Just wondering how much time should pickling a turkey skin be 24 hour or 3 days perhaps and is the salting process unnessary?
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You never TAN a turkey skin. In fact, unless it's ostrich or emu being used in boot making, I don't know why or where this harebrained idea came from. Bird skins are fleshed, defatted and then treated with DP or borax before mounting. All those products being sold as "bird tans" are birdbrained and serve no useful purpose except to prove P.T. Barnum correct.
I started not to reply. I know that Bird skins are thin, and most just use DP. I use Liqua cure on turkeys. I can tell you for a fact that I have noticed that the skin is a little tougher after I use this product. It seems to hold stiches a lot better with less pull through when I pull the seam closed.
So feel it does make a difference. I don't know if I would go through the whole pickling, and tanning steps on a turkey. Liquacure seems to do the job perfectly.
But I don't stretch my turkey skins over beach balls and I don't see them needing to be "tough". When Cally Morris and Tim Jordan can win national championships with borax and DP, sounds like a no-brainer to me. Considering the price and the history, any "bird tan" is simply a gimmick.
I hear you, the cost is a little much bascially 14.00+ shipping.
Talc mostly, but some have pepper, alum, and even moth crystals along with the borax.
have you ever tanned? turkey skin is a piece of skin just like a coyote skin is it not? again a skin is a skin george.
now I am no professor, and please don't take me the wrong way, but I have watched many of you're questions in the past, and it is clear that you are not investing in any videos or books that would help you learn before you get into you're tight spots. I don't believe that there is a turkey video on the market that teaches tanning a turkey skin.
the art of taxidermy is learning and trial and error. If there is no turkey video on the market there sure is videos on tanning other birds. Most taxidermist who take pride in there work will go a little extra to put out a product that will last long. I prefer the tanning method and speaking with other taxidermist not on the forum or on the forum I think you will find out tanning a turkey is quite okay for quality and optimum duration. Dont take this personal but I do understand you have your method that suits your needs.
carry on. Do what you want to do. I hope you're first turkey mount last forever.
You seem to think you're reinventing the wheel, but if you'd been here over a week or two, you'd know that most of us OLD FARTS paid the price of that learning curve and are simply trying to spare know-it-alls like you the pain we endured. As Mr. T. stated, you seem to have all the answers and I find it ingratiating that you're even lower yourself to a forum where we're simply trying to help you. I wonder why you'd even bother to ask us for advice to begin with. When your turkey beats out those guys I listed, let us all know and then we'll worry about tanning a bird skin.
I have read all the books I could get. I want to do the best mount possible. The person who said there is no video that does it has not seen the Pete Geirke's( spelling) video's from Van Dykes. He instructs you to use liqua-cure.
I have gotten several videos, and to me I seem take the mixure of it all. They all have some good advice/instruction.
Thanks to all who visit this forum and participate in the discussion. I really appreciate your input.
Thanks,
Rob Akers
ya I saw pete do that, but his method is not what I would call cutting edge. It is good to watch, to see him use next to nothing to mount a turkey. It needed the Liqua -cure to hold it together.