hadrosauridae Posted July 22, 2022 Share Posted July 22, 2022 1 hour ago, Ptychodus04 said: ..... Last year, my timeline was really tight so, had to make the drive there and back in one day! Technically, it was 26 hours round trip with a whole 2 hours in Denver. I hope I never have to do that again. It was a horrible drive. OMG, that sounds horrible. I actually like long haul drives, but 12 hours is pushing my max for a day. I would probably pass out and crash attempting something like a round trip to Denver without an overnight. "There is no shortage of fossils. There is only a shortage of paleontologists to study them." - Larry Martin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpc Posted July 22, 2022 Share Posted July 22, 2022 You are bringing this to Denver in Sept? I may go down and would love to see it and say Hi. Only 4 hrs for me. I don't get to Denver for the show every year, but maybe this year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hadrosauridae Posted July 22, 2022 Share Posted July 22, 2022 I've been tempted to go see the Denver show for the last few years, but I haaaaaate Denver so its been hard to pull the trigger on a trip. Current fuel prices arent helping much. but I still kinda want to go. "There is no shortage of fossils. There is only a shortage of paleontologists to study them." - Larry Martin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FossilNerd Posted July 22, 2022 Share Posted July 22, 2022 On 7/20/2022 at 8:04 AM, Ptychodus04 said: I’m going to scream… I just typed out a long update and turned right around and accidentally deleted all the text. Let’s try this again… I had to build a new prep box. I was managing to get abrasive all over the lab using my smaller box that sits on top of the slab. So, off to Home Depot I went and $200 later (materiel costs are insane) I had all I needed to build a new 4’x4’ box that is just big enough to move around my largest slab. Unfortunately, this is a lot more real estate than I’m used to, so the recently modified lab is feeling crowded again. I see another rearranging in my future. Anyway, back to the topic at hand… turtle prep. The matrix has become quite variable. Some of the bone is directly overlaid by hard, sticky, matrix while other areas are overlaid by more typical soft matrix. This stuff preps a lot faster but the preservation isn’t as good as the bone is more broken. Coming along nicely! Love the texture on the shell, but I bet it is a challenge to prep. How deep is it buried in the block? The matrix looks to be a couple of inches thick in the photo, or is that an illusion from the angle the picture was taken at? The good thing about science is that it's true whether or not you believe in it. -Neil deGrasse Tyson Everyone you will ever meet knows something you don't. -Bill Nye (The Science Guy) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ptychodus04 Posted July 23, 2022 Author Share Posted July 23, 2022 11 hours ago, hadrosauridae said: OMG, that sounds horrible. I actually like long haul drives, but 12 hours is pushing my max for a day. I would probably pass out and crash attempting something like a round trip to Denver without an overnight. It was. The last 2.5 hours nearly did me in. Honestly, I should have stopped and slept at some point but the 12 pack of Mountain Dew had really kicked in. 8 hours ago, jpc said: You are bringing this to Denver in Sept? I may go down and would love to see it and say Hi. Only 4 hrs for me. I don't get to Denver for the show every year, but maybe this year. That’s my goal. I’m trying to get it done in time to deliver it to my client at the show. I’ll let you know what day I’ll be there when it gets closer. 3 hours ago, FossilNerd said: Coming along nicely! Love the texture on the shell, but I bet it is a challenge to prep. How deep is it buried in the block? The matrix looks to be a couple of inches thick in the photo, or is that an illusion from the angle the picture was taken at? Thanks. The texturing is a real challenge to prep effectively. I have to stop scribing well before I get to the bone and switch to abrasive for the rest. I’ve gone through close to 75 pounds of iron powder so far. Thankfully, I’m able to recover around 90% of it either in the box or out of the bucket in my collection system. Generally, it’s around 1” down but there are portions that are 2” deep. The matrix is really soft until you get right above the bone and the last 1/8th of an inch is a hard organic rich layer, probably decomposed turtle flesh. Here’s a current status photo. I’ve found the anterior (left of photo) edge of the carapace but have not made it to the posterior yet. I had to switch to panoramic mode on my phone to get the whole thing in one image. Note the 1” scale cube in the upper left. It really puts the size of this beast into perspective. 8 Regards, Kris Global Paleo Services, LLC https://globalpaleoservices.com http://instagram.com/globalpaleoservices http://instagram.com/kris.howe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ptychodus04 Posted July 28, 2022 Author Share Posted July 28, 2022 More progress on the carapace. 7 Regards, Kris Global Paleo Services, LLC https://globalpaleoservices.com http://instagram.com/globalpaleoservices http://instagram.com/kris.howe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randyw Posted July 28, 2022 Share Posted July 28, 2022 You’re getting really great detail on it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ludwigia Posted July 28, 2022 Share Posted July 28, 2022 5 hours ago, Ptychodus04 said: More progress on the carapace. So you've glued 2 pieces together now? Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger http://www.steinkern.de/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJB Posted July 28, 2022 Share Posted July 28, 2022 On 7/22/2022 at 9:12 PM, Ptychodus04 said: Generally, it’s around 1” down but there are portions that are 2” deep. Holy Cow! Your removing some serious rock fella! RB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ptychodus04 Posted July 28, 2022 Author Share Posted July 28, 2022 3 hours ago, Ludwigia said: So you've glued 2 pieces together now? This is just a zoomed out picture of the block. It’s all one piece. 1 hour ago, RJB said: Holy Cow! Your removing some serious rock fella! RB It’s definitely a lot of matrix to remove! 