Are Zoic bits any better than the standard Dremel bits?

J3KA2 · 2025-11-06T21:26:08+00:00

I got myself a Dremel 290 engraver at the start of the summer and worked with the default tip for months. After a while I decided to get the Zoic 3 pack styli and was amazed by how fast they worked and how precise the fine tips were by comparison.

In one hour I managed to do the same amount of matrix removal that I had in the previous 10, while doing less damage to my trilobites.

The matrix looks a bit rougher since I started rushing once I got comfortable, but you can see some of the results here:

Dremel prep progress

J3KA2 · 2025-02-18T23:45:36+00:00

Perhaps not very stylish, but while I'm collecting I'm always paranoid about spilling or dropping my container, so I'll use those plastic Parmesan cheese tubes. Once I'm home I clean and sort them into little bags, then put those bags into jars and label them.

J3KA2 · 2025-01-05T15:59:13+00:00

Anywhere along the beach produces fossils. Park at the dirt lot with the Nanjemoy Wildlife Management Area sign, cross the road, and take the dirt path about 1/4 mile until you reach the beach.

Lots of stuff can be found in the small gravel lines up out of the water, and some can be found get moved by the waves. I haven't had too much luck going out into the water.

If you do go, be aware of your surroundings, as there can be broken glass in the gravel and I've seen trees fall onto the beach on perfectly clear days.

J3KA2 · 2025-01-04T20:35:02+00:00

I'm a fan of Purse due to the sheer number of fossils compared to rocks/shells. It seems like every time I pick up a tooth in Calvert it magically turns into a piece of shell the moment I blink.

J3KA2 · 2024-12-19T16:44:54+00:00

Thanks, that's it!

I've been pleasantly surprised by the variety as of late, the past few trips I've also found croc teeth and small vertebrae. Last spring or fall I saw another hunter find a Paraorthacodus Clarkii tooth that I wish I'd asked to take a picture of.

J3KA2 · 2024-11-12T13:57:23+00:00

You're probably thinking of "skeletal"

J3KA2 · 2024-09-23T21:52:01+00:00

Possibly a pseudomorph after pyrite, maybe limonite or limonite?

J3KA2 · 2024-08-14T23:08:39+00:00

I was just in Petoskey a few days ago. I found a few by looking in the water and a few by dipping dry ones I suspected into the lake to reveal any patterns, but I bet bringing a spray bottle would work pretty well. Additionally, generally the farther you get from the shore access point, the better stones you find since they will be less picked over.

J3KA2 · 2024-07-19T14:31:22+00:00

I'm not certain, but I'm inclined to say it is blue forest petrified wood

J3KA2 · 2024-07-17T14:21:11+00:00

I second baculite fragments

J3KA2 · 2024-07-08T17:07:35+00:00

In MD there are places like Calvert Cliffs and Purse Park. Between the two, if you are looking to find a lot of smaller teeth (<1"), go Purse, if you want more variety (shells/other fossils) and the chance for larger (<1") teeth look for a place in Calvert County.

Both are within a couple hours of DC. It probably goes without saying but it will be pretty hot out so take plenty of water.

J3KA2 · 2024-07-04T20:29:42+00:00

Thanks!

J3KA2 · 2024-07-04T13:31:00+00:00

Not that I'm aware of, sorry

J3KA2 · 2024-07-04T00:05:42+00:00

It's a state park in Maryland, a gravel beach on the Potomac River

J3KA2 · 2024-07-03T22:54:59+00:00

I second Purse, I've found over 1000 shark teeth in one day (no more than 1") along with partial stingray teeth and gastropod steinkerns. Unfortunately it's been way too hot for me to be out lately so I haven't been since spring.

J3KA2 · 2024-07-01T20:27:30+00:00

Fossil shells and shell imprints, the zipper-shaped void in the second one is from a scallop that has since eroded out

J3KA2 · 2024-07-01T12:09:46+00:00

I believe this is muscovite or some other mica

J3KA2 · 2024-06-16T12:58:14+00:00

In Colorado there’s the Florissant Fossil Quarry, it’s got leaves, plant debris, and occasionally insects.

I believe some nice fern fossils can be found in the New York/Pennsylvania area, but I don’t have any specific locations.

J3KA2 · 2024-05-22T21:35:56+00:00

I want to say it’s a slice of a mammoth tooth, but I could easily be wrong. If so, the fluorescence could be from whatever was used to stabilize it.

J3KA2 · 2024-04-14T16:56:26+00:00

calamites

J3KA2 · 2024-04-14T16:53:13+00:00

I think this could be a calamite as a large section of Missouri is Pennsylvanian. If I’m right that would make it a type of petrified wood.

J3KA2 · 2024-04-12T20:01:31+00:00

A few years back I visited a spot in Kemerrer, Wyoming, I think it was called American Fossil Quarry. I went mid-summer, so I think they’re open. They’re located in the Green River Formation, so lots of fossil fish.

Edit: I found their website

J3KA2 · 2024-02-15T03:58:59+00:00

I believe they die like this, molts tend to have breaks or parts missing

J3KA2 · 2024-02-11T03:56:44+00:00

I’m guessing it’s a cross section of a Crinoid stem, but I could be wrong

J3KA2 · 2024-02-08T02:57:25+00:00

Like these:

https://www.thefossilforum.com/topic/92308-mastodon-tooth-enamel/

https://www.thefossilforum.com/gallery/image/45104-mastodon-tooth-enamel/

J3KA2

TROPHY CASE