H2Andy
Contributor
SueMermaid:
Gesundheit !!
My Mammoth Femur Bone!
- Thread starter CBulla
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Gesundheit !!
KBulla
Guest
By the way, I just wanted to say "Kudos!!" and "Thanks so much!!" to Reefguy (Mwah!) 
who introduced us to this particular site where we found all this stuff in one single dive. Well, it was a single dive split in two since we had to drag the big chunks back to shore at which point our five month old decided it was time to nurse. LOL! Just for the record, it ain't easy nursing in full scuba gear!
We did finally get back in to finish but didn't really find much.
Jeff, you da' bomb, baby! xoxoxoxo
Kris
who introduced us to this particular site where we found all this stuff in one single dive. Well, it was a single dive split in two since we had to drag the big chunks back to shore at which point our five month old decided it was time to nurse. LOL! Just for the record, it ain't easy nursing in full scuba gear! We did finally get back in to finish but didn't really find much.
Jeff, you da' bomb, baby! xoxoxoxo
Kris
SharkBaite
Contributor
Boy does that femur weigh alot lol it truly over powers the Golf Ball I picked up as Jeff swam away from it, I think my golf ball is about 2 months old, LOL
Awsome find only next time lets wait until the Red Tide is gone completely.....
Awsome find only next time lets wait until the Red Tide is gone completely.....
adurso
Contributor
Neat finds. We can't wait to get back down there!
KBulla
Guest
Just for the heck of it, I sent the photos of the big bone to a professional at the Florida Museum of Natural History in Gaineseville. He thinks it may be the tibia from a jouvenile mastedon. He said he'd look at it for us if we ever make it up to Gaineseville, so we'll see...
H2Andy
Contributor
wow... a mastodon? too cool... those were some cool animals
http://www.sdnhm.org/fieldguide/fossils/mastodon.html
http://www.sdnhm.org/fieldguide/fossils/mastodon.html
medic_diver45
Contributor
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If you have no other plans for it, may I suggest a donation to a childrens museum (I say this because I am a volunteer at the one here locally) or other similar institution.
Land Locked
Contributor
CBulla:
Do NOT let it dry out, keep it submerged. I found the leg bone from
a sabre toothed cat, not knowing what it was I just left it in the bottom
of my dive box. By the time I got home it was starting to chip off into little
pieces. I found out what I had on the Berkley website going through their
bone listings. I ended up soaking the bone in polyurethane for a couple of
weeks for preservation and now have it shadow boxed on my wall.
Great find and good luck with preservation!
medic_diver45
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No, no, no.....do not use polyurethane! Please for the love of God don't ruin it by coating it in polyurethane- it doesn't penetrate into the bone and strength it. The interior continues to deteriorate and you end up with a much weaker shell of the fossil than you started with (basically it can get so bad as that the bone just crushes in when you touch it). As an amateur paleontologist I have seen far too many great specimens RUINED using the approach describe.
Here's a link to the proper management of fossil bones:
http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/natsci/vertpaleo/resources/prep.htm
Important highlights:
Consolidants, or hardeners as they are more commonly called, are often the collector's first line of defense against deterioration of specimens in their collection, especially those specimens comprised of the poorly mineralized sub-fossil bone so often found in Pleistocene river deposits or coastal marls. By definition, a consolidant is a resin which has been dissolved in a solvent. Common solvents are water, acetone, alcohol, and toluene. Consolidants are generally available in two forms: 1) pure resins, and 2) emulsions. Pure resins consolidants are resins which have been dissolved in a solvent, such as Butvar (polyvinyl butyral) granules dissolved in acetone. These consolidants should only be used on dry specimens, since even a small amount of moisture in the specimen can react adversely with the consolidant destroying its desired properties. Museums in the U.S. and Europe stick with a few tried and true consolidants which are known to have a low tendency for crosslinking and which do not lose their consolidant properties over time. Chief among these are polyvinyl butyral (Butvar), a thermoplastic resin, and Acryloid B-72, an acrylic resin. PVA (polyvinyl acetate), used as a pure resin is still available, but most users have switched to Acryloid B72, which is harder, more durable, and exhibits less flexibility.
