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Post by joanne2 on Mar 15, 2009 21:52:38 GMT -5
I skinned it, powerwash fleshed it, washed it in some soapy water, detail fleshed it's face, lips, nose, etc.. any toebones I'd missed and then stuck it in some salt and aluminum potassium for a few.. then neutralized, then washed it out in some soap..and then blow dried, almost stretched and dried the whole thing before adding eggyolk and restretching/blowdrying.. anyway the damned thing's soft and dry.. could be softer yet.. could be tanned even so a good smoking would probably be a great thing.. oh well.. this is the gorsch damned chintzy backyard tanners way of tannin' fox.. lol.. least the alum plumps up the skin..even taxidermy tannin oil.. the ones with them thar 'active' ingredient would be a heap easier and better'n using eggs or brains..if I wasn't so damned cheap I'd order some up!.. anyway another crappy camera phone pic that leaves a heckuva lot to be desired..DANG.. ..
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Post by Buckskin Billy on Mar 15, 2009 22:12:56 GMT -5
well despite the cell phone picture it sure does look good. when you say neutrailize what is it your doing ? soaking it in water? to rinse the alum out? to stop the alum? i don't know thats why i ask. the few that i have alum tanned i don't rinse and they are hard to soften so i have been wondering if i need to rinse or something. got a doe hide i'm working on for some ole boy thats gonna be paying me. he wants the hair on. i alumed it let it dry and soaked some eggs on it. you think i should soak it in water or something?
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Post by joanne2 on Mar 15, 2009 23:35:00 GMT -5
I am pretty sure that Dan Rowlett uses baking soda to stop the action.. anyway. I really can't say why I do other than I think he does that.. anyway I do indeed rinse the skins VERY well.. I think one would need to really agitate the skins and go real overkill on heavy rinsing to remove the alum.. best to try and remove the salt as well as you can. Salt makes things VERY dry..and also attracts moisture.. so anyway I'm certainly no authority on alum tawing or tanning for sure.. it's just the way I do it cause it plumps the skins nice and sets the fur good.. but at the same time the con is that it dulls the fur and it's why I do use shampoo and stuff to try to get the residue out of the fur.. I like everything squeaky clean and so.. really rittles is best.. the saftee acid.. I never used the EZ 100 but you're supposed to tan stuff that you pickle with the saftee acid..suppose you could oil and smoke instead!.. too cheap to buy all this taxidermy stuff.. and the oil too..it's a synthetic oil the taxidermy folks use and you don't need to almost dry the skins before adding the softening or staking oils..like one seems to have to with the brains or eggs... the oils the taxidermists use have an active ingredient and go where you want them to go right away, even very damp.... so they would yeild much better results(more quickly and easier) it is better to use specially formulated for hides and skins chemicals.. probably work better'n brains and or eggs on the damned deerskins too.. just might be a BIT pricier..oh well.. ya get what you pay for. unfortunately this applies to hides and skins. The problem you are having is, one.. you're not rinsing and two,.. your skins aren't getting the oils at all.. you shouldn't allow them to dry out. damp.. dryish but not flint hard or you'd have to totally rehydrate and start all over, Billy.. so yes you're making more work for yourself. and really making it lots more difficult.. The skins that I have alum tawed are much easier to soften.. all of them! I have frozen alum tawed skins, no trouble, too. I alum taw/pickle deerskins in the solution for about a week then wash.. blowdry the fur side and when the hair side starts to get to drying then add brains or eggs to the skins right in the frames then stake them till soft and dry.. smoking would them be a really good idea.. but the bad part about washing the deer hair with soaps or detergents is that it works against the nature of the deer hair causing it to be even more brittle and porous and breakage and shedding will be even WORSE.. so really backyard tanning at it's best and worst right there.. oh well cheap is what cheap is.. and you get what you pay for.. I do like the alum tawed deer skins they come nice and plump and soft..real easy, they do.. I wonder if you ready a skin for braintanning, if after softening and braining and all, if you can sew the skin that is grainless, with beads, just like brain tanned buckskin? I think the reason that you can't bead commercially tanned skin is because of the epidermal layer. Like vinyl. Only seems to me that you could have a skin that softens a lot easier if you alum taw it and then simply agitate the alum right out of it.. alum and salt plumps the skin opening up the fibers.. just musing.. it does make one wonder if they could make a 'breatheable buckskin' using it and just removing the epidermal layer like prepping for braintanning and then simply smoke them like you would brain tan.. lol.. sorry for the ramble but other then easily tearing..on the belly edges alum seems to be helpful in softening.. LONG AS YOU DON't FLINT DRY THEM FOLLOWING THE TAW~! ;D
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Post by paskinner on Mar 17, 2009 19:15:32 GMT -5
I've had good luck with the saftee acid on fox and coon hides. Very easy to use. The one thing that can screw it up is to put a hide in that has too much bacteria action going. I use a brain paste on the hides before softening and have some that have been around for a long time without smoking them. I have had hides in the pickle for six months or more with no problem. (I'm planning to join procrastinaters anonymous, but I keep putting it off! With an old dryer for a tumbler and a few chemicals a person could really go to town on the fur tanning.
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Post by Buckskin Billy on Mar 17, 2009 21:56:32 GMT -5
i was going to go to one of those procrastinators meetings one time but i put it off ;D ;D
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Post by joanne2 on Jul 1, 2009 8:45:25 GMT -5
Supposedly the drop isn't enough and the rate the dryers turn is way too fast to be helpful.. you never know though.. I just recently did another fox and I can tell you that the John Rineharts paint on tans are pretty cool.. you don't even need to pickle.. but drummed furs are just much nicer than staked ones to I should do this with the 'extra dryer' I have around here for small skins like this fox. Still not sure if I can get this necessary 'drop' with it..but worth the time spent trying perhaps.
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Post by Cody ( The Patriot ) on Jul 1, 2009 20:05:55 GMT -5
I have a old dryer I changed over to 110 and took the heater out but it was back when I first started and didnt have good luck but then I didnt have much luck at anything then for a while might have to try it out again
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