ok I have looked all thrugh the archives and I have found nothing that helps. I am going to mount a bobcat that is laying on a limb and I wanted to use real wood to save money and because it looks better but will it dry out in a couple of years and look realy bad is there any way I can keep it looking good I have oak and pine trees in my yard that i can use the pine is to sappy i think any help is welcome.
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I was just wondering the same thing myself, because I have a tree that's dead, that I was going to cut up for "den mounts".
I've seen mounts done on wood, and the wood looks fine many years later. I think it has to do more with the care put in to the mount after it goes to it's final home, then the actual wood specie itself.
I mean look at driftwood, it's porous and water-rotted, but it always keeps a good appearance if taken care of.
If you mount your cat on real wood, you might have to use that computer air duster stuff, or your air compressor, to get the dust out of the cracks in the wood. Obviously you won't use Pledge.
Should natural wood bases be sealed in some way? Shellac, spray-on, matte spray, etc?
Hey Stanley, I think if you use a tree with a thin smooth bark Vs. one with a thick rough bark, you will be better off, as the thin bark will not sluff off like the thick one will after drying. Also, if you dry it indoors it will look better. Good Luck !
Order one. Have you ever heard of Rainforest Cafe? The company that supplies them with all of the beautiful habitat is called Commercial Silk Int'l. www.commercialsilk.com or call them at 800-241-2718 You may be able to get what you need from them. Good Luck.
Dan Hudzik
I build longbows and the best way to dry them is in the attic or garage, however it does take a while. You can put a good coat of polyurethane on the ends to keep the moisture from escaping through the ends of the wood, this causes cracking and checking and will ruin the wood. For a longbow it is disastrous. Hard woods do much better than soft woods such as pine because of the sap. After you have dried the wood you can cut off the polyurethaned ends if you don't want it glossy and spray the wood with matte finish to protect the wood. If you need it soon you might try to find someone that can kiln dry it for you.
just use hose clamps on the ends if the limb is small enough. That is really all the poly urethane will do is keep the ends from splitting open or you could even use spray paint if you want to cut it off. If you do decide to go with a heavy barked wood to keep it from flaking off over time. Put a spray on matte poly urethane on all of the bark surfaces about 3 to 4 coats dont sand it but try to keep it looking natural. The poly will make a shell around the bark and prevent it from coming off.
if hose clamps are used, the wood may have enough strength to break them. I don't know this for a fact but you might be surprised at the strength natural occurrences have. For instance: If you put highly expansive dry clay in a jar and add water it will break the jar. So as the wood dries and tries to split it may break the clamps. I may try it just to see if it works. Good idea about the matte finish on the bark Pooch.