I have heard that you can make a tumbler for small animals and birds from a clothers dryer with the heating element unhooked-- has anyone every done this and how does it work? Dryers with no heat are everywhere- to bad dryers that work aren't. thanks good luck to you all
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Plug up all the holes on the back of the interior drum, unhook the heat element as you said, add your cob and there you go, I have one ever since I saw another taxi friend of mine use one, worked great for him so I tried it and works very good, I used it for deer capes and all types of mammals. My friend used his for my zebra lifesize and a moose cape, that's what sold me on the idea. A great fix if you cannot afford a real tumbler. One fault though, any capes you put in there, you will need to prop the door shut, all the weight in there turning and bumping against the door will cause it to open if you don't. Have a great day...
I stold my wifes dryer when she bought a new model. I use towels and use the no heat setting for tumbling, when you are done run the towels with the heat turned on to dry the towels. You must be careful not to run the heat on your capes! Sawdust in a dryer will just fall out the bottom between the drum and housing and make one hell of a mess . Been there done that.
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Cm, LOTS of things WORK, but if you are serious about taxidermy, this idea is a piece of crap. Aside from the mess and the work involved in covering holes and disconnecting heating elements, the tub is too small for larger birds and game.
Believe it or not there were only 146 posts either detailing how they are built, or questioning if they worked okay. Of cource I only searched on dryer and tumbler - not drier or dryor or tombler or tummbler, etc.
I use a dryer on mostly small mammals and capes but have done some real dandies in it. I use corn cob grit and chunks of 2x4 in it and seems to give me some really soft nice hides. I also will throw some mineral spirits in there to help clean the fur. The only problem is that YES it can and will make a mess on you. EASY FIX with a broom and dustpan! Good Luck. Dan Hudzik
Boy, am I glad I don't live next door to you. I would suggest writing the phone number of your local fire department next to your phone.