Prep advice for calcified/crystallized ammonite

[citronkitten]

I've been doing some prep on smaller fossils, mostly ammonites, and have decided to finally tackle my big project, which has been sitting outside for almost a year - since last August. We found this behemoth on the walk back from our fossil tour at Charmouth, within view of the heritage centre, so figured it was worth it to carry it just that bit further, despite its weight. 

 

My gear includes: 1. DeWalt safety goggles 2. M3 dust/particulates mask 3. noise-cancelling earbuds 4. Dremel 290 engraver 5. anti-vibration gloves 6. ZOIC engraver tips. I do not have access to an air scribe, mostly because I live in London and absolutely do not have the space for a workshop/storage. I also don't have a tile cutter or a larger blade to trim off big pieces of stone, unfortunately.

 

So, my question becomes, what should I do with it? My plan was to take off the lobes (term?) from the edges in order to show off some of the inside, but then leave the 3 (the distinction between 2nd and 3rd lobes is hard to see in the photos, but easily visible in person) central lobes as it's just too much stone to remove with the Dremel. You can see in the first and second images where I started with this edge removal process. Very fortunately, the stone/matrix is quite soft, so it's not a difficult process to remove, just extremely time-consuming. 

 

 

I would appreciate any comments/suggestions/advice as I'm very new to fossil prep! Thanks for reading. 

[Ludwigia]

To be quite honest in my opinion I wouldn't go to all that trouble. It's anyway just a bit more than a quarter of a crystalized phragmocone and all you'll end up with after hours and hours of dremelling would be a bit of outer shell revealed. I find it's nice enough as is. Of course if you had a strong air pen and abrader and a flex you could get the work done quickly, but you state that those things are not at your disposal.

[jpc]

I have to agree.  That is a ton of work for minimal reward.  

[citronkitten]

Thank you both @Ludwigia and @jpcfor your time and feedback. I had a feeling it would be a pretty time-consuming task even taking off just those parts of the sides, so it's very useful to have that confirmation. I might do one as experience/ practice, and leave it there. Thanks again! 

[Doctor Mud]

Many of us here have been collecting for a long time. It’s interesting how the standards of effort vs reward quickly evolve through time. 

I look back to things I lugged off the beach or spent hours prepping a few years ago. Would I do it now? No - but back then I was excited to do it. 
I spent hours on my first Tumidocarcinus crab - it was a sea worn cobble of a crab but I gave it everything. Partially because I knew it would be a while until I could go back there. 

 

If you are excited to do it - go for it. There is a lot of rock to remove, but it could be good practice for when you find a complete one! 

 

 

 

[jpc]

"I spent hours on my first Tumidocarcinus crab - it was a sea worn cobble of a crab but I gave it everything. Partially because I knew it would be a while until I could go back there".

 

 

me too, and I was there in 1988.  Still waiting to get back. 

 

Having said what I said in previous posts, Dr. Mud makes some good points.  

[citronkitten]

Thank you for your viewpoint, @Doctor Mud; effort vs reward is a good way of looking at it, and in this case part of the reward is likely to be experienced gained through the effort! As you say, it'll likely be some time before I get back out to Charmouth, and this is the last unprepped piece I have from there, so am willing to spend some time on it. I'm thinking of finishing one corner to where I'm happy with it, and then will see after that. 
 

Do you still have your first crab? 

[Ptychodus04]

On 4/30/2024 at 5:13 PM, Doctor Mud said:

It’s interesting how the standards of effort vs reward quickly evolve through time. 

So true. Once upon a time, I would have collected and prepped this specimen. Now, after 43 years of collecting and 27 years prepping, I wouldn't even consider it.

[Doctor Mud]

On 5/1/2024 at 5:50 PM, citronkitten said:

Do you still have your first crab?

I sure do. I still remember how hard I looked to find that first one and how excited I was to find it. I think it was a year until I could go back and I dreamed of finding a whole one all that time,

 

The folks on here really helped with the knowledge and support when it came time to prep the first complete one!

[Yoda]

On 4/30/2024 at 11:13 PM, Doctor Mud said:

Many of us here have been collecting for a long time. It’s interesting how the standards of effort vs reward quickly evolve through time. 

I look back to things I lugged off the beach or spent hours prepping a few years ago. Would I do it now? No - but back then I was excited to do it. 
I spent hours on my first Tumidocarcinus crab - it was a sea worn cobble of a crab but I gave it everything. Partially because I knew it would be a while until I could go back there. 

 

I guess though, that it is practice, for when something more worthwhile comes along.

[blackdanter]

I think that's a really nice and interesting specimen. I'm not a fan of lose stuff completely prepped out of it's matrix unless that's how I've found it. If it were me, I'd be inclined to think about display options leaving some matrix as a display support/stand. I can see some good options with that which will also allow some prep for the enjoyment of it. It has the potential to be a great display piece. These are the two options that spring to mind, modified depending on how much prep work you want to do. That matrix looks pretty hard to me as well.