Stromatoporoid hand-section

[Peat Burns]

Hi, 

 

I spent part of the evening cutting and hand-polishing one of the Devonian stromatoporoids I found this summer and thought I'd share the results.  First, a complete specimen (top and bottom of mound):

 

Here is a cut and hand-polished face (multiple grits of sandpaper followed by polish):

 

Here is a view through the microscope.  You can see the pillar structure in the layers:

 

[Tidgy's Dad]

Beautiful both in their natural state and the polished cut through is super for seeing the classic pillar structure. 

Where are they from, Tony? 

[TqB]

Beautifully clear structure.

[FossilNerd]

I’m usually not big on cutting and polishing fossils, but this is an exception. I love how the polishing shows the layering and structure. Looks good! 

[Shamalama]

What a fine job you did with that! The form is classic and the crossection it icing on the cake.

[Ruger9a]

Quite impressive.  I also like the idea of "split and polish" while still retaining the original, complete shape.

[Peat Burns]

13 hours ago, Tidgy's Dad said:

Beautiful both in their natural state and the polished cut through is super for seeing the classic pillar structure. 

Where are they from, Tony? 

Thanks, Adam

7 hours ago, TqB said:

Beautifully clear structure.

Thanks TqB

3 hours ago, Shamalama said:

What a fine job you did with that! The form is classic and the crossection it icing on the cake.

Thanks, @Shamalama. By the way, I use your website often. Great job.

2 hours ago, Ruger9a said:

Quite impressive.  I also like the idea of "split and polish" while still retaining the original, complete shape.

Thank you.  I saved the whole one pictured above and used one that wasn't as pristine for the section.  The internal structure is particularly well preserved in these, unlike ones I've done from Silurian of N. Michigan and Fairborn, OH

3 hours ago, FossilNerd said:

I’m usually not big on cutting and polishing fossils, but this is an exception. I love how the polishing shows the layering and structure. Looks good! 

Thanks.  I do it almost exclusively for demonstration / identification purposes rather than aesthetics (acetate peels of horn corals, bryozoans, etc.).