Is there any accurate way to measure a cape that you have done the short Y cut on. I really dont want to cut the cape all the way down just to measure it. It is a deer cape that has been tanned and yes I should have measured the carcass. Thanks for your help.
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...just stretch it out under the chin and measure the girth of it with a small thin tape measure.
Lay the cape out and stretch the cape out from behind the ears and at the throat juction, let it relax and do not over stretch. Then take a tape and measure across the neck behind the ears to the throat juction just to the point where you feel the end of the skin and not the thick of the hair. I have done this when I have not been able to get an accurate meat measurement and have had good results.
George is that with the skin inside out or the hair out? I am assuming that it is the skin side out. Thanks for your help. one more question;I read in the archives that you use Epo-Grip for your earliners, could you tell me which one exactly that you use.
It's standard 5-minute epoxy but it's much cheaper in bulk than the stuff you buy in the hardware store. I use 3/4 fluid ounce (that's 3/8 oz. "A" and 3/8 oz. "B") per ear and I only do one ear at a time. I prefit the liner, remove it,pour most of the 3/4 oz into the ear pocket and squeege it around all the way to the edges. I take the remainer and paint the INSIDE of the earliner in areas that normally will drum first. Then I push the liner in and work the glue from the tip to the base. Keep your ear up inside the skin so that any leakage won't hit the hair. Push all the bubbles and excess (there won't be much) out around the ear base. Groom the ear and continue taxiing the hide until it starts to warm up. When it does, quickly groom it