What Are You Prepping?

[squalicorax]

I didn't see a thread about current prep jobs complete or just beginning.

So what is everyone prepping these days. I know people have different prepping tools at their disposal so with this thread id hope people share their techniques on certain matrix and fossil types to make the some times long task of preparing fossils efficient and worthwhile.

Ill start off with a crawfordsville crinoid that im poorly prepping with dentals and my paasche air abrader.

Here is two Calymene breviceps from the Waldron Shale I just finished up.

before http://i.imgur.com/aFzPx.jpg

and a cool crinoid crown with the Tegmen showing.

Edited May 7, 2012 by squalicorax

[Uncle Siphuncle]

At the moment, Maastrichtian crabs and echs from TX and MS, Eocene and Oligocene echs from MS, Pawpaw formation crabs, ammonites, and shark matl from North TX, Pleistocene vert matl from TX, and Lower Albian echs from TX. I do mine on a FIFO basis monthly, and right now I'm working on Dec 2011. I do all my initial scrubbing for the whole month, followed by all the air scribing, then all the microblasting, then all the photography, and finally the report editing. If I don't stick to the FIFO basis prep, I'll never complete anything! About every 3-6 months I'll label site numbers on all the newly prepped stuff, pack Riker mounts and tackle boxes and display shelves. Good times!

[Raistlin]

Wow nice job prepping. I love the trilos they are amazing.

I am still learning so I am just playing around with prep for the most part. Doing a little here a little there on my not so great stuff for now.

[jpc]

Fun topic-

I am working on a few projects for other folks... the most exciting is a couple of Cretaceous mammal partial skulls from a famous site in MT that has produced dinosaur eggs. These are really cool; they are among the most complete Cret mammals from North America. I'm also completing some casts of Wyoming's first Triceratops.

Sprinkled in there I also do some work on my own fossils. Hmmm, let me think what is sitting on my prep table... a Lepticitis skull from the White River Fm., picking microverts from the Triassic shark tooth site we collected in Belgium last summer, a hadrosaur jaw I collected last summer, a triceratopd squamosal collected a few summers ago, an ammonite-rich concretion and some Eocene mammal jaws. No pix available as I am at work, enjoying my lunch break and those things are all at home enjoying their lunch break.

[Malcolmt]

Nice work. JUst got my replacement ring light for my scope so I can get back to doing some prepping. I have a number of Eurypterids that need a bit of cleaning up, but they are not consusive to much of any prepping. I have a number of trilos on the go at the present but nothing I would shout out as having the promise of being spectacular.

[Xiphactinus]

Not working on them at the moment, but my prep table is covered with an exploded Enchodus skull and jaws (including the fangs) and a 7-8 foot long Pachyrhyzodus. Once the weather gets too hot to do gardening, I'll be back in the basement.

[Malcolmt]

A 7 to8 foot long fish would be an amazing prep , I know how many hours I can put into a 12 inch diplomystus, can't imagine the time one of those would take ... 500 plus hours??????

[masonboro37]

An echi encrusted in hard, stubborn Peedee formation. It is not cooperating and I think I shall leave it in it's matrix!

Edited May 8, 2012 by masonboro37

[nearpass]

Well, this is probably my once in a lifetime life-time project and the fulfillment of a long-time dream for me. A half mosasaur, probably Halisaurus arambourgi. I don't want to reconstruct it or anything, just clean it up and expose what ever other bones might be hiding in the matrix. Progress is slow, and I have to take day long breaks. It's in the garage, and until recently, it was too cool to sit out there for very long stretches. The matrix is almost like consolidated sand, so work has been with picks of various sorts, much like the vertebrae that Eric did. Very tedious! But, the plan it to convert the crate it came in into a sort of coffee table on casters, as I can't think of any other way to display it.

as received:

Head recently:

Neck:

Ribs:

[Rob Russell]

Here are a few I've been working on from the Waldron shale. They were all pretty well covered in matrix when I began them.

Here's a large Platyostoma gastropod.

Heliophyllum (?) with an encrusted Spirifer ?

A few calymene breviceps

A few sponges.

And here's what I'm currently scraping on.

Thanks for looking!