**NOTE: I use PVA dissolved in acetone and have achieved good results with it.**
Pure resins are mixed with their solvents to form a very thin, watery solution which is then applied to the specimen (or the specimen is immersed in the solution). Thin and waterv should be stressed. The idea is to get the resin where it's needed, and in order to penetrate the specimen's surface and carry resin down into the interior of the fossil bone, the consolidant must be thin or else it will be deposited on the surface of the bone only, like shellac or varnish used in the past. Those treatments may have protected the surface, but did little to strengthen the whole bone.
When dealing with sturdy wet specimens, the best approach may be to place the specimen in a slow-drying chamber, (see Preparation and Treatment of Sub-fossil Bone) rather than treating the specimen with a water based emulsion resin like Rhoplex or CM Bond M3.
The second approach to treating wet specimens is the slow, controlled drying method to prevent cracking and delamination. Old fish tanks made satisfactory drying chambers. The wet specimens can be placed in the tanks and plastic food wrap placed over the top with a rubber band around the perimeter to hold the plastic wrap tight. A few slits, or flaps cut in the wrap will allow you to control the rate of drying. For larger specimens, an inexpensive, but functional drying box can be easily constructed by placing a piece of clear plastic sheeting, such as Visqueen, over a sturdy box. Place the wet specimen inside the box and cut a few flaps or slits in the plastic. The flaps will allow a slow, controlled exchange of the moist air in the box with the lower RH (relative humidity) ambient air outside the box. Similarly, a large, clear plastic bag, or a makeshift tent made of plastic sheeting might be used for very large wet specimens. Again, flaps or slits cut into the bag or tent would regulate the air flow. To monitor changes in RH, a humidity gauge can be placed in the containment area along with the specimen. One negative side effect of the slow drying method which keeps the specimen wet for a long period of time is that it fosters mold growth. A periodic spray of Lysol or any fungicide inside the containment area should control the problem of mold growth.
The goal of all controlled drying procedures is to bring the high RH of the wet specimen slowly downward until it matches that of the storage area. Even if a water based consolidant is used to conserve (preserve) a wet specimen, it is advisable to apply controlled drying procedures until the specimen is stabilized to storage environment conditions. Ideally, the optimum storage environment for sub-fossil bone should be in the range of 45-55% relative humidity with a temperature between 65 and 72 degrees. Storage below 50% RH can lead to cracking and shrinking as the specimen dries out. RH above 70% encourages mold and fungal growth which can damage sub-fossil bone. Since both RH and mold and fungal growth are temperature dependent, it is important to keep the temperature in the narrow good range of 65 to 72 degrees.
Once the specimen has been dried and stabilized at room humidity, a non-waterbased consolidant such as Butvar or Acryloid B-72 can be applied if necessary. Please remember that waterbased consolidants should never be applied to specimens which have thoroughly dried.
Here's a link to the proper management of fossil bones:
http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/natsci/vertpaleo/resources/prep.htm
Important highlights:
Consolidants, or hardeners as they are more commonly called, are often the collector's first line of defense against deterioration of specimens in their collection, especially those specimens comprised of the poorly mineralized sub-fossil bone so often found in Pleistocene river deposits or coastal marls. By definition, a consolidant is a resin which has been dissolved in a solvent. Common solvents are water, acetone, alcohol, and toluene. Consolidants are generally available in two forms: 1) pure resins, and 2) emulsions. Pure resins consolidants are resins which have been dissolved in a solvent, such as Butvar (polyvinyl butyral) granules dissolved in acetone. These consolidants should only be used on dry specimens, since even a small amount of moisture in the specimen can react adversely with the consolidant destroying its desired properties. Museums in the U.S. and Europe stick with a few tried and true consolidants which are known to have a low tendency for crosslinking and which do not lose their consolidant properties over time. Chief among these are polyvinyl butyral (Butvar), a thermoplastic resin, and Acryloid B-72, an acrylic resin. PVA (polyvinyl acetate), used as a pure resin is still available, but most users have switched to Acryloid B72, which is harder, more durable, and exhibits less flexibility.
