I work outside my box is when I'm working on a specimen that is too big/bulky to fit. I don't have room in the lab for a giant box to fit all manner of goofy specimens. I much prefer prepping in the box with the dust control over out of the box wearing a respirator with the looming task of cleaning up all the debris...

The first time I used the 9361 I underestimated how much of the surrounding flor space needed to be cleared out and had to clean rock chips out of a few spares shoes lying around in the garage! 

 

I've got a few pieces that won't fit in my box that I'm dreading working on. I think I'll try working on them outside over the summer.

[Huntonia]

Cleaned up a small possibly enrolled Nephrolenellus last night!

Before, barely peaking out of the matrix:

Scribing timelapse:

After scribing, still a little bit of matrix clinging around the glabella, unfortunately the left macropleural spine is nowhere to be found

After landscaping and a little bit of abrasion on the cephalon:

[Ptychodus04]

3 hours ago, Huntonia said:

The first time I used the 9361 I underestimated how much of the surrounding flor space needed to be cleared out and had to clean rock chips out of a few spares shoes lying around in the garage! 

 

I've got a few pieces that won't fit in my box that I'm dreading working on. I think I'll try working on them outside over the summer.

They do make a mess. This was one of the drivers for building a separate lab building in my backyard. I got tired of cleaning rock chips and dust off everything. The clincher was the time I forgot to pull the wife’s car out of the garage and prepped for a couple hours. She wasn’t happy.

[Sjfriend]

3 hours ago, Ptychodus04 said:

The clincher was the time I forgot to pull the wife’s car out of the garage and prepped for a couple hours. She wasn’t happy.

That is a sure way to lose your prepping privileges 

[daves64]

4 hours ago, Ptychodus04 said:

The clincher was the time I forgot to pull the wife’s car out of the garage and prepped for a couple hours. She wasn’t happy.

So the prep lab is basically a larger version of the dog house you ended up in. 

[Ptychodus04]

8 hours ago, Sjfriend said:

That is a sure way to lose your prepping privileges 

It was scary. 

 

7 hours ago, daves64 said:

So the prep lab is basically a larger version of the dog house you ended up in. 

 

Pretty much. The only problem is the doghouse is better than the original set up. It’s much easier to build a functional, purpose built, lab than it is to carve a portion of an existing room off for that purpose. The dust migration concerns are the biggest help. I just periodically shop vac every flat surface in the place. It’s amazing the news that gets generated and I prep 90% in a cabinet. The other 10% totally wrecks the lab!

[Huntonia]

20 hours ago, Ptychodus04 said:

They do make a mess. This was one of the drivers for building a separate lab building in my backyard. I got tired of cleaning rock chips and dust off everything. The clincher was the time I forgot to pull the wife’s car out of the garage and prepped for a couple hours. She wasn’t happy.

 that sure does sound like it would seal the deal on the idea of an outside space. All's well that ends well I suppose 

 

I wish I could set up a more appropriate dedicated space for prepping but that just isn't in the cards anytime soon. Maybe someday...

[Ptychodus04]

15 hours ago, Huntonia said:

I wish I could set up a more appropriate dedicated space for prepping but that just isn't in the cards anytime soon. Maybe someday...

It’s a game changer for your prepping, that’s for sure.