1 Regards, Kris Global Paleo Services, LLC https://globalpaleoservices.com http://instagram.com/globalpaleoservices http://instagram.com/kris.howe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fossilhunter21 Posted July 28, 2022 Share Posted July 28, 2022 18 hours ago, Ptychodus04 said: More progress on the carapace. It is looking pretty nice! It looks like at least part of the carapace is pretty well preserved. And that is a lot better than none of it! -Micah Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ptychodus04 Posted July 28, 2022 Author Share Posted July 28, 2022 50 minutes ago, fossilhunter21 said: It is looking pretty nice! It looks like at least part of the carapace is pretty well preserved. And that is a lot better than none of it! -Micah Actually, the whole thing is really well preserved. What appears to be a presentation change in the bone is actually a change in the type of bone. The central part of the carapace is a solid mass of bumpy textured dense bone, where it transitions to the lighter color, the bone structure looks more like a woven basket under the microscope. Pretty cool. 1 Regards, Kris Global Paleo Services, LLC https://globalpaleoservices.com http://instagram.com/globalpaleoservices http://instagram.com/kris.howe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ptychodus04 Posted August 1, 2022 Author Share Posted August 1, 2022 Well, a thing happened during yesterday's prep session... The slab broke under its own weight. Thankfully, I was able to recover all the pieces and it will go back together well. I guess the silver lining is that I have 2 smaller pieces to work on now......... Regards, Kris Global Paleo Services, LLC https://globalpaleoservices.com http://instagram.com/globalpaleoservices http://instagram.com/kris.howe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randyw Posted August 1, 2022 Share Posted August 1, 2022 Right! The turtle thought you were doing such a great job so it thought it would make it easier for you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daves64 Posted August 1, 2022 Share Posted August 1, 2022 4 hours ago, Randyw said: Right! The turtle thought you were doing such a great job so it thought it would make it easier for you! Or it got bored & decided to spice things up a bit (and give Kris a heart attack in the process) *unintentional side effect I'm sure*. Accomplishing the impossible means only that the boss will add it to your regular duties. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ptychodus04 Posted August 1, 2022 Author Share Posted August 1, 2022 5 hours ago, Randyw said: Right! The turtle thought you were doing such a great job so it thought it would make it easier for you! It is definitely not that kind. It's already causing enough trouble with the sticky matrix! 16 minutes ago, daves64 said: Or it got bored & decided to spice things up a bit (and give Kris a heart attack in the process) *unintentional side effect I'm sure*. The old ticker definitely skipped a beat and there might have been a few choice words uttered as well. Regards, Kris Global Paleo Services, LLC https://globalpaleoservices.com http://instagram.com/globalpaleoservices http://instagram.com/kris.howe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FossilNerd Posted August 1, 2022 Share Posted August 1, 2022 10 hours ago, Ptychodus04 said: Well, a thing happened during yesterday's prep session... The slab broke under its own weight. Thankfully, I was able to recover all the pieces and it will go back together well. I guess the silver lining is that I have 2 smaller pieces to work on now......... Glad you were able to recover all the pieces. Hopefully your toes were out of the way! The good thing about science is that it's true whether or not you believe in it. -Neil deGrasse Tyson Everyone you will ever meet knows something you don't. -Bill Nye (The Science Guy) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ptychodus04 Posted August 2, 2022 Author Share Posted August 2, 2022 2 hours ago, FossilNerd said: Glad you were able to recover all the pieces. Hopefully your toes were out of the way! Thankfully, it was in the blast cabinet when it broke. 2 Regards, Kris Global Paleo Services, LLC https://globalpaleoservices.com http://instagram.com/globalpaleoservices http://instagram.com/kris.howe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocket Posted August 2, 2022 Share Posted August 2, 2022 boa, going on! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJB Posted August 2, 2022 Share Posted August 2, 2022 23 hours ago, Ptychodus04 said: The slab broke under its own weight. Holy Cow! I can see that being a heart attack moment!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ptychodus04 Posted August 2, 2022 Author Share Posted August 2, 2022 4 hours ago, rocket said: boa, going on! I need some 1 hour ago, RJB said: Holy Cow! I can see that being a heart attack moment!!! Yep, after 26 years of prepping, that rock in the stomach feeling is still there. The only good thing is that I have gotten to the point where I expect fossils to break randomly at a time of their own choosing and I know how to respond to that. 2 1 Regards, Kris Global Paleo Services, LLC https://globalpaleoservices.com http://instagram.com/globalpaleoservices http://instagram.com/kris.howe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocket Posted August 2, 2022 Share Posted August 2, 2022 always great to have something to prep whats great, extraordinary, not common. Like the turtle... When you get an unprepared one some day and do not need it..., let me know Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ptychodus04 Posted August 2, 2022 Author Share Posted August 2, 2022 2 hours ago, rocket said: always great to have something to prep whats great, extraordinary, not common. Like the turtle... When you get an unprepared one some day and do not need it..., let me know I'll keep you in mind in the event that I stumble across something. My prior response apparently didn't include all the text I had typed. I don't understand what "boa, going on!" means. It's quite possible that there's a pop culture reference here that I'm woefully ignorant to. Regards, Kris Global Paleo Services, LLC https://globalpaleoservices.com http://instagram.com/globalpaleoservices http://instagram.com/kris.howe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocket Posted August 2, 2022 Share Posted August 2, 2022 1 hour ago, Ptychodus04 said: I don't understand what "boa, going on!" means. not easy to translate hmm something like: wow....., going great a bit like "applause " Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ptychodus04 Posted August 2, 2022 Author Share Posted August 2, 2022 15 minutes ago, rocket said: not easy to translate hmm something like: wow....., going great a bit like "applause " Thank you very much for the compliment and the explanation! Regards, Kris Global Paleo Services, LLC https://globalpaleoservices.com http://instagram.com/globalpaleoservices http://instagram.com/kris.howe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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