What Are The Must Have Tools When Hunting Road Cuts?

[fossiljunkie]

hello all,

after having been a stream bed fossil hunter all my life i find now that i have relocated that i really have to try to find and concentrate on road cuts if i intend to find any fossils.and even then they will be hours away.i don't want to give up my love of fossil hunting just because i have moved to another state.

can anyone tell me how to begin this process? what tools are absolute must haves in your car when you go? i know rock hammer, bucket,etc but what else should i get together to have with me. my primary area of interest is northwest georgia and the chattanooga area of tennessee. i really feel like an absolute newbie having to switch from almost exclusively pliocene,miocene,pleistocene vertebrate fossils in stream beds by digging sifting, to invertebrate fossils in road cuts where i am clueless at this point as to where to start. as well as my lack of knowledge of invertebrates.

i am excited about having to learn all about fossils i am unfamiliar with but i'm just at a sticking point right now as to where to go and how to search once i actually get to a location a well as what to bring along.

does anyone hunt southwest georgia/chattanooga road cuts that wouldn't mind being a mentor? i primarily would like to hunt road cuts where trilos were possible. i would be grateful and would bring along an assortment of shark teeth from my collection as a token of appreciation. thanks

[Fossildude19]

Hey Fossiljunkie,

You may consider joining a club to help get you started.

They usually organize field trips, and have knowledge of sites and access permission to sites that may not other wise be collectable.

Also this book may have some info for you. See if you can get it, or this one, at your local library.

As far as equipment, make sure to include safety glasses and hard hat for large road cuts. You might consider a safety vest and cones as well, if they are narrow or well travelled roads. Also look into the legality of searching road cuts. Some states do not allow this, or require that you get permission from the state DOT office.

I think that joining a club may be your best bet in a new state, with new hunting rules and environs.

Hope this helps.

Regards,

Edited June 15, 2012 by Fossildude19

[Xiphactinus]

I was going to suggest joining a local club as well.

As far as tools, the proper tools are more determined by the rock than the locality. The same tools are used on limestone whether in a quarry, stream bed or road cut. You'll need to figure out what rocks you are collecting in and adjust your tool kit accordingly.

[Uncle Siphuncle]

i like a chisel about a foot long with a big plastic hand guard so i can pound away with youthful (?) exuberance with either a medium estwing hammer (22 oz?) or 3-4 lb hand sledge, the harder rock and bigger/deeper buried fossils getting the bigger hammer. sometimes good fossils occur in soft layers (brken down shales, marls) sandwiched between hard layers, requiring no hand tools other than perhaps a flat screwdriver. do some field trips with these tools in the car, retrieving what you need. experience will guide you.

[Fossildude19]

I would totally agree with the tool suggestions above, and also with the fact that you need to tailor your tool kit to what type of rocks/environments you are dealing with.

For example, one site I visit almost always requires a sledge hammer and a wrecking bar. Yet, another requires a painter's knife and a shovel.

You have to adapt your kit to the conditions present.

Regards,

[Auspex]

Toss a roll of masking tape in the bucket, to cover exposed fossils before you start pounding away; sometimes things blow up, and this keeps all the pieces together. Colored masking tape can do double duty as flagging tape.

[Ameenah]

Thick gloves, the rock is very sharp and well tear up your hands and I for one don't like turning over stuff that my be the home of a poisonous critter, and good foot wear no flip flops be mindful of possible falling rock a from above.

Edited June 15, 2012 by Ameenah

[fossiljunkie]

thanks everyone for the useful info. fossil clubs are out for me due to my having to work weekends. and since every fossil club hunt i've ever seen schedules for weekends it doesn't make sense in my circumstances. i'll have to try some cuts myself if i can find a starting point. thanks again for all the tips.