CompuServe Messages

Very interesting. I'm very jealous of your tools… I hope to get some someday. As for dental picks, should I just ask my dentist for any old worn-out leftovers? And how much will one of these air-powered gizmos cost? At the uppermost levels of this Topeka hill-cut, I saw a few promising concretions that reminded me of the ironstone you see from the Mazon Creek formation. I cracked a few but didn't find anything. It was as if each one had been shattered by pressure, in place, before, and then a transparent calcite had flowed between the cracks to re-cement them. I'd tried a little vinegar to help clean some of the bits of crinoid and shell I'd found, but it just dissolved what I wanted to save, so these specimens hadn't been remineralized. Is there a suite of acids I should acquire to assist in these sort of cleaning operations? As you might be able to tell from my questions, I've got a lot of them. 🙂 I think I should search for a paleontology textbook that would describe these techniques in detail.