Last Wednesday I had the opportunity to take some of my samples over to Rochester Polytechnic Institute to prepare them for Electron Probe Microanalysis. I got a tour of the facility and saw the equipment I will be using to analyze my samples. Then, I broke down some of my small samples into even smaller pieces so they would fit into the one inch diameter molds. One of my goals was to have a piece or two of Onondaga limestone that had part of the oxidized side available for analysis. It was challenging to break up the Onondaga because it is such a high density stone. When I tried to chip off a piece with a chisel and a rock hammer, I was greeted with lots of sharp, limestone projectiles flying about the room. Thank goodness for safety goggles! The Bedford Indiana Limestone was much easier to break apart. After I managed to get the right sizes for the molds, I mixed the epoxy and poured it over a piece of stone in a vacuum grease coated mold.
After I finished this process, I put the molds under a lamp so they could cure. When I go back in the next week or two, my next task will be to extract them from the molds and begin to mount them on slides. I'll keep you posted ;)
Jess
Jess