mountain lion

[joe54]

hello, i posted over a week ago bout fitting a mountain lion. in the beginning there was a huge gap. since then i have deepened the relief cuts, and shaved the form majorly. the fitting is way better now, except above the front shoulders , theres bout a 2 inch gap now. so im wondering what i should do to get the front shoulder area to fit?  thank you for any help.

[George Roof]

Joe, did you cut relief cuts in those "arm pits" of the front legs?  I you didn't that's your holdup.

[joe54]

yes. i even deepened the front relief cuts today too. and that one side of skin just wont reach over the top of the shoulder.

[*]

Take some girth off the INSIDE of the front legs above the elbow. it might be hanging  up the available skin you need to get it on top. As you get higher on that front leg mass will increase dramatically and this is a tight stop to get past. GET A TON OF GLUE IN THAT LEG ALSO. It might help but without seeing it's difficult to recommend a solution.
Bet you wished it was a ventral cut now ... LOL
Sorry, I'm just joking with you.

[joe54]

thanks for the advice, for the past 3 days ive test fitted that thing like 20 times lol. im ready for it to say permanently! ya, i wish it was cut wit a belly incision, but thats how it was given to me       but i will overcome 

[George Roof]

I suspect in 3 days of test fitting, your problems are getting bigger.  Take a spray bottle of WARM water and add a few drops of clothes softener (Downey, etc.).  Mist your hide with it.  The Downey makes water wetter and it will penetrate better.  Then as "*" says, use LOTS of glue.  It allows the hide to slip up easier and it keeps the hide moist for final adjusting.  The dorsal cut actually works quiet well, though I would never use it on a short haired animal like a cougar. (I'm such a crappy seamstress is the reason).

[BWS]

George...i use the fab softner too....

But i just HAD to ask....how in the world do you make water wetter? 

[George Roof]

Sheila, the term means that water will actually be less viscous.  Water has a surface tension that often makes it too thick to penetrate many fibers.  Downey is a "surfactant" (SURFace ACTive AgeNT).  That means that it chemically reduces that surface tension and allows the water to penetrate areas that would not have been possible in its natural state.  So actually, the water DOES become wetter.

[BWS]

ok, ok...it just SOUNDS really funny....LOL

[joe54]

Thank You much for the information, thats some info that i never would of thought of on my own. I'll give it all a try and then ill let yall know how it goes, cuz i know you all are just dieing to know LOL LOL  .  Thanks.