Updates anyone?

Amber

As much as I would like to say that I'm planning to keep this post somewhat short, I highly doubt that will happen. I promise it won't be a novel, but this girl has some catching up to do. Bear with me. I'll make it worth your time.

First off, who am I? Well I am the latest addition to the Paleo lab team and am thrilled to be there. My name is Amber. Or Dahl. I go by either one. I'm constantly talking in memes in my head so if it seems that everything I say sounds like I'm talking as a meme, chances are I am. Let's get started shall we?

January 12, 2017. First project. My sweet Barosaurus rib. Thoughts running in my head while working on this were:

• "Oh geez I'm going to kill this thing!"
• "Wait, it's dead already."
• "Don't screw up Dahl!"
• "Oh my gosh is that a mark? Did I just make that mark?"
• "Why isn't this as pretty as the others?"
• "Wow. This is theraputic. I really like how this is putting me in a zen like OH MY GOSH DID I JUST BREAK A PIECE OFF?"

I figured after 3 hours I should give myself a break and go home before I had a meltdown. And no, I didn't break a piece off, I was overly paranoid and thought I did.

January 20, 2017. Round 2. I was definitely feeling more comfortable with the scribe and was actually getting into the rhythm by making up dinosaur songs in my head while I was working. I also noticed that I was getting better, but could still tell I had to go back over some pieces that I missed. Rick was reviewing the piece and was telling me that things were looking good so far and then said that I need to work on getting the glue off. I'm sure my eyes bugged out of my head. First thought that went through my head when he told me that was, "Oh great now I really am going to kill it for sure!"

Again. You can't Dahl. You can't. This took me about 3 hours to get this beauty where I left it.

February 3, 2017. Round 3. GLUE DAY. I was determined. I was able to cleaned the parts surrounding the glue and I was determined to tackle it today. I felt comfortable enough with the scribe that I thought it would be nice to listen to some background music while I worked. What better music to get you pumped up and get that dang glue off than old Metallica, Megadeath and Dio? I even noticed that I was going along with the beat of the music. And guess what? It worked. I was able to get most of the pesky glue off without any damage. I was even feeling mighty proud of myself thinking I was able to get as much done as I did in 45 minutes. Then I looked at my watch. Nope. 3 hours. Jokes on you Dahl!

February 9, 2017. Round 4. Time to work on the edges and use the even better scribe for hard to reach places. I'm telling you, that thing is AMAZING. I can't believe how clean I was able to get edge pieces without feeling like the whole thing was going to explode into dust. I'm definitely getting my groove even more. I wasn't able to work on it as long since I had an appointment, but I was able to get a lot done in 2 hours!

February 16, 2017. Round 5. Holy Diver! I am done! Look how beautiful it is! I was able to get out those pesky pieces of sandstone and not destroy the edges! Thanks to my years and years of painting experience and deep paranoia of not wanting to screw up I did it!! I love the beautiful sheen that the vinac adds to it as well. I'm so proud of this piece and it's even better after getting the seal of approval from Rick. This only took me an hour to finish up and then I danced after. I was so happy. Here is the before and after of this glorious rib:

Ya, I can get used to this. 

Then Rick says, "How about something more advanced?"

I am going to be working on the tail. And these are a LOT more delicate to work with so........sorry Dio. Not this round.

Stay tuned for next time!

Go Go Gadget Wednesday Update

Sara

Wednesday update quick snippet: Rick let me use a wicked cool air-scribe today with a two inch long drill tip. I filled a 5 gallon bucket and at least a quarter of a large shop vac with matrix.

IT WAS AWESOME! 

Rick trimmed down the jacket for me so that next time I can reach the fossil without my arm threatening to fall asleep. Yay progress! Go Go Gadget New Lab Tools!

Sandstorms and Sauropods

Jodie

January 26, 2017  

Today I needed to move a lot of matrix that was surrounding my vertebrae. I used the larger and less delicate air-scribe that I first started out on. It is better able to handle the large amount of matrix without being damaged. Although I love working on the actual fossils, it was satisfying to accomplish so much in one session. 

Even though it is a relatively small area, there is a lot of difference in the matrix surrounding the vertebrae. Most of the matrix was similar to what I have previously worked with but the matrix at the top of the picture was so soft I could break it apart with my fingers. 

