A look outside is enough to abandon any hope of an early spring, but the weather is a variable beast even in its more predictable patterns. Much time has been spent doing the unglamourous work of remote site prospecting, detailing lists of potential areas, plotting route logistics. I am nowhere near to finalizing the plans for 2022. I have some broad sketches, but I'm still working on the finer details with all sorts of literature and the aid of satellite maps. It is tedious but necessary work, and the results from which would be folly to post publicly. Suffice it to say, I have colonized the dining room table with scads of note paper, multiple screens, maps, and scrawled ideas. Having done illustration work, and now site prospecting research, I also had the opportunity to indulge the third of this wintry trifecta, which is fossil preparation. I received two B/C-grade Russian asaphids to work my tools on. I acquired them mostly on account of their size. The Asaphus lepidurus is 7.5 cm, and the Asaphus punctatus is 8 cm. Both are a healthy size, but not quite maximum, obviously. I already have plenty of examples of these species, but it's hard to resist the temptation of preparing such large specimens when the snows are blowing. First up is the A. lepidurus. Initial state: The first step is scribing. With these, one wants to minimize the amount of abrasion work since the goal is to preserve the dorsal shell microsculpture; in this case, the terracing lines or ridges. Once scribed, we can see that this one is in the process of ecdysis as is evident by the separating librigenae: Final result after some abrasion, touch-ups, and matrix work: And some other angles via a slideshow Next on the prep docket is the 8 cm A. punctatus. Care around the eyes is always advisable, but more so when they are a bit taller, as in this species. This one had numerous problems: a glued field repair, very sticky and stubborn matrix with glue-like translucent calcite adhering to the shell in places, and overall delicate cracks. The initial state: First pass with the scribe leaves this looking like a messy disaster. It took some doing just to get to this point on account of the matrix having fairly poor separation from the shell, thus increasing the risk of scribe-related damage (which I kept to a bare minimum by proceeding at a snail's pace). At this point, I am introducing the abrader to the workflow, while also steadily levelling the matrix on the same plane as the trilobite (I really dislike the look of when trilobites are prepared in a kind of "bottom of the toilet bowl"). At this point, all the risky cracks are showing, and the very stubborn areas are now isolated for swapping back and forth between fine scribing and abrasion. The eyes are now free. And voila. I thought the slab upon which this one sits was a bit out of proper aesthetic proportion, so trimmed it down a bit. After some very tedious sessions of abrasion and scribe work on the finicky areas, I ensured the surface was level and went about applying a stipple texture, while at the same time putting super-fine touches around the delicate areas at the tip of the pleurae. etc. Some other views of the trilobite via slideshow: None too shabby for a lower grade bug. Many of these from St Petersburg can generally be prepared into a real shelf-sitter, but for commercial operators it is a question of time. Trilobites like the one above are not worth the labour time to prepare to this level as that would far exceed the fair market value these tend to retail for. These preps probably took me 6 and 8 hours respectively, so if we factor in a fair wage of $25 an hour, the labour price is already $150 and $200, and that is even before considering what it costs in terms of time to travel and extract these, in addition to the wear and tear on tools, plus a modest markup. However, for those like me who do not make a living doing prep, I can afford to take the time to ensure they merit being housed in my personal collection.
Time to put down the tools temporarily to manage essay grading. I am expecting a Waldron shale bug in the mail in the near future, so I'll have that to look forward to. Until then... Comments are closed.
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Kane Faucher
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February 2024
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