Fossil Preparation - 8” Microderoceras ammonite from Lyme Regis, Dorset

This is a timelapse video of the preparation of a large Microderoceras birchi ammonite from the famous fossil hunting location, Lyme Regis, Dorset. This dates back to the Lower Lias of the Jurassic, 200 million years ago.
During this video, I use various preparation equipment including:
Pneumatic Air Pens:
ZoicPalaeotech T-Rex Air Scribe
ZoicPalaeotech Bronto Air Scribe (for bulk matrix removal)
Air Abrasion Unit:
ZoicPalaeotech Custom Large Capacity Iron Powder Unit
Medium: Soft Iron Powder
Consolidants & Stabiliisers:
Paraloid B-72 (5% & 10%)
Cyanoacrylate
Finishing Polish:
Akemi Polishing Fluid
Dremel with polishing head

[@ForgottenFossils]

That is amazing!!

[@ollieroo3334]

WOW this is absolutely beautiful!! Thank you SO MUCH for posting timelapse of your fossil prep, I’m a volunteer preparator at my local museum and I only get to go in one day a week, so your videos definitely satisfy that itch for fossil prep when I’m not in the lab ❤

[@PalaeoArt]

Glad you like them and well done on volunteering at your local museum. Great place to learn prepping but also much help for the museum I'm sure.

[@fossil-freak_tom]

fantastic work and seriously the result. I'm so happy when I see that you uploaded a new video, thx for sharing.

[@PalaeoArt]

Thanks very much. I'd like to do more uploads but always run out of time!

[@alexsky9345]

Gorgeous! Awesome video, thank you for sharing :) Love to see your work.

[@PalaeoArt]

Many thanks Alex. Much appreciated.

[@josephdillon7420]

Thanks so much for the education and sharing this fantastic work with us.

[@kevinspeight8966]

Absolutely tremendous work. Thankyou for sharing it. Could I ask for details of your setup? In particular pertaining to air abrasion. Everything from the compressor you’re using, to dust extraction would be interesting and helpful. Thanks in advance!

[@PalaeoArt]

Thanks Kevin. Glad you like it. Details on setup I'm happy to share although there is a lot to cover so I'm thinking it might be worth doing a video on that in the future.... in the interim however, from an air abrasion perspective, I've two main units. The first is for Iron Powder (and the one I used for this piece) which is a custom rig from ZoicPalaeotech. It's an amazing bit of kit which holds about 15kg of powder which I'll go through in about 40-45mins. Iron powder works differently to other abrasive media and you need a lot of it (and then have to collect it, re-sieve it and feed it back into the machine). The second unit I have is an old Comco microblaster which I use with either Dolomite or Aluminium Oxide (or a mix of the two). Ali Oxide is a harsher cutting agent so needed for harder matrix (like Yorkshire ammonites) where Iron Powder just isn't very effective. Hope this helps.

[@kevinspeight8966]

@@PalaeoArt Really kind of you to take the time to go through that. I’ll eagerly anticipate a video of your kit. Thanks!

[@willgoacher9122]

nice Job, that is a Biggun!😍

[@PalaeoArt]

Cheers Will!

[@Amberscape]

Insane result;oo!!!!!!!

[@KENZIE_LMD]

Wow

[@katleenallen8153]

Amazing, completely enthralling. But can we have some of the video in real time please? I don’t care about how long it takes to watch! Love it

[@IndigoSpades]

Please longer, HD videos. Slow it down a little 😍

[@elenatheexotic]

I really miss your videos 😢😢

[@PalaeoArt]

Thank you. I will get back to putting some out again soon! Life just got in the way.

[@elenatheexotic]

@@PalaeoArtOh, I hope everything's okey now! I'm so glad you're coming back!

[@yellowlighthouse3057]

That turned out absolutely stunning! Awesome job! May I ask what PSI and powder you would normally use for ammonites from Lyme? I'm just getting into air abrasive work, and I'm really confused as to what PSI to use for the calcite ammonites and for the harder pyrite ones. Also, how much does the iron powder actually darken the ammonites? Ive heard that they stain them slightly but im not sure how much it actually does... Apologies if I've asked too much 😂.

[@PalaeoArt]

Thanks for the question. For this ammonite, I did use soft Iron Powder and somewhere between 40-50 PSI (so fairly low). There are lots of different matrix types found in Lyme Regis, and they all respond a little differently to Iron Powder. The Green Ammonite Nodules from Charmouth side are brilliant with Iron Powder (and you can use a higher PSI). The slightly more pyritic ones from around Golden Cap are much harder so need more careful penning. This Birchi nodule was pretty good with Iron Powder but you have to use a lower PSI so it doesn't burn through the more sugary calcite shell. Woodstones and Flatstones are a bit more difficult with Iron Powder and tend to be penned instead. Hope that helps

[@yellowlighthouse3057]

@@PalaeoArt That's brilliant! Thanks so much for that, it really helps 🙏

[@DJFossils]

I noticed u put liquid on it then polished it can i ask what u put on before polishing was it paraloid? and did u polish while wet or after it had dried Thanks Daniel

[@alansdorsetfossils4028]

Really interesting I'd like to be able to produce the video imaging that you have. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I'm working on a Microderoceras Birchi myself and producing video but not up to your standard. Its taking a long time to prep but I can now see the end in sight. I need to look through a magnifier lamp and that makes video difficult. I only have a mobile phone a Go-Pro would likely be a better option. Anyway a nice piece of work on a difficult ammonite and unfortunately the dreaded birchi nodules that so often crack and split. Great video really enjoyed watching it.

[@PalaeoArt]

Thanks Alan for the kind comments. Yep, those Birchi nodules can be super difficult but using a magnifing lamp will certainly help. The shell is often fairly 'chalky' in nature so can nick easily if you get the tip of the tool too close so patience on these is definitely the key. I just film using my mobile phone using a timelapse app called OSnap. It seems to work well. Hope this helps.

[@ryanwalker7289]

How long would you let this size fossil dry put before prepping like this ? Cheers 😊

[@corbettnorwood9514]

i have a dremel, what bit should i use to do this same thing?

[@zakaria5011]

What did you use at 5:54 to make the fossil so shiny?

[@PalaeoArt]

This is a polishing fluid from Akemi. It's essential a very thin liquid wax that can be buffed

[@zakaria5011]

@@PalaeoArt thanks alot

[@Kamiis1STson]

bro, by chance where do u FIND these things?