Ptychodus04’s Fossil Fish Prepapalooza

[Ptychodus04]

5 minutes ago, Randyw said:

But it sure does look like it will be worth it!

It will be cool when it’s finished. 

[Ptychodus04]

46 hour update. 

 

[fossilhunter21]

It is looking more and more like a fish!

 

-@fossilhunter21

[Ptychodus04]

47 minutes ago, fossilhunter21 said:

It is looking more and more like a fish!

 

-@fossilhunter21

Finally!

[RJB]

  Hey Kris, thats starting to look like somethin.  Good going

 

RB

[Ptychodus04]

41 minutes ago, RJB said:

  Hey Kris, thats starting to look like somethin.  Good going

 

RB

Gracias. It’s going to be a beauty with all those denticles but they are a real pain. Little bits of bone that follow the contours of every bone in the skeleton. It makes for a 3 dimensional prepping experience. Not my idea of a good time. 

[Sjfriend]

Looking good. Love the caudal fin!

[daves64]

6 hours ago, Ptychodus04 said:

Gracias. It’s going to be a beauty with all those denticles but they are a real pain. Little bits of bone that follow the contours of every bone in the skeleton. It makes for a 3 dimensional prepping experience. Not my idea of a good time. 

Aahhh.. but think of the bragging rights! And the increased business. And how many more people will want you to do more like that. Ok, maybe you shouldn't think of that last one so much.. 

[Ptychodus04]

45 minutes ago, Sjfriend said:

Looking good. Love the caudal fin!

Thanks. The fins are generally amazing on this fish. Overall, superb preservation.

 

 

18 minutes ago, daves64 said:

Aahhh.. but think of the bragging rights! And the increased business. And how many more people will want you to do more like that. Ok, maybe you shouldn't think of that last one so much.. 

 I’m not afraid of a tough prep. This still isn’t the hardest prep I’ve ever done. Those tiny coelacanths from New York are the worst. Tiny bones that are the same color as the scribed matrix make for a nearly impossible prep.

[Ptychodus04]

Paddlefish update time. 55 hours in and hopefully getting close to the finish line. That might be wishful thinking since I still have a million denticles to go…

 

[Ludwigia]

7 hours ago, Ptychodus04 said:

Paddlefish update time. 55 hours in and hopefully getting close to the finish line.

 

That's gunna be a humdinger when you're done with it!

[Bobby Rico]

On 9/14/2020 at 4:50 PM, Ptychodus04 said:

I finally got around to hanging up some of my fish. Mostly, it is because my wife was about to throw me out of the house if I didn’t get them hung up.

They look really nicely hung in your home , like beautiful pieces of art. I did not realise how much work is in this thread it is astonishing. Keep up the good work Bobby

Edited February 21, 2022 by Bobby Rico

[Ptychodus04]

14 hours ago, Bobby Rico said:

They look really nicely hung in your home , like beautiful pieces of art. I did not realise how much work is in this thread it is astonishing. Keep up the good work Bobby

Thank you my friend. This thread is definitely getting pretty long. 

[Ptychodus04]

66 hours… 
 

A bit of advice for the budding preppers out there, don’t spill your bottle of Paraloid on your specimen. I did it last night and the cleanup was a nightmare!  I had to douse the whole specimen in acetone.

 

Edited February 23, 2022 by Ptychodus04
Autocorrect strikes again

[Nanotyrannus35]

Looks really nice! Have you ever prepped a gar?

[FossilDAWG]

That's a remarkable prep job!!!

 

Don

[jpc]

Nice work, Ptych.  You say this is sandwich beds?  Isn't the sandwich beds somewhat analogous to the split fish?  This looks like 18 inch layer (from here).  

[Ludwigia]

2 hours ago, Ptychodus04 said:

don’t spill your Bodley of Paraloid on your specimen. I did it last night and the cleanup was a nightmare!

 

O weh!

[fossilhunter21]

Looking very nice! 

 

2 hours ago, Ptychodus04 said:

I did it last night and the cleanup was a nightmare!  I had to douse the whole specimen in acetone.

Yeah that does not sound very fun, at least the fish is all right.  One time I spilled a lot of acetone on the carpet in my room, it smelled like acetone for a while....

 

-@fossilhunter21

[Ptychodus04]

2 hours ago, Nanotyrannus35 said:

Looks really nice! Have you ever prepped a gar?

Not yet. I hope to have a chance in the future.

 

1 hour ago, FossilDAWG said:

That's a remarkable prep job!!!

 

Don

Thanks. There’s still about 20 hours to go.

 

1 hour ago, jpc said:

Nice work, Ptych.  You say this is sandwich beds?  Isn't the sandwich beds somewhat analogous to the split fish?  This looks like 18 inch layer (from here).  

Yep, it’s sandwich (aka split fish) material. It’s not as layered As the 18” and the bones are the typical flaky sandwich stuff.

 

36 minutes ago, Ludwigia said:

 

O weh!

There were a few expletives uttered.

[Ptychodus04]

2 minutes ago, fossilhunter21 said:

Looking very nice! 

 

Yeah that does not sound very fun, at least the fish is all right.  One time I spilled a lot of acetone on the carpet in my room, it smelled like acetone for a while....

 

-@fossilhunter21

Thankfully, I had plenty of acetone handy. I just started dumping it on the slab to dilute the Paraloid as much as possible. I will have to go in and unstick some matrix bits…

[Adam86cucv]

I finally got caught up on this thread.  As it has been said before amazing prep work.  It makes me want to dig out my couple little slabs with Knightia that are peeking out of to try my luck...I fear my ham hands might not be delicate enough but they were cheap enough not to be upset.

[Ptychodus04]

12 hours ago, Adam86cucv said:

I finally got caught up on this thread.  As it has been said before amazing prep work.  It makes me want to dig out my couple little slabs with Knightia that are peeking out of to try my luck...I fear my ham hands might not be delicate enough but they were cheap enough not to be upset.

Thanks. Have a go at them, the final product is quite rewarding, regardless of the outcome.  Most Knightia can be prepped with a small needle.

[Adam86cucv]

2 hours ago, Ptychodus04 said:

Thanks. Have a go at them, the final product is quite rewarding, regardless of the outcome.  Most Knightia can be prepped with a small needle.

I'm sure they probably aren't going to be museum quality, but the should look better than the cheap ones in the museum gift shop.   I remember seeing a thread where someone gave a good time lapse of them using a needle and maybe a bamboo skewer as well to clean one up.  It was a couple years ago.  I would like to eventually prep good enough to try prepping a Cockerelites.  I think they maybe one of my favorites.  They remind me of the fiesty sunfish and bluegills we catch.

Edited February 24, 2022 by Adam86cucv
Clear up wording

[Ptychodus04]

2 hours ago, Adam86cucv said:

I would like to eventually prep good enough to try prepping a Cockerelites.  I think they maybe one of my favorites.  They remind me of the fiesty sunfish and bluegills we catch.

A needle in a pin vise and some magnification coupled with a lot of patience is all you really need for a hobby prep. 
 

Cockerelities and Priscacara are Perciformes along with bluegills, sunfish, and perch so they are definitely very closely related animals.