Problem with neck stretching.

[skinner26]

I have been measuring my whitetail necks after skinning. And on one cape I got 19" then after two days on salt I put it in pickle for 2 days then shaved on machine and neutralize. Then measure and tan with liquid tan. But am only getting 17 1/2". Am I doin something wrong? Should I neutralize, tan let set over night then take my measurements?

[Justin P.]

Try rehydrating the skins before the pickle.  That will help tremendously.

[skinner26]

They never dry out that much. But I guess I could try it.

[Randy Miller]

As you handle and process  a hide, they elongate. After tan, you must strech a hide before measuring.

[skinner26]

Thanks Randy. I figured out to I needed to shave them more to. I was not gettin them thin enough. But got it all good now.

 Thanks for the help

[duxdown]

Buy or just build you a hydralic neck stretcher, thats what I use. I take my meat measurments, salt, pickle, shave, pickle maybe shave abit more, neutralize, tan then throw on the stetcher and wala, it will slip right on the form.
I get some shrinkage just like most others but it will come right back.
Well works for me anyway.

[GWebb]

I used to have the same problem, but I done as Justin said and started re-hydrating them for 20 to 30 minutes in water with nothing added then rinsing before putting them in the pickle. It made a tremendous difference in the stretch of the cape. It used to be it was tough getting a 19" cape back to 19", now I see how people can put that cape on a 20" form. Plus it keeps the pickle much cleaner. I got in a rush last year prior to heading out of the shop and didn't soak one, just threw it in the pickle after salting...I could tell a big difference when I went to shave them a few days later.
 

[Justin P.]

Add some LipaSolve 55 from TruBond to that rehydration bath.  Follow the directions.  You'll see such a difference.
Just today I took a cow buffalo for a shoulder mount that had been salted since Saturday.  I measured the neck prior to rehydrating.  I couldn't pull it past 25 inches behind the ears despite my best efforts.  Just got done rehydrating it for an hour or so and put the tape across and got an easy 32".  Rehydrating is a very important.  It might seem like another mundane step in the tanning process but once you see / notice the difference in results it will be your favorite step!

[nts2010]

If you have a short y cut cape , use an inner tube to stretch it , moisten the cape to what you need then push a tube up inside the cape and apply a bit of air , this will take the cape to its MAXIMUM size , any more than this and the cape will tear .   

[Frank E. Kotula]

one other thing is are you shaving them thin enough to get them back to that size?

[WildNatureLuver]

[Hazmat]

I have been measuring my whitetail necks after skinning. And on one cape I got 19" then after two days on salt I put it in pickle for 2 days then shaved on machine and neutralize. Then measure and tan with liquid tan. But am only getting 17 1/2". Am I doin something wrong? Should I neutralize, tan let set over night then take my measurements?

I was looking up some info on here a ran across this post. Skinner 26 don't feel bad man. I've been having the same problem. I haven't been re-hydrating my hides either. I been salting for 2 days, rinsing hide off in cold water for about 2-3 min, then in to the pickle for 2-3 days. then shave it, little bit more finish work on the face area, neutralized, stretching, measuring, and then rub on tan(McKenzie tan) let set over night, wash, and remeasure. Not always but often I'll will come up short 1-2 inches.

I was thinking of shaving the hides more also but these SC deer has sort of thin hides any ways and with the tick damage I have to deal with, there is a fine line between blue tone ( hair butts) and brown tone( hair, hole in hide)  when shaving. I'm going to give re-hydrating a try. hopefully this will some solve my problem.

 Also read in a catalog, after shaving, put hide back in pickle for 3-8 hours. Was going to try this. I was just wondering will this help or is it a unneeded step. Any info on this will be appreciated.

[nts2010]

Sorry to sound blunt but ...............1> always pickle again after shaving . 2 > measure your cape after tanning not before . 3 > dont eat & drink too much over xmas , leave that job to me . cheers Peter

[HeadzUp]

I'm a taxidermist, not a machinist BUT--how the heck do u build a stretcher. Probably an easy task to some. Not me. Anyone have any links or guides to building one? 

[hairy perch]

McKenzie builds real nice ones