[Closed] Paleontologists Assemble ! Glueing fossil shell help

Portland Cement 🙂

Just have a look in your nearest pebble drive and find a whole one, they are plentiful!

Just get the two-pack epoxy from your nearest pound shop that's in the syringe-type container, works as well as anything else, but do it in stages, mixing new each time, because it sets very quickly when you mix it correctly.
They're called 'Devil's Toenails', IIRC, but they are pretty common in some areas.
Belemnites are often found in gravel drives as well.
Keep looking for a whole one, they are quite common.
Ammonites are the thing to find, but increasingly difficult due to the hordes who go searching around Charmouth and Seatown in Dorset.
I managed to find a couple of quite nice little ammonites last weekend at Seatown, but they take some searching for, the stuff that collects at the base of the cliffs isn't the best, most of the fossils are squashed and not much more than impressions when you break the rocks open.

I'd suggest you use whatever's handy, like superglue. But first soak it in water then clean it with an old toothbrush or similar. Do you have both shells? One sits snugly in the other, part of the reason for the soaking, they may be stuck together with hard clay.

You'll have to leave it to dry for a week before gluing, obviously.

@CZ I have a deal with a lady in Kent... she finds me mini ammonites, which for a fee I will set into the handle of my knives in a glass clear resin... looks awesome!

There was a shop at Lulworth that sold quite convincing plaster cast replicas of mini ammonites. I bought a bunch of differing sized ones and then whenever walking the dogs on the coastal path with wifey she would search for for fossils and I would always find one for her.

😳

It's not really rare and if you really wanted a pristine one you could set aside a weekend and find hundreds intact (set aside a day with the kids)... so that being the case I'd just use some epoxy...

(To be fair I'm not a palaeontologist and it wasn't the top subject in my Geology degree ... but it is a good activity to do with the kids)

Hope you don't mind a thread hijack. I think I picked up a bit of coprolite the other day, what do you reckon? Is it coprolite?

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Found on the beach at Helwell Bay, Watchet, Somerset. There are some fantastic ammonite specimens on the foreshore (SSSI, so no digging to take them away, loose finds only.)

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Is it coprolite?

Thanks steve, as it was on the foreshore there wasn't a close context to compare, it could have been moved up or down the Bristol Channel from the originating cliff, but the shape and heft are quite convincing, and the site is known for them.

They are often moved way out of being in-situ because they tend to be well cemented and roundish.

Like most stuff you could ask 3 experts and get 3 answers ... you could try and cut it in half with a diamond dremmel attachment if it feels well cemented enough... which would not only give you a better answer but it's also quite cool.... as you see the actual preserved non digested food parts. Of course it might fall apart....

For those with children who might be impressed, here's a plug for the Lyme Regis Museum's coprolite table...

http://www.lymeregismuseum.co.uk/related-article/bucklands-coprolite-table/

... check the website, it says the museum is closed untl July.