There's been some interest in mimicking Rick Krane's Sunday Morning Question for generalized taxidermy questions. Bill Yox was requested, and I'm a poor substitute, but I think it's a bit unfair to Bill to expect him to ask questions when he augments his income by teaching. Anyway, that's my excuse and I'm sticking with it. Here are 10 questions designed for the "Beginner". If there's little or no interest, the feature dies on my part.
1. On animals smaller than coyotes, do you use dry preservative, shop tanning, or commercial tanning? Why?
2.What is the biggest difference, if any, between mounting an African impala and a whitetail?
3. When mounting a squirrel, do you remove the tail? Explain.
4. When mounting a duck, do you use the ventral or the lateral knee to knee incision? Why?
5.What method do you use to support your ears? Earliners, Bondo, Magic Ear, hide paste or other?
6. What type of replacement septums, if any, do you use on commercial work?
7. What type jawsets do you prefer?
8. What type of thread do you use on elk sized game and why?
9. On waterfowl, what do you do with the feet? Do you inject, card, repro, etc.?
10. Bonus: Explain Gloger's Rule
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1.
I was tanning them in the shop. I have now found a guy that will do it all thirty minutes from me and very reasonable. The reason is I just don't like DP for mammals. All of the mounts I have had done for me if they stay together or not, just don't look as good down the road as tanned.
2.
Never done one. I have my guess but, it would probably be wrong. I would have to reasearch it using the archives and ordering a video then taking a workshop, if I ever take one in.
3.
I have only done a few but I didn't remove the tail. I did use a tail puller and remove the bone. I just snip the tail bone at the body and continue to skin. Once the body is out then I remove the tail bone.
4.
Ventral. Just the way I was taught.
5.
earliners with epoxy. Never have any more problems with them that way. I have tried liners with reg. hidepaste, some turned out good some drummed. Tried bondo a few times and the ears just came out to thick, and some drummed. Tried ear magic, got some thick spots which I think caused my troubles with the ear magic cracking while trying to shape the ear better after mounting, no drumming though.
6.
I either use mini septums or speed septums. Just depends on the mood I am in. Most of the time its the Mini. No one has looked up the nose yet. I think I am going to start just using the speed septums until I raise my prices more.
7.
Mohr is what I have been using. I am not sure I know what you mean. They look good to me though.
8.
I use the black waxed thread doubled up on anything bigger then a deer. I have only done one bigger then a deer though. Just happenned to be an elk. I also use it on lifesize mamals bobcat and larger single lined.
9.
inject and card. check two hours, later re-inject and check the next day and watch for the next 7 days.
10. I would have to look it up and then I would lose all of the stuff I just typed. LOL bet you figured that would happen didn't you. I am still looking up crickets right now so I will wait to read someone else's response.
11. Rick got you over now you go get him over. JK of course.
Well, I'm not a beginner but I sure aint no fish guy either, so Ricky's questions are usually things I cant answer. But I kinda like the idea so I'm gonna give you my response anyway.
1
commercial tan, there's entirely too much time invested to do it in house, period.
2
Other than the limit in form positions and hair length and the fact you need to bondo the horn back to the core? There usually in some sort of bad shape. Other than that, you get a lot more to mount an impala than a whitetail
3
Don't do'em and if i did I would, gotta get all that bug food out.
4
dont do all that many and have changed to knee to knee, less incision length to screw up the sewing on
5
earliners, cartilidge liner adhesive on the inside and derma grip on the outside, or should that be front and back on the inside
6
carved foam covered with a thin layer of bodo
7
anything that looks good and is completely painted when it comes out of the box. that and we usually try to talk customers out of it or just make it too expensive, if they go for it then at least you're really getting paid for it
8
Kevlar, no stretch, in fact it's all we use. No sense in using a spear and rope if your looking to hide your sewing.
9
I make all mine bedded so you cant see the feet. The contractor handling my birds injects them
10
This chick named Glenda wanted to be a guy and got a sex change. Then changed her name to Roger. Since we all knew her before she was a he we merged the name. Gloger. The rule is we dont want to know anything about the operation or it standing next to us at the urinal.
1. On animals smaller than coyotes, do you use dry preservative, shop tanning, or commercial tanning? Why? in house tanning i can pressure flesh and liqua tan with little time invested and materials
2.What is the biggest difference, if any, between mounting an African impala and a whitetail? never mounted an impala, but the skin would be different and the finish work would be longer
3. When mounting a squirrel, do you remove the tail? Explain.
i pull the tail bone out and then i have a mold for tails and i then make one
4. When mounting a duck, do you use the ventral or the lateral knee to knee incision? Why? i've done them both ways prefer the leg to leg doesn't interfere with misaligned feather patterns
5.What method do you use to support your ears? Earliners, Bondo, Magic Ear, hide paste or other? liners
6. What type of replacement septums, if any, do you use on commercial work?eppley septums or bighorn
7. What type jawsets do you prefer? i've used mohr & Noonkester like noonies little better
8. What type of thread do you use on elk sized game and why? fireline
thats all i use
9. On waterfowl, what do you do with the feet? Do you inject, card, repro, etc.? inject with masters blend
10. Bonus: Explain Gloger's Rule
1.Shop tan. Why not? It is easy to do, you will learn something, and unless you have hundreds to do, you got the time.
2.The hack rule applies here, I haven't had an African animal in my hands yet.
