I have been doing deer heads for about 4 yrs.In the past I was unaware of the advantages of pickleing hides.In that time I have never had trouble w/ slippage or shrinkage.Guess Im just lucky.Last yr I pickled a couple hides before I tanned and liked the results so I continued to do it this yr.
I am having trouble getting my hides on my forms and have noticed a couple of spots(smaller than a dime) where I have lost some hair on the 2 deerr I have done this yr.
I salt them and let them dry, rehydrate ,,pickle for 3 days in saftee acid maintaining my ph below 2,neutralize for 20 min,then aply my cream tan.
I also started tube skinning my heads this year.Could the size trouble be a result of not getting my hides stretched out well before tanning?
Also the salt Im using seems to have alot of impurities in it.The slipping may be a result from this.I got the salt from an ag dealer same thing Ive used all along but this batch seems bad.Where is a good place to get clean salt?
Sorry for the long winded post.Any advice will be appreciated.
I have never had one not make the correct size once they were neutralized correctly. Even after they have been tanned they may still be heavliy acidified. Try the neutraling by wiping baking soda water on the flesh side again. Cut the dime size spots out thats not a big deal.
Dan,
My wife is a chemist and she works for a company that manufactures bulk chemicals. I get non-iodized salt from her company in 80 pound bags for about $6.00/bag. You might want to call some chemical companies in your area to see if they sell salt. They should be able to tell you how pure it is also.
What is the proper way to neutralize a hide.I have been mixing up five gal. of water with 5 heavy tablespoons of baking soda,I then imerse my hide in the sol. for 25 min. stirring it 2 or 3 times.I then rinse in plain water drain and apply my tan.Thanks agin.
I don't see anything wrong with the way you neutralize. That's the way I do it.
Your could be caused by acid burns . try getting the salt at 1#per gallon water! setting ph at2.5 at the start but don'tmaintain it let cook the hide naturally then nutr. at 1oz baking soda to a gallon water. Michael Tolbert Iget great results this way.