I am a self taught taxidermist and have done around twenty deer heads and none of them have been thinned down with a commercial fleshing machine. I do take alot of time though to make sure all the flesh is removed from the hide. Other than the fact that it would save a considerable amount of time in the fleshing process is there any other advantage in thinning the hide down? Your response would be appreciated. Thank You.
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James....
I find it easier to mount as I get more stretch and less shrinkage, of course then I have got some a little too thin. Just my 2 cents!
God Bless,
Dave in Hot Springs, S.D.
James,
I'm not real sure as to what you mean by "thinning down the hide." This is a general rule when pickling capes, they plump up from the acid and need to be taken down. They're shaved thin and even and then tanned. You'd never get them on the form otherwise. If you're trying to thin down a raw cape I can't even imagine the difficulty. The skin would be all gummy and just an unpleasant experience I'm sure. I know a lot of people do flesh their raw hides on a fleshing machine and proceed with DP, but they aren't really thinning them down so to speak.
Sorry Leah you can shave a raw hide down on a fleshing machine pior to mounting it. I'm not a DP user but I can shave a raw hide thin enough to mount. It takes a sharp blade,proper set up and a bit of skill.
I use Ben Mears method on whitetails quit often. There is not acid involved and I can shave down a skin to paper thin. Like Frank said, a Razor sharp blade is a must. I shave until the entire cape appears Blue/Gray, which is the hair butts showing through. My shrinkage is very, very minimal. By not shaving your skins, you are asking for shrinkage and continued shrinkage over time. Good Luck.
otherwise it looks like you didn't shave the cape.
JT
James, dont mix the two terms. Shaving is different then fleshing. Fleshing the meat, fat and connective tissues from a cape when its raw is a must to good salt penetration, as well as the rest of the tanning process. Shaving, on the other hand, is reducing the thickness of the hide. I dont agree with some of the posts on here about shaving to thin those capes, even though they are friends of mine. To me, the only effective way to thin those hides is to swell them through the pickle stage, as Leah said. I dont want to shave a raw hide or green hide to the roots. Especially early season capes, when the hair hasnt erupted fully from the hide. Swelling it and cutting it away and then neutralizing is the way I prefer, with all due respect to other opinions here. But I wanted to let you know that shaving is thinning, fleshing is removing meat, etc.