Fossil Preparation Tools

Air Scribe

• Professional and amateur paleontologists use air scribes in a range of sizes and strengths in preparing fossils. Some air scribes are meant to blast through tough layers of sediment and others do fine detail work. While they do get rid of most of the unwanted material, a thin covering is left and needs removal with another method. These tools are generally used after returning from the dig site and any solidifiers or other adhesives have set up completely.

Pneumatic Hammers

• Under a microscope these minuscule jackhammers cautiously hammer tiny fragments of sediment from the fossil. Interchangeable chisel heads and adjustable cycles per minute allow the preparaor to adapt the tool to individual tasks. Extra care is taken when preparing fragile finds, and by lowering the air pressure the chisel slows and the vibration is easily controlled. These tools shorten the time involved with cleaning fossils but they will easily reduce a fossil to dust, so amateurs need to be patient and practice on valueless objects.

Pneumatic Abrasive Tools

• These micro-abrasive tools use compressed air to force a media, such as dolomite, for thick or hard matrix, or baking soda for fine detail work, though an air hose and nozzle tip. The tips for these devices are interchangeable, and the compressor has adjustable psi levels so the user can easily adjust the flow of the media. The compressor is generally equipped with a drying unit to prevent the media from becoming damp and clumping in the air hose.

Blast Cabinet

• A blast cabinet contains work done with micro-abrasive tools and allows the collection and reuse of media. It has an inlet for the air hose, a clear window, bright light, detachable top, ventilation port and hand holes. More than one manufacturer provides professional blast cabinets, but with some skill and attention to detail home made setups work quite well.

Chemicals

• Without practice and proper care acid preparation will destroy fossils as quickly as the unwanted sediment. Fragile finds, such as fossil fish and other invertebrates, are often damaged with mechanical tools and liquid acids are the only way to clear sediment from minute crevices. The choice of chemical mixture is determined by the matrix being removed; acetic and formic acids work for carbonate matrices like calcite, mercaptoacetic ethylenediamine tetraacetic acids dissolve iron-rich matrices.