Pressure washing

[summitsitter]

I've seen some comments in here about pressure washing during fleshing ..Would somebody please explain in depth this to me

[Dean]

You need at least a 3000 psi pressue washer. You also need a turbo tip. It has a pulsating action to it. I bought a seperate handle and trigger and made a short wand with a brass fitting. I turn the lips eyes and ears and flesh around them when you first try it.  I have a big tarp spread out and have the side furthest from me held up with a couple steel rods. This acts as a back stop. I hang the hide over the beam and fire up the washer. Keep the hide flat with out any wrinkles. Spray at an angle and move it across the the hide working your way from the top to the bottom. Move the wand back and forth in a cutting type motion. You will see the meat and flesh get pushed away from the skin and roll down the hide in big chunks. If you hold it in one place you risk cutting a hole in the hide. It can blow right through if you get careless. Keep your fingers away from the front of the water pressure. It hurts like hell. I'd rather get smacked across the knuckles with a big stick. It hurts less. It doesn't take long to get the hang of it fleshing. After you get used to it I now flesh the lips and around the eyes with the pressure washer. You need to keep the wand at a sharper angle for that. It's a lot easier to blow a hole in those thin areas. I wear a rain suit and rubber boots when I flesh. You will get wet. I will  turn lips ears and eyes on a bunch of capes in the eary morning then the afternoon I start to spray. After the lips are turned I can flesh the tissue completely off the lips and around the nose and eyes right down to the skin then flesh the rest of the cape in about 7-9  minutes. If the hide is a little dry it is instanly rehydrated. Any blood in the skin is washed clean and white. A full bear is about done in about 15 -20 minutes. Including  the face and lips clean of all tissue.  No fat left anywhere on the hide. i hang the hides to drain as they get done. Then salt them. To clean upI let the mess sit for an hour or so to give the water a chance to drain away. You then can squeege the fleshings into a pile and scoop up or do like I do. I flesh everything out behind the shop, and dig a hole next to the tarp. Then squeege every thing into the hole and fill it in.  It suck I can't do it now because of the cold weather. I'll do a bunch as soon as I hear a warming pattern coming in. Good luck. It works great just messy, but well worth the time savings.

[summitsitter]

Thanks Dean I think I got it now. Only thing is what is the pulsating tip for.  Why not a regular one

[joeym]

The turbo tip provides a pushing/cutting action that a flat tip will not provide.  If I had to stop pressure washing, I would discontinue mammal taxidermy. 

[Dean]

The reg. tip is straight pressure. Like Joe said above, The turbo tip pulsates and gives you the cutting action needed to remove the tissue. I tried it myself with a regular tip abd was disapointed in how it worked. Then I researched it some more and found out about the turbo tip. It waorks great. I'm sure you can find them from a farm supply place or building supply place. I got mine at Northern tools and supplies.