Fossil Claw Posted December 8, 2015 Share Posted December 8, 2015 (edited) I got this ammonite as part of a trade with Twinlukers. Picture one is as it arrived. 8 inch by 6 inch Texas ammonite. Edited December 8, 2015 by Fossil Claw Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossil Claw Posted December 8, 2015 Author Share Posted December 8, 2015 (edited) First I worked it with a manual hand scribe similar to an ice pick. Then cleaned it with dish soap and an battery powered scruber. Edited December 8, 2015 by Fossil Claw Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossil Claw Posted December 8, 2015 Author Share Posted December 8, 2015 Here is after about 90 minutes with careful airscribe work. I will post more as I make more progress. Twinlukers..I think this will be a real nice one if I don't mess it up! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fossilized6s Posted December 8, 2015 Share Posted December 8, 2015 Great job so far. ~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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrokenTrowel Posted December 8, 2015 Share Posted December 8, 2015 Looking good!! -Kreg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jgcox Posted December 8, 2015 Share Posted December 8, 2015 looking good need to come over one day this week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ludwigia Posted December 8, 2015 Share Posted December 8, 2015 That's going to be a nice one. Cross your fingers that the inner whorls are complete. Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger http://www.steinkern.de/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossil Claw Posted December 8, 2015 Author Share Posted December 8, 2015 That's going to be a nice one. Cross your fingers that the inner whorls are complete. Thanks. Having never done one of these, it never occurred to me that the whorl might not be complete! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Pocock Posted December 8, 2015 Share Posted December 8, 2015 Looking good, only advice I would give is take your time, it can be very tempting to rush the last part of the prep and then be disappointed with the end result. (I did this with my 1st ammonite prep) Looking forward to seeing the finished piece. Regards Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ptychodus04 Posted December 8, 2015 Share Posted December 8, 2015 Thanks. Having never done one of these, it never occurred to me that the whorl might not be complete! Dan's right. This looks like a Mortoniceras (or one of the million genera that are so similar). They often have some portion, or all, of the inner whorls not preserved. 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...
Fossil Claw Posted December 9, 2015 Author Share Posted December 9, 2015 (edited) That's going to be a nice one. Cross your fingers that the inner whorls are complete.Ugh. Bad news you called it. No evidence of inner whorls. Edited December 9, 2015 by Fossil Claw Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossil Claw Posted December 9, 2015 Author Share Posted December 9, 2015 (edited) A bit disappointed.anyone ever continue without the whorls and still have something in the end that looks good? A picture for inspiration would help as I think I give up on the one. Lesson learned. Next time dig down to the inner whorls before putting too much work into exposing the outer whorls. Edited December 9, 2015 by Fossil Claw Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted December 9, 2015 Share Posted December 9, 2015 It is what it is, which is a fossil ammonite; reflect on how cool that is! "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! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ptychodus04 Posted December 9, 2015 Share Posted December 9, 2015 A bit disappointed.anyone ever continue without the whorls and still have something in the end that looks good? A picture for inspiration would help as I think I give up on the one. Lesson learned. Next time dig down to the inner whorls before putting too much work into exposing the outer whorls. Have you had a look at the reverse side? Sometimes, the inner whorls are crushed on these specimens and prepping the reverse side shows them. I ran into that on a recent prep. On one side, the whorls disappeared under a few pounds of matrix. I flipped it over and started on the other side and BINGO, there they were. Don't dig through matrix to expose a fossil; you'll chip right through the specimen and not know it. Preparation is a roll of the dice sometimes. Just consider it good practice. 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...
Fossil Claw Posted December 9, 2015 Author Share Posted December 9, 2015 Have you had a look at the reverse side? Sometimes, the inner whorls are crushed on these specimens and prepping the reverse side shows them. I ran into that on a recent prep. On one side, the whorls disappeared under a few pounds of matrix. I flipped it over and started on the other side and BINGO, there they were. Don't dig through matrix to expose a fossil; you'll chip right through the specimen and not know it. Preparation is a roll of the dice sometimes. Just consider it good practice. By dig down I meant carefully prep following the outside whurl down to where the inner whurl should be prior to prepping the outside. I would never randomly dig down.The other side looks less promising for preserved inner whurls. Thank you for the tips. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ptychodus04 Posted December 9, 2015 Share Posted December 9, 2015 Looks like you're out of luck on this one. 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...
Fossil Claw Posted December 9, 2015 Author Share Posted December 9, 2015 (edited) Looks like you're out of luck on this one.Yup. Probably not worth the trouble to prep out since it is missing the inner whurls.At least I got some really good experience and I now know I can at least handle the scribe work. I almost didn't even try for fear of messing it up. Edited December 9, 2015 by Fossil Claw Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossil Claw Posted December 10, 2015 Author Share Posted December 10, 2015 Dan or Kris, Are there any finishing technics worth trying and practicing? It may not be the display piece I was hoping it would be when it was done but it might as well serve me well in practicing new technics I have not done before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJB Posted December 10, 2015 Share Posted December 10, 2015 Hey FossilClaw, fossils not cooperating seems to be the norm, unfortunately. You can always carve the last whorls? Just a thought. Good luck RB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossil Claw Posted December 10, 2015 Author Share Posted December 10, 2015 Hey FossilClaw, fossils not cooperating seems to be the norm, unfortunately. You can always carve the last whorls? Just a thought. Good luckRBBy carve do you mean create fake whurls?I think I would rather just take off the rock and make the real out whurl look good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJB Posted December 10, 2015 Share Posted December 10, 2015 Yeah, fake whorles is exactly what I mean. Its done all the time but if you don't like that, then that's ok too. RB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossil Claw Posted December 12, 2015 Author Share Posted December 12, 2015 Looks like you're out of luck on this one.Lemonade out of lemons. I decided to let the lack of in whurls free me from my fear of trying sanding and finishing techniques.I origanly planned not not do the sanding finish worried I'd mess it up an ruin the fossil. Few from that worry I set out to try some new things. Pic with flash. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossil Claw Posted December 12, 2015 Author Share Posted December 12, 2015 Without flash. Starting to get the hang of it and no longer worried about trying new things Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossil Claw Posted December 12, 2015 Author Share Posted December 12, 2015 (edited) Dan, Mike and Ron I asume you had some of the same worries, fears and disappointments when learning? I feel ready to tackle another one. And will use this one to try more techniques Edited December 12, 2015 by Fossil Claw Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted December 12, 2015 Share Posted December 12, 2015 The world of fossil preparation has a limitless supply of worries, fears and disappointments. No matter how good one gets, the challenges (and the stakes) keep going up, but so do the rewards. Ain't it great! "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! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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