what am i left with? hide an a bucket of water

[WhelanLad]

gday gents,
what do i have if i soak a deer hide in a bucket of alum and salt ........ for a few days?

 

[maple_leaf_eh]

The short answer is a wet slippery deer hide. Which when it dries is going to be very stiff. If I recall correctly, it has to stay immersed for a couple of weeks, and when it comes out, the hide has to be worked. Stretched flat or pulled, then neatsfoot oil rubbed into the flesh side. Do your homework, because I'm working on a half-memory and one cup of morning coffee.

 

[WhelanLad]

The short answer is a wet slippery deer hide. Which when it dries is going to be very stiff. If I recall correctly, it has to stay immersed for a couple of weeks, and when it comes out, the hide has to be worked. Stretched flat or pulled, then neatsfoot oil rubbed into the flesh side. Do your homework, because I'm working on a half-memory and one cup of morning coffee.

haha,naah you're right mate.. but is it preserved? tanned? etc..

or do i have to chrome bath it to 'tan' it, i wanna backyard taxidermy my deers, an i got heaps lol. some are pickling now, in alum an salt...i've read that'l preserve em to mount.

 

[trevj]

Not tanned, just soaked.

As i understand, a long soak serves to make removing the hairs a lot easier.

IANAT.

I Am Not A Taxidermist!

 

[New Camper]

proper tanning requires tannin. Traditionally a hide would be soaked long enough to scrape out hairs and old layers of skin before having a few months bath in water with ground up oak bark (contains the tannin). Then they'd be oiled. There are other products today...

 

[yomomma]

Everys animals brain contains enough tannins to tan their hide.

 

[Suther]

Everys animals brain contains enough tannins to tan their hide.

What's the best way of getting the brain out for such a use?

 

[WhelanLad]

yeah ive tanned hides with brains, thats a no brainer.

will look into the alum salt more, worst case putit in the chrome bath too

 

[WhelanLad]

What's the best way of getting the brain out for such a use?

skull cap it, simply remove.

 

[ricochet]

Soaking a hide for a few days in a salt and vinegar solution works much better for the 'pickling' phase. Use non-iodized salt (avoid possible brown stainingj.

I've found the hair stability depends upon the temperature the hide was exposed-to (colder is better) and the time from kill/skinning/pickling.

After pickling, apply a tanning solution along with working the hide as it dries.