Im 15 and very interested in taxidermy. I have read many of the messages here at the forum, and think it is a great thing.I have salted hides and tacked them to the wall. But i have never mounted anything. As I prepare to mount my first squirrel I dont know if i should use dry preserve or tan the hide. I know they are two very different aproaches but which one should i use. What are the pros and cons of each. thanks
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Use the orange button on the left, it been covered a lot. Good Luck.
If you want to mount a squirrel DP will work fine cause the skin is so thin. For any thing thicker than a squirrel or a rabbit NEEDS to be tanned. The DP won't go all the way through the skin.
The only good thing about DP is its cheap. The list of bad things is to long to list here. The biggest of which is humidity. The smallest amount of it and you will have a raw skin on the wall.
The worst thing about tanning is the cost. We don't use special home brews. Or one hour cures. All of our tanning is sent out to a tannery. The cost gets passed on to the customer. And yes you should charge them for it.
If all you have is salted skins, go out and get a fresh squirrel to use. Have fun and enjoy.
thank you all for the info I will see how my squirrel turns out
Let us know how it turns out.
I still have my Squirrel mounts from 1940's and 1950's which I used Borax according to Leon L Pray's Method...no bugs...no fallen hair...no shrinkage...all still look great.
I washed and soaked the skins in solution of cold Water, Borax and few drops of phenol per gallon...dry with towel and air...Borax preserve and mount.
flesh the hide well and soak in denatured alchohol for about 30 minutes because squirels tend to slip if your not so lucky.then rub in dp.the dp will do a good job.the borax bug proofs not preserves.
Theoretically it sounds okay...but you're not preserving a frog in alchohol...it'll ruin the skin.
Brand New...Drop me a line by E-mail if you need further help.
Tell that to Leon L Pray's ghost and my fifty and sixty year old specimens still as good as new.
J W Elwood's method was the going-way back then...still works...Drey Preservatives have Borax in them...it's the basic ingredient according to the formulas I've seen over the past sixty years.
But...whatdahell duz ETCC no...rite?
Was good for Teddy Roosevelt's Mounts too...from where where he also learned Taxidermy..