One small section however was hard as cement! I spent a good share of my time trying to chip away at this very small section.

Over all, I showered both Sara and I with tons of sand. I used the vacuum to take up as much of the loose matrix as possible but when you move that much matrix it tends to fly everywhere so we both ended up completely covered in sand!

February 2, 2017
I started working on the middle vertebrae in the jacket. I could tell right away that the end of this vertebrae was very pitted and fragile like the one Sara has been working on. I had to thoroughly soak that section with vinac and let it dry. So I put my effort into the neural spine. Parts of this piece was bonded together before it was put in the jacket. I cleaned off bondo and vinac as well as matrix. The edges were fragile and cracked but I have increased my skills enough that I was able to clean it off without vinac or any crumbling. It was gratifying to see that my long hours of practice are starting to pay off a bit. It is really exciting to see the jacket as more and more is uncovered. I still love the work!

Paleo Lab 2/2/2017 - Oh Snap (Sara)

Sara 

Be brave reader! The following is a harrowing tale of life in the Paleo Lab! 

Today's blog post truly started off last week in the Lab where I narrowly avoided catastrophe.

 It was just the average afternoon in the lab, and Jodie and I had been cleaning matrix away like crazy. I had worked on the neural canal of my vertebra and had removed a sizable chunk of sandstone. It had taken a while, as the sandstone matrix closest to the bones tends to be harder than the matrix further away.  

As we clean up the lab each shift, we sweep away any debris, pack away our scribes and air hoses and tuck in our chairs. Then we have been moving the table, which is on wheels, closer to the neighboring jacketed fossils.

 As the table rolled into position, my hand caught the large portion of the centrum you see below. 

--> CAUGHT IT. <--    I stopped breathing....

There is nothing like working in a Paleo Lab. Nothing can quite describe the joy of working to remove a fossil from matrix which has surrounded it for millennia. Knowing that you are the first human being to lay eyes on the surface of your fossil. My Paleo Lab life flashed before my eyes. Rick is going to kill me. I broke his dinosaur.

 By the time our week had revolved and I returned to the lab things were in a different state.

Rick, rather than revoke my pathetically short paleo-preparologist status, was actually pleased that I had caught the plummeting fossil- rather than have someone brush past it by accident and have the whole thing shatter on the hard concrete floor.

He had spent four hours of his own time carefully fitting the pieces of my precious sauropod vertebra back together. I saw this upon entering the lab and almost burst into tears with relief.

Rick is a master. He's amazing. He should be showered in all the accolades I can think up and then some more awesome ones which we could undoubtedly make up out of thin air. 

My nerves are still a little fragile. I'm sure to get over it but for now I've put in a few hours working the mass above my original vertebra. Far far away from the vert with the attitude! (Images Below)

Jodie's Lab Time Jan 4th-20th 2017

Jodie's Lab Time Jan 4th-20th 2017

Today was my most challenging day so far. While working to uncover the two pieces much of it fell apart. While this is often inevitable, it is still nerve wrecking for me. Rick teased me about breaking his dinosaur. I have put small pieces back in place before this but this was my first time recreating bone out of a jumble of parts.

As I was cleaning away the matrix around the edges I realized that I had several other pieces of bone that were nesting next to the large vertebrae I had been working on. One will eventually be connected to the bottom of the vertebrae, although it has been displaced and is currently not in the correct position. The other is a piece of the adjacent vertebrae.

I now had to clean at least a portion of these two pieces before I could vinac the piece I had finished. Being proactive now would save me extra work in the future when trying to clean those pieces after applying vinac. I will admit I was a bit impatient at first but as soon as I started on those pieces it was hard to stop and go back to my original project.

The next step was to remove more matrix around the edges so that I could put a final layer of vinac over the entire surface to protect it while we continue to work on other parts of the jacket. This was satisfying work because it went fairly quickly and did not require the same extreme attention to detail. 

I am getting more confident in knowing what is just matrix and what may have fossil in it. 

So I am able to remove matrix much quicker and more efficiently.

The tip of this one broke off when I started removing matrix and I had to glue it back on.