rejd Posted June 5, 2014 Posted June 5, 2014 In previous post I had talked about my volunteer work sorting micro fossils. Although I still do that (at home now that I have a microscope) I am now working in the lab doing prep work. A specimen I just finished is a dorsal vertebra from the Arrhinoceratops bonebed which was discovered last summer along the Red Deer river. For those who are not familiar with the genus here is the wiki link. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arrhinoceratops. It is earliest Maastrichtian and found in the Horseshoe Canyon Formation. This is the first specimen that I have prepped at the museum. A fossil hunter needs sharp eyes and a keen search image, a mental template that subconsciously evaluates everything he sees in his search for telltale clues. -Richard E. Leakey http://prehistoricalberta.lefora.com
fossilized6s Posted June 5, 2014 Posted June 5, 2014 Great job! Can't wait to see more! ....oh, and please sneak some micro matrix for me. Lol ~Charlie~ "There are those that look at things the way they are, and ask why.....i dream of things that never were, and ask why not?" ~RFK ->Get your Mosasaur print ->How to spot a fake Trilobite ->How to identify a CONCRETION from a DINOSAUR EGG
Fossildude19 Posted June 5, 2014 Posted June 5, 2014 Very cool! Great job on that. What did the prep work entail? Regards, Tim - VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER VFOTM --- APRIL - 2015 IPFOTM -- MAY - 2024 _________________________________________________________________________________ "In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks." John Muir ~ ~ ~ ~ ><))))( *> About Me
snolly50 Posted June 5, 2014 Posted June 5, 2014 Outstanding prep work! Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, also are remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so. - Douglas Adams, Last Chance to See
rejd Posted June 5, 2014 Author Posted June 5, 2014 Thanks all for the kind words. I am really enjoying this type of work as it is very relaxing to me. The prep work involved the usual dental picks, ariscribe, lots of consolidant and patience. I basically started to remove the matrix with a dental pick (it actually flaked off pretty easy) until I can to the bone. It was pretty fragmented so I would then need to consolidate it. I was using Paraloid B72 mixed at about 5%. I would consolidate as more bone was exposed and move along the piece. Once I got most of the matrix off with the dental pick, I moved to the airscribe. Once I was able to clean and remove as much matrix as possible and stabalize it, I then created a support jacket for it so I could flip it over and do the other side. Any small cracks that needed filling or pieces glued back together I used a 20% mixture of paraloid. There were a few larger gaps that required some 2 part epoxy to fill. All in all it probably took me about 12 - 13 hours to complete. I have 2 other pieces on the go right now. One is a surangular and the other an ilium both from the same bonebed. I will post those in another topic. A fossil hunter needs sharp eyes and a keen search image, a mental template that subconsciously evaluates everything he sees in his search for telltale clues. -Richard E. Leakey http://prehistoricalberta.lefora.com
quietfocus Posted June 9, 2014 Posted June 9, 2014 Thank you so much for posting these. What a fantastic way to give of time and skills! -Clayton "We are like butterflies who flutter for a day and think it is forever" - Carl Segan
Auspex Posted June 9, 2014 Posted June 9, 2014 ... What a fantastic way to give of time and skills! ...and to acquire and hone new ones! "There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant “Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley >Paleontology is an evolving science. >May your wonders never cease!
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