After skinning out an animal the hide is very wet. What do you do to try the hide out so that you can turn the lips and things. Do you salt it right away to pull out some of the mositure? Then use the fleshing board the next day?
Return to Beginners Category Menu
I flesh right away, removing as much fat and meat as possible, but not worrying too much about the membrane and little stuff. Then I salt for 24 hrs at an incline, and the next day, shake off old salt and resalt.
It's cold right now where I am, so the salt doesn't dry the hide out as quickly. After it fairly dry, but not too hard, I flesh it again and remove the membrane.
mike
A deer's hide is much like a sponge. And i use a very liberal amount of salt to draw out as much moisture as possible before i place the hide in a pickle solution. This allows the hide to absorb as much of the pickle as possible. The thing you need to remember is that it is very important to turn the lips, ears, and nose BEFORE you salt the hide to allow the salt to draw moisture out of these key areas. So to answer your question you need to turn the lips, ears, and nose while the hide is wet and slippery. Which seems a bit difficult but with practice you'll be able to do this with little effort. I recommed using a scalpel on the lips and nose because a sharp blade is a must, and just take your time untill you get the hang of it. If you haven't invested in a set of ear splitters you need to do so now. Only around $15 from most suppliers. And once again just take your time and don't focus on turning them completely at this point. It's better to stay back 1/8 of an inch than to tear the seam. You will turn them completey after it's been in a pickle.
This is just my method. And there are as many methods as there are taxidermists. I will tell you that I was taught by one of the best taxidermists in the country and i've been doing this a while.
I hope this helps. Good luck with your cape and if you have anymore questions just ask, I'd be happy to help.