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All, At the risk of sounding REALLY low-tech on the issue of consolidants and adhesives, I'd like to pass on my field experience with using a commercially available adhesive called "Bond 527 Multi-Purpose Cement" which is readily available in a 3.2 oz. (White tube, red and blue lettering) tube in the crafts section of your local WalMart store. I am as concerned as anyone with chemical exposure and was surprised to see that the labeling on the tube doesn't include all the incredients, but I suspect it's basically what modelers call "airplane glue" .... the solvent is clearly indicated as acetone. Years ago, I remember it was labeled with the main ingredient (PVA?). A note on the tube does say: "This label conforms to ASTM D4236-89 & California Prop. 65" While you are certainly not going to buy it in large enough quantities to preserve your next T-rex, one tube mixed with a pint or so of acetone makes a very good consolidant in the field for a lot of smaller things, while the 'goop' straight out of the tube bonds broken pieces together rather quickly and firmly. It is soluble in acetone.... and in field comparisons, it doesn't whiten in response to damp material like Butvar seems prone to do. I imagine you could dump several tubes into a gallon of acetone if you wanted a large batch, but I generally mix it one tube at a time. I've been using it for 15 years now in the Smoky Hill Chalk for consolidating small, fragile items like fish skulls and pteranodon wing bones, and have had no problems. At any rate, if you are looking for something that is cheap, readily available, easily reversible and dependable for fossil critters smaller than the size of a dinosaur in the field, I can certainly recommend this material. Low tech regards, Mike Everhart Adjunct Curator of Paleontology Sternberg Museum of Natural History Fort Hays State University, Hays, KS http://www.oceansofkansas.com
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