I was wondering how long some of you people have been doing taxidermy?
I am just learning and i was wondering how long it took before you turned out quality mounts? I totally destroyed my first one because the form i ordered wasnt the right size and i attempted to alter( if thats what i can call it) and it looks horrible. No use in lying. I am dying to get my hands on something to try no matter what type of animal. Anothter question i have is if i dont have a fleshing machine can i still turn out a quality cape to mount? Do you think i should try DP until i get the hang of it then try tanning them or not? I have never tried using DP before and im wondering what process do you do before mounting the cape.
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Hi Jay,
I use a sumersible Tan (EZ-100) it works great,I take A eye to nose measurement before I start skinning cape,and then after cape is tanned I take the neck measurements,I've found this to work out best for me,like you when I started 2yrs.ago I ordered a few wrong forms.This Is only my opinion and there is alot of different ways.There is alot of good information on this forum and in the archives.Good luck and keep asking ?'s
but most important have fun!
Jeff S.
My first mount, a squirrel, also looks horrible. I tried mounting it on a form about 3 times to big for the skin. I got the skin on the hide after about two hours of forcing (it has rips in the skin in places from being stretched so much.) it was supposed to be running down a tree, but it wouldn't connect in between the back legs. i ended up cutting the back legs and having him stick out of a hole in the tree. a little paint, and a lot of work got the thing looking half way decent. There is a lesson in this story for you beginners. If it dosen't fit don't try to force it. Buy a new mannikin.
-Brandon
I got the skin on the form.
-Brandon
I'm sure most of us can say we destroyed a some kind of hide when we first started. So don't let that hurt or stop you. The main thing here is what kind of info do you have on hand. It's like this if you don't have any books tapes or hands on training it's going to be a little hard to learn. Even by having one book is not enough to get you through the learning process. It will take more than one to get a quality mount. How many will depend on your skills.
Now do you really need a fleshing machine? Nope, a person can produce a thin hide using all kinds of sharpe knifes. Their are tools in catologs that will do what your looking for at a reasonable price. The reason why most get a machine is that their doing more than 10 mounts a year and they tan thier own hides. If you intend to ship them out you have no reason to get one.
As for DP, my advise is stay away from it. Not saying it can't be done cause I have used it when I was learning but the difference in quality from using a tanned hide and one that is DP is a great difference. If you want to learn more about DP just type DP in the search engine here and you can get lots of answers.
Just take your time have fun and soon enough you will produce a quality hide. If you can join your local Association andget to know some folks there. They can help you out and if you can look at going to all the seminairs they have. Don't be afarid to ask questions.
The way you explaned your first mount is how we all started one way or another. You cant really put a time table on when one can produce quality. To some it comes naturally, to others well who knows. The best way to learn at home is through videos, closes to being there. WASCO has plenty. Order Breakthrough and taxidermytoday mags, lots of info. There are plenty of companys you can order hides from to practice on or buy from on this sight. I still have my first deer mount hidden in my basement,which I thought was really great then. Eight years later pretty embarrising. But with practice comes quality,each mount you do will be better than the last. Join your state assoc., go to they next convention and look, listen and learn, a real eyeopener. Franks advise was great, just added some of my own thoughts. Dont get discouraged, just enjoy and have fun.
but im not happy with the way it came out.Last night i tore up the stuff I did and im going to try and fix it to where its better than before. I have the A to Z with Sallie video and it has been a great help. I had the Van Dykes but it just wasnt as detailed as Sallies was.I tried the deer after the van dykes but after watching Sallies video I see about 7-8 things i would do diffrent on my next one. I live just outside of New Orleans and I was wondering if anybody knows of any seminars, competition or anythng else close by?