3. Whats a squirrel?
4.Whats a duck?
5.I like earliners with Buckeye hide paste. Quick set epoxies leave my ears with thick edges, I cant seem to get them as thin, as I can with hide paste.
6.I dremel some, and for some I use Epply noses.
7. Unpainted, I used Joe Coombs hog sets with his forms; they all seem to need the same adjustments on each. At least they are consistently off the same.
8. Hack rule here again, is a Caribou close.? I use fire line now on everything heavy. And small diameter nylon for sewing ears and small stuff.
9. Sorry, hack rule here again.
10. Bonus: Explain Gloger's Rule
a rule which states that within the same species of endotherms, more heavily pigmented forms tend to be found near the equator and lighter forms away from the equator. Endotherms are bird and mammals like us that can hold the same internal temperature, no matter what the outside body temperature is.
1. On animals smaller than coyotes, do you use dry preservative, shop tanning, or commercial tanning? Why?
I tan with EZ100 for all mammals. Why? Because I like it.
2.What is the biggest difference, if any, between mounting an African impala and a whitetail?
Cant answer that one, but i would imagine the shorter coat would require presision mounting and also the African tanning methods would give problems.
3. When mounting a squirrel, do you remove the tail? Explain.
Cant answer that one either but i would remove the tail as i do on foxes & rabbits.
4. When mounting a duck, do you use the ventral or the lateral knee to knee incision? Why?
I have only done a few but I used the ventral. Why? Thats the way I was shown and it works.
5.What method do you use to support your ears? Earliners, Bondo, Magic Ear, hide paste or other?
depends what I am doing. Deer get earliners, goats bog/bondo, pigs bondo, foxes either bondo or apoxie sculpt depending on attitude.
6. What type of replacement septums, if any, do you use on commercial work?
Have used speed septums for deer.
7. What type jawsets do you prefer?
Mohr. Boars are different though, clients here want the real thing despite the warnings.
8. What type of thread do you use on elk sized game and why?
Sinew or fireline. Strength. Though i do tend to cut my fingers to bits with the fireline.
9. On waterfowl, what do you do with the feet? Do you inject, card, repro, etc.?
Inject. Card if needed for mount.
10. Bonus: Explain Gloger's Rule
A zoological term meaning darker pigmented 'things' of a species will be nearer the Equator and lighter pigmented 'things' of a species will be further way. Wilhelm lambert gloger.
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1. On animals smaller than coyotes, do you use dry preservative, shop tanning, or commercial tanning? Why? I had grown used to tanning them...but it is faster and easier to DP and I have never had problems.
2.What is the biggest difference, if any, between mounting an African impala and a whitetail? Clearly, I dont tan my own African stuff. They come in one type...short hair and I have yet to mount one "short incision"!
3. When mounting a squirrel, do you remove the tail? Explain. No...I used to...when I tanned squirel skins (which I dont do anymore), I would mount the tail the day it came in DP and pose it fresh. They had so much more "bounce"!
4. When mounting a duck, do you use the ventral or the lateral knee to knee incision? Why? Ventral...the feathers are so dense, I never concerned myself with concealing the icision...just the way I learned and it works for me...not turkeys though.
5.What method do you use to support your ears? Earliners, Bondo, Magic Ear, hide paste or other? Bondo for commercial deer...custom cast earliners for comp deer, although I havent done that in several years.
6. What type of replacement septums, if any, do you use on commercial work? Comercial work...I like speed septums but done like the extra expense. I make them with textured milk containers. Cut them out...tint flesh and draw some veining on the backside with a red fine point sharpie.
7. What type jawsets do you prefer? Custom cast. I mold small , med and large of different species in RTV and cast my own as needed... Saves alot of expense in the long run..
8. What type of thread do you use on elk sized game and why? I use bow string on big game. Works well...
9. On waterfowl, what do you do with the feet? Do you inject, card, repro, etc.? Inject...and card.
10. Bonus: Explain Gloger's Rule
Ooooh! Good one!I dont know the details of this but it has something to do with pigmentation of mammals and their relative location to tropical regions... or the equator or something like that...Ill have to look that one up and get more info!
By the way...thanks George! I think this type of thing is the best use of this site!
Hmmm, I miss all the good posts! Someone might wanna explain...
If you look in the taxidermy industry and seek out the post "sunday mourning questions" I think Ken was asking you to.
Im with Mr T whats a squirrel and a duck?
1. I have used mainly shop tanning, but am now starting to send out more to commercial tanneries due to time constraints. (I am much busier now than when I started 2 years ago.)
2. Never done an impala or any African animal yet.
3. I have not removed any tails (on purpose! lol) although this method sounds interesting and I will try it in the future.
4.Ventral- thats the way I was taught.
5. Usually earliners with Epo-Grip; I even take the cartilage out!(George will like that). When I started out I used liners with the cartilage in and used McKenzies' two-part adhesive.
6.Speed septums sometimes.
7. Mohr finished.
8. Never done anything bigger than a whitetail; I use 30 lb braided fishing line on those
9. I inject now, but am looking into repros- I also , as of now, use the real heads but am considering artificial ones there, as well. (I've only done about ten birds total so am still learning.)
10. Wow! I never would have known that without looking it up! Take the time to do this next week, George, and I will try to respond again. I haven't answered any of Rick's, yet, but will do that in the future too. Thank You.