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Post by beaudro on Apr 14, 2010 10:49:33 GMT -5
that sure is nice to see that many at a time PA. Good work!
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Post by joanne2 on Apr 14, 2010 14:14:01 GMT -5
Sure is! Nice stash Loren! Pretty picture. What'd you use for hoops? I think I really have to tan any beaver I can manage to get my paws on you know as I guess they would attract insects raw. Probably should have salted the one in my frame 'again'. Although it may rehydrate OK in brinewater.. I don't know.. all this tanning and skin stuff STINKS! lol.. I really want a tumbler BAD! between the washer and the flesher my guess is that breaking skins COULD potentially be a WHOLE lot easier with an oversized tumbler.. oh well little bit at a time. Beaudro, thanks. I built the staker by some info I gleaned from Melvin Beattie. I think he occasionally uses a chair! I probably don't yet need a chair.. need more to GET OFF the chair..specially the puter chair! anyway. This old body needs a GIANT TUMBLER and tanning supplies..LOTS of them.. and probably cheap labor. I ventured near the edge of the swamp today with a borrowed pair of workboots.. 'forgot my waders!' anyway I did hear some rustling in that tall laid down grass.. it sure was creepy and all the willow I collected this morning was just enough for 4 more hoops.. geez. then the pig wanted to run off with one of them! It was kinda fun too to collect them. The redwinged blackbirds were all over. Never saw quite so many at one time. Saw a forsale sign posted too.. hmmn.. a big MI swamp for sale.. Wouldn't have much lawn mowing to do there.. have to build your own causeway and have a lot of dirt hauled in to build there! Molly the potbelly pig sure seemed amused with the willow..she was running off with one in her mouth in this picture, lol. Loren.. cool dog..well not really, I'm not keen on those dogs at all.. have to be careful or they will run right into you! anyway my daughter brought a male and female home from AZ with her.. home to My house and had a litter last year and this year she finally gave the male away only to learn it was too late.. so we're nw having australian cowdog pups any day now! Maybe we can do some trading.. pup for beaver furs?
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Post by caretaker on Apr 14, 2010 18:07:05 GMT -5
I may not comment on some of the things y`all do but I am lookin and admiring.
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Post by paskinner on Apr 15, 2010 13:18:08 GMT -5
There are metal hoops that some of us modern trappers use, but I just nail them on a board. You can see two nailed on the particle board if you look close behind the hide. Here is a board the fur buyer just gave me, with all the sizes marked out, so you can just follow the loop as you nail. Also, this is 3/4 inch plywood, much nicer to work on than my flimsy particle board. I sold the hides last night. Those heelers can be tough dogs to deal with sometimes. They are smart and protective, so good guard dogs, but the males can be too protective. The neighbor's dog that was one of this one's pups will absolutely not let me near him. He's nipped me when I tried to feed him.This female has been a good dog, though.
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Post by Buckskin Billy on Apr 15, 2010 18:48:41 GMT -5
good looking plews pa. it wouldn't be to hard for a man to do that around here if he could make the time for it. beavers are every where in my neck of the woods. just can't get enough time to make very many sets. maybe next trapping seasons
while we are on the subject of making beaver hoops. i found a formula a while back on how to determine the size of a finished beaver pelt. maybe it will help others out. measure from nose to the bottom of the hide take that length and add half that to it. then add 2 to that measurement and then divide by 2. that will give you the length of your finished beaver, and should help out when hooping or using a board like pa has.
example if you have a beaver that measures 30 inches from nose to end you would add 15 to that. your answer is 45 add 2 to that which is 47 and then divide by 2. you'll have yourself a beaver pelt that measures 23.5 inches.
30 +15 = 45 45+2= 47
47 / 2= 23.5
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Post by joanne2 on Apr 16, 2010 6:24:53 GMT -5
Very interesting posts! Thanks for sharing the info. PA, do you just rely on the salting of the fleshed skins to retain the fur when the skins are nailed to the boards like that? I would be inclined to at least get them started drying with the shop vac or something prior to nailing the fur to the wood.. course I think the salt does infact pull the moisture out.. so perhaps overkill thinking on my part on that. That definately does look like a lot of work. You would really appreciate the pw'r. You could trap MORE beaver.. lol. Hope to see you having your own tumbler built someday and pickling and tanning all your own furs. Your post on hideout got me into checking out the washers in the first place.. trapperman forum thread link or something.. I can see paweaver now making and marketing fur hats and stuff!(as if she didn't already have enough goin on! isn't that a mouthful?
Keep trapping Billy! Yep..yer right.. definately not enough time in a day!!
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Post by paskinner on Apr 16, 2010 7:33:09 GMT -5
Joanne, Salting is a no-no for the regular fur market. We just flesh them well and tack to the boards. Usually have a fan running on them to start them drying. For the hides I tan, I often salt them, but not always. I just made up a big pickle the other day and crammed all the hides I had left from this season in it. Didn't want to lose them to the bugs. Coon, mink and a couple fox. So, I'll be tanning a fur now and then along with the deer hides. But, yeah, just don't have enough time or I'm not organized enough to get into doing a bunch of furs at this point.
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