Since it's winter, I may as well start a fire, so here goes. If you are truly just beginning in taxidermy, please, PLEASE don't get caught up in all the hype that seems to have taken this industry over about tanning your own hides.
Sure, you should know how to tan and at least ONCE, you should try it, but don't get the cart before the horse. IF YOU ARE A BEGINNER, be more concerned with proper fleshing techniques, tucking lips, sculpting eyelids, setting ear butts, and eliminating drumming. Dry preservative is not a voodoo tool. Compensate for its extreme drying qualities by using a good glue (and be careful with epoxy as a BEGINNER). Again, concentrate on TECHNIQUE.
Tannning, like taxidermy, isn't rocket science, but it's no sin to send your hides out to professionals. You no longer make your mannikins or paint your own flint eyes, so what's the big deal about NOT TANNING?
Having said all that, I truly believe that a tanned hide gives a much better product in the end, but TIME will do the same thing. My first mounts were simply grotesque (Now they've improved to "terrible", but that's another story). So a tanned hide on your first mount is NOT going to look as good as a tanned hide on your 1,000th mount..BANK ON IT.
Sometimes energetic beginners become overwhelmed with the complexities of the business. Not worrying about pH, and hair slippage allow you to concentrate on more important things. Take it one step at a time. When you order that WASCO kit and it comes with DP in it, don't act as if you've stolen milk money. Use it and learn from it. There'll be more than enough time for you to worry about tanning when you get the proper techniques down.
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I 2nd that. From a beginner.
In my opinion . you posted some very no nonsense , down to earth advice to beginners . I started out using DP , seemed like an easier , softer way . Progressed to the brush on liquid tans , then , because I wanted to become a well rounded taxidermist , learned about the " Real " tanning methods . This is the method that I use today . It took time though , and I believe that this is the best advice that one can give the beginner , Dont Rush It ! Learn from the ground up , be willing to make mistakes , ask questions , be proud of your progress ! Thanks again for the post George .
Ron
Good points, George. That being said, when I was 12 I mounted my first deer. That was 34 years ago. I took the time to pickle, tan, and proceded to mount it using the most modern techniques known to me at the time. I was rewarded with a mount that has continued to stand the test of time. The buck was a 26" wide WT that my grandfather killed and I still treasure it as a family heritage. Let me mention the fact also that it still looks like a deer shoulder mount that was a 12 yr old budding taxidermist's first mount...horribly disfigured, misshapen,bug-eyed,eyelid-less,drummed ears,grinning as if it shares the secret of my first taxidermy moments...DP would have allowed me to accomplish my first proud as well...