**NOTE: I use PVA dissolved in acetone and have achieved good results with it.**
Pure resins are mixed with their solvents to form a very thin, watery solution which is then applied to the specimen (or the specimen is immersed in the solution). Thin and waterv should be stressed. The idea is to get the resin where it's needed, and in order to penetrate the specimen's surface and carry resin down into the interior of the fossil bone, the consolidant must be thin or else it will be deposited on the surface of the bone only, like shellac or varnish used in the past. Those treatments may have protected the surface, but did little to strengthen the whole bone.
When dealing with sturdy wet specimens, the best approach may be to place the specimen in a slow-drying chamber, (see Preparation and Treatment of Sub-fossil Bone) rather than treating the specimen with a water based emulsion resin like Rhoplex or CM Bond M3.
The second approach to treating wet specimens is the slow, controlled drying method to prevent cracking and delamination. Old fish tanks made satisfactory drying chambers. The wet specimens can be placed in the tanks and plastic food wrap placed over the top with a rubber band around the perimeter to hold the plastic wrap tight. A few slits, or flaps cut in the wrap will allow you to control the rate of drying. For larger specimens, an inexpensive, but functional drying box can be easily constructed by placing a piece of clear plastic sheeting, such as Visqueen, over a sturdy box. Place the wet specimen inside the box and cut a few flaps or slits in the plastic. The flaps will allow a slow, controlled exchange of the moist air in the box with the lower RH (relative humidity) ambient air outside the box. Similarly, a large, clear plastic bag, or a makeshift tent made of plastic sheeting might be used for very large wet specimens. Again, flaps or slits cut into the bag or tent would regulate the air flow. To monitor changes in RH, a humidity gauge can be placed in the containment area along with the specimen. One negative side effect of the slow drying method which keeps the specimen wet for a long period of time is that it fosters mold growth. A periodic spray of Lysol or any fungicide inside the containment area should control the problem of mold growth.
The goal of all controlled drying procedures is to bring the high RH of the wet specimen slowly downward until it matches that of the storage area. Even if a water based consolidant is used to conserve (preserve) a wet specimen, it is advisable to apply controlled drying procedures until the specimen is stabilized to storage environment conditions. Ideally, the optimum storage environment for sub-fossil bone should be in the range of 45-55% relative humidity with a temperature between 65 and 72 degrees. Storage below 50% RH can lead to cracking and shrinking as the specimen dries out. RH above 70% encourages mold and fungal growth which can damage sub-fossil bone. Since both RH and mold and fungal growth are temperature dependent, it is important to keep the temperature in the narrow good range of 65 to 72 degrees.
Once the specimen has been dried and stabilized at room humidity, a non-waterbased consolidant such as Butvar or Acryloid B-72 can be applied if necessary. Please remember that waterbased consolidants should never be applied to specimens which have thoroughly dried.
Land Locked
Contributor
Good resource! Maybe I was just lucky, I was able to stabilize my bone "rock"
where it was no longer falling apart. It still remains the same after 5 years of
leaving the water. I guess it depends on what resource you follow.
"Preservation of the tusks is another step that Full and Reken have taken. Initially the tusks were placed in a children's wading pool full of water so that they wouldn't dry out and crack. Then they were soaked in a thin mixture of acetone and polyurethane plastic. The plastic takes the place of the water and stabilizes the fossil."
Better take the pro's advice though!
where it was no longer falling apart. It still remains the same after 5 years of
leaving the water. I guess it depends on what resource you follow.
"Preservation of the tusks is another step that Full and Reken have taken. Initially the tusks were placed in a children's wading pool full of water so that they wouldn't dry out and crack. Then they were soaked in a thin mixture of acetone and polyurethane plastic. The plastic takes the place of the water and stabilizes the fossil."
Better take the pro's advice though!
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