Submitted by Chad on 6/21/99. ( )
Hello
I am just getting started in taxidermy and had a few things I needed help with. What is better Tanning or Dry Preservative?, Is one good for some jobs (like small mammals,deer heads,and full body mounts)and one for the other?. Or should I us one and just stay with that one for all jobs. I plan to do this only as a hobbie, and maybe if I get good at it (many years form now)I will do it as a career. I would be grateful for any help.
Thanks
Chad
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This response submitted by Jean Lavallee on 6/21/99. ( wmlures@xtdl.com )
I'm sure you'll hear that powdering the behind of small animals is all you really need to do to mount them, but the truth is that tanning is the only sure way of preserving a hide....period. You don't have to send these small hides out to be tanned, as there are a few methods available to you like Rittel"s quick tan....Liquatan, and others I'm sure. Make sure that the tan you use requires a pickle bath in its directions. This will set the hair and prepare the hide to accept the tan. Follow the directions that the manufacturer suggests. Good luck and welcome to the club!
This response submitted by George Roof on 6/21/99. ( georoof@aol.com )
Chad,
Jean and I both go back to dirt, and his advice won't steer you wrong, HOWEVER, I was never one to believe that one size fits all. I tan all of my big game and a great deal of the mid-size animals. But I don't tan fish, snakes (except for garments), or birds. I'm not wasting my time tanning a squirrel. As Sam Touchstone and Ralph Garland will tell you, there is a lot of good work out there that was dry preserved and it's lasted just as long as todays tanning without arsenic.IF you decide to tan small game, pay particular attention to Jeans warning about pickling. Foxes are notorious for hair slippage and only a good pickle will save you. Every shop needs dry preservative in it, if for nothing else than to stop the bleeding when you nick your finger with a scalpel.
This response submitted by Paul Czarnecki on 6/22/99. ( tri0900@GTE.net )
Chad, I would have to agree with George on his stand regarding dry preservative. I too used dry preservative for years before I "knew better". However I still believe that dry preservative has its place in today's taxidermy studio. I use it for all of my fleshing by hand (never on a machine), use it on all of my birds and up until 3 years ago (when I switched to freeze-dry) on all of my small mammals up to the size of a fox. If you are going to use it on small mammals make sure you use plenty of latex caulking as dry preservative never stops drying the skin. The caulking will keep the skin from continuously drying and eventually cracking. I will caution you Chad to be very careful about using dry preservative on gameheads. Before I started tanning everything I did approximately 200 heads a year with dry preservative. Today, almost all of them are filled with cracks, seams are blown wide open and all of the detail has drummed out. I would have to say to NEVER use dry preservative on gameheads. Good luck!
This response submitted by Mark on 6/22/99. ( knoblochs@worldnet.att.net )
Hi Chad
were glad to have you here so ask all the questions you want,
all these taxidermists are very well educated and have some
very great ideas. If you would like to have a free catalog
containing some great info on tanning and taxidermy contact
us here at Knoblochs. This book also has a lot of trouble
shooting tips in it as well. Good luck and enjoy the greatest
art and career their is.
Mark
KNOBLOCHS
knoblochs@worldnet.att.net
303-666-9045
This response submitted by John on 6/24/99. ( )
You can use a dry preservative. Just make sure you get a form that fits
or alter it. Never use a form that is too big. thats where alot
of the pulling apart comes from. If you flesh the hide good and
shave it down you won't have all those drumming and pulling apart
problems with the proper size form. Good luck...
This response submitted by Chad on 6/24/99. ( )
I would like to thank you all your help. being new at this, you all will most likely see me post more on here for help. again I would like to thank you all for for help.
thanks
Chad
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