Edited May 8, 2012 by Rob Russell

[Ludwigia]

I work mostly with air scribes and abraders, but do it also by hand under the microscope with dental tools or a micromot if necessary. Also acids, bases and steel brushes belong to the process sometimes. Depends of course on what's to be worked on.

At this time of year you tend to collect a heckuva lot more than you can prepare, so I do like Dan and tend to do them in order unless there's something that just needs attention right away.

They're piling up again at the moment and I'm concentrating mainly on my finds from the expedition in Hannover:

http://www.thefossilforum.com/index.php/topic/29579-steinkern-excursion-in-the-hannover-cretaceous/

This should keep me busy for a while on rainy days, although there are still a couple of crates with finds from the middle jurassic, some more cretaceous stuff, shark teeth, etc....

[LanceHS]

Next project this summer is a diplodocus dorsal vertebra. Excavated outside of Shell, Wyoming in July 2005...Big Horn Basin, Morrison Formation. Not quite 3 feet in height.

Xacto knives, dental picks, air scribe/abrasion tools for this one. Alot of fracture fills and some restoration will be needed. May leave it on a base of matrix.

BTW, the diplodocus was named "Spartacus".

Edited May 8, 2012 by LanceHS

[Fossildude19]

Squalicorax,

Thanks for starting this neat thread!

You're doing well on that crinoid, and the others are quite good in my opinion!

Well done, Sir.

Regards,

Well, this is probably my once in a lifetime life-time project and the fulfillment of a long-time dream for me. A half mosasaur, probably Halisaurus arambourgi. ...

Wow! That's coming along great, Nearpass!

Great Job! - And thanks for showing it to us - can we get updates???

Regards,

Here are a few I've been working on from the Waldron shale. They were all pretty well covered in matrix when I began them....

Looks like you're doing a fine job as well, Rob!

Great finds, and preps!

Regards,

[Rob Russell]

Thank you Tim!

[Kosmoceras]

I finished a chalk gryphaea this month.

[Malcolmt]

Very nice prepping Rob... wish I could get to hunt the Waldron one of these days...... would be a major road trip.

[Rob Russell]

Thanks Malcolmt. That Waldron shale is fairly easy to work with concidering the only thing I use are dental picks.

[Northern Sharks]

I tend to start a piece, then move on to another, and another, then back to the original and so on, so unless it's a quick prep, it may take a while. I think in my cabinet right now are my Arkona Greenops, a large Mucrospirifer in a hash plate also from Arkona, Megastrophia from Ohio, at least one Flexicalymene and a large slab with a few starfish and a ventral Ceraurus.

[micropterus101]

Normally i work on one fossil from start to finish but today i had A.D.D LOL I worked on four crabs and two Aturia angustata from the lincoln creek formation, and one very large four inch Aturia Angustata from the Hoko river formation of Washington. 90% of my fossil prep is done with an Me-9100 10% is done with a hunter products micro-blast 200. My other works in progress are multiple Aturia Angustata in 3D, an Oyster and several Megokos Macrospinus from the quimper sandstone formation, a Rannidid, several Panopeus, and two crabs that need further prep to identify from the hoko river formation.

Cheers, Jason

.

[Missourian]

Does having stacks of rocks around the house count as prepping?

[Fossildude19]

Does having stacks of rocks around the house count as prepping?

I'm with you there!

Regards,

Edited May 9, 2012 by Fossildude19

[Raistlin]

Does having stacks of rocks around the house count as prepping?

I thought it was just me. Though today I moved the stacks out of the house into the garage where I plan to have my prepping work place.

Oh well at least the floor under the dinner table is now empty of rocks..................for now.

[fossilman01]

For now I'm just prepping fossil shells I find on the Oregon coast,easy duty.....LOL

Going to start building some ammonites from broken and missing pieces,I have 7 to finish....(that takes awhile)!

[squalicorax]

Working on this crinoid from Cville thanks to debbie.

[boneblock]

Been messing about with a couple of croc blocks(messing about cos i'm quite new to prepping)and ichy blocks. Prefer to be out collecting though. Gonna collect some more ichy bones tomorrow/Saturday. The missus won't be happy cos the garden is already half covered with unprepped material ha .