What you need
"Whilst any good ironmonger can supply cold chisels and strong knives or trowels, he is very unlikely to have safe and suitable hammers in stock. The steel of ordinary domestic and many trade hammers is far too soft for use on most rocks. It will splinter and flying fragments of steel can cause nasty wounds, particularly to the eyes, not only of the hammerer but also of his companions."
Fossils in Colour - 1967 - J.F. Kirkaldy, D.Sc. Formally Head of the Department of Geology, Queen Mary College London. |
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Geological Hammes : It is best to take a Standard Geological Hammer, this will be most useful for the limestone's, Crack hammers are not advised because they create too much vibration and the fossils here are very delicate. |
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Picks: A pick is handy for the shale's, and for softer Cockle Beds, but it is not advised to use a pick directly to get fossils out of shale, you should use a trowel or knife for this. Picks are handy for taking pack large samples for home sieving. |
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Chisels: Because the rock are extremely hard, most normal chisels will blunt quickly. It is therefore highly recommended that Special Chrome Vanadium Steel Chisels are used. These are made from the highest quality steel and are coated for extra protection. Because they are sharper, they will create less vibration, the fossils here are very sensitive. As for the type of chisel, standard 1" or less are best, it is also ideal to take a small chisel around 1/2" for any delicate work. |
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Specimen Boxes: Keep your small finds safe in these clear, cost effective specimen boxes. Perfect to build your fossil collection. |
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Geo Field Ruler: This Geo Ruler is ideal for field use and for photographing specimens. The Rular is colour graduated in CM with 10cm Blocks, made of hard thick plastic and is waterproof. |
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Waterproof Notepads and Waterproof Pens: These field notepads and field pens work in the rain, they are perfect for taking notes. The pens work in any condition, including underwater! Taking notes about where fossils were found is an essential part of any collection. |
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Specimen Bags: These are ideal for collecting from Durlston. Sealable Clear Specimen Bags can hold your finds. These can be purchased from UKGE for low prices and can easily be re-used. |
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Geological Bags: Strong, Waterproof and durable geological bags that last years are ideal for any keen fossil hunter. These quality bags from Estwing are ideal for bringing back those larger finds or sample bags. |
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Footwear: Hiking Boots are recommended fine for Durlston because the shore can be very rocky. |
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Microfossil Slide Boxes: These high quality stackable display trays are ideal for microfossil storage (small fossils). You can hold up to 80 fossils in one tray, the tray slides freely out of its case, holding your collection. Capsules can be purchased to air-tight fossils and protecting them. They have a 2mm inner depth. Different trays will all stack together with as many as you like. |
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Microfossil Slide: These Microscope slides are specially designed for the smallest finds. They come with a glass cover which slides over the top of a 3-layer cardboard insert (circles or grids). The circles or grids are indented with a 1mm depth so that your specimens are held secure into place, and secured into place by a black plastic sleeve. |
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Microscope: Once you process your sample, you will need a Stereoscope Microscope for viewing and searching for finds including identifying them and cleaning them. We sell a wide range of these, but our recommended model is the IMXZ. We can also help setup any digital or SLR camera and also provide connections for viewing on your TV at a very good price. |
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Endecotts Sieves: Ideal when processing sample, you can wet sieve the final broken down samples to remove sand and clays. We sell a wide range of sieves, but we do recommend using a range of sieves which makes separating larger material easier. The most popular sieve set is 500, 250 and 150 microns. |
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