More bone work

We continue to have sunny warm weather here, although the forecast is not so good. Our team continued our work on our bones this morning. We continue to remove matrix material down to the bone (fossil). The fossil bone can be very brittle, and can break off, without any effort. We then get to use fancy superglue, either thick (when putting bone to bone) and thin (when reinforcing an area).

The bones we are preparing are to be cast, and the materials used and techniques do vary depending on the use of the bones. This afternoon we spent a couple of hours on the bones and then learned how to fill the big cracks with epoxy. The goal is to have the bones clean and filled, and then the smart folks can try to identify them and put them together.

Tomorrow morning we tour the welding lab and see molding and casting. The casting techniques are pretty complex, since they are trying to produce reproducible casts.

I asked a simple question today and got offered a job. Not sure that it really would be a job offer, but Bill did offer me housing if I'd come. I asked what kind of welding machines they had, and owned up to being able to weld (no certificate though). Then we talked at length about the difficulty of making the frame that holds either the bones or the cast pieces. They want them to look lifelike, which means not straight lines. It sounds really cool, and Peggy and I are thinking of volunteering some longer time frame sometime next year. Who knows, sometime there might be a dinosaur skeleton with my ugly welding underneath. Certainly a different kind of sculpture.

We are having a good time. Tomorrow is our last elderhostel day, and we will move hotels for one night, then head to Jackson and Yellowstone.

No photos today.

Anne