soft tanning

[buckscouting]

just wandering i just built a 6ft tall tumbler im just wandering how long will i have to tumble a hide to make it soft this is new to me so i would like a little help please   

[Keith Daniels]

It depends on a lot of things. Type of skin, oil, tan, degreasing, shaving, drum RPM, baffle/peg design in drum, total load in drum etc. You'll just have to play with it and see. Start with about an hour and go from there. You might be fine with that, especially on light skins. If you need more softening just keep increasing the time until you get what you're after.

[teepeetommy]

I used a 6x4 tumbler with paddles and fingers to flip the hides (the fingers also gave a good contact point when the hides fell onto them). The larger the load the better ( towels can be used in place of furs along with a little bit of sawdust).  It's running at 18 rpms. I tumbler for one hour then hand stake/staking machine and let dry some more. I tumble/stake between 2-6 times depending on the hide.

[MVT]

I use a 7' x 4' drum that turns at approx 20rpm. 8"x 3/4" paddles. I don't know what kind of hide you are softening, but here is an example of what I would do for a black bear after tanning, shaving and degreesing.

1. oil, I use Satinol and mix 50/50 oil and water. Heating the oil and water helps it penetrate better.
2. after oiling roll hide skin to skin and let sweat over night or at least 8 hours.
3. open hide and give second light oil. I will scrape the hide with a paint scraper at this time to help break the fibers and let the oil penetrate better. 
4. hang or stretch hide and let dry to approx 75% dry. A fully dried hide will not break as easy.
5. drum in 200# of corn grit or sawdust median with 1/2 gallon of mineral spirits mixed in to help clean and degrease.
6. drum for approx 2 hours then pull hide out and let it finish dry for another day. Drum again for approx 2 to 4 hours depending on hide thickness.
5. screen for approx. another 4 hours to finish breaking and remove corn grit or sawdust.

I like to run 3-6 bears at a time to help with the breaking process. The more hides the better.

Now here is the real kicker...I am learning it is a lot easier to send the hide to a reputable tannery than continue to break my back
Anyone in AK want to by a drum?

[buckscouting]

thanks for the replies i will try it out of course on my own hides

[Talane]

I use a 7' x 4' drum that turns at approx 20rpm. 8"x 3/4" paddles. I don't know what kind of hide you are softening, but here is an example of what I would do for a black bear after tanning, shaving and degreesing.

1. oil, I use Satinol and mix 50/50 oil and water. Heating the oil and water helps it penetrate better.
2. after oiling roll hide skin to skin and let sweat over night or at least 8 hours.
3. open hide and give second light oil. I will scrape the hide with a paint scraper at this time to help break the fibers and let the oil penetrate better. 
4. hang or stretch hide and let dry to approx 75% dry. A fully dried hide will not break as easy.
5. drum in 200# of corn grit or sawdust median with 1/2 gallon of mineral spirits mixed in to help clean and degrease.
6. drum for approx 2 hours then pull hide out and let it finish dry for another day. Drum again for approx 2 to 4 hours depending on hide thickness.
5. screen for approx. another 4 hours to finish breaking and remove corn grit or sawdust.

I like to run 3-6 bears at a time to help with the breaking process. The more hides the better.

Now here is the real kicker...I am learning it is a lot easier to send the hide to a reputable tannery than continue to break my back
Anyone in AK want to by a drum?

Haha, my family heads up there every summer, but we have no place to put a tumbler! It would just sit and rust on our land, like the 4 broken down Subaru Loyales...

[muscle20]

  wadem   If you have to drum your black bear for 2hrs then another 2- 4 hours, and then another 4 hours in the cage, I believe that there is something wrong with your process, black bear are relatively the same thickness after shaving, I drum black bear for 15 to 30 mins. then break by hand, then if I want them a little more supple another 15 to 30 mins., then maybe 15 to 20 mins. in the cage, I also dry the skins out 100% for the drum, just saying I think it is a little odd that you have to drum for that length of time, never heard of that before.

[MVT]

muscle20...not sure what you are doing but black bears are not the same thickness after shaving as they are before. On the belly and flank maybe..but not the back, neck and head. Also it depends on whether it is a spring bear or fall bear. Fall bears are a lot thicker than spring. Yes...you are correct... a small spring bear will break in 30 or 40 minutes. but you are probably not cleaning and degreesing them completely in that time. If 20 minutes works for you and you want to hand break them go for it. I have no intention of hand breaking and I want them cleaned and fluffy...so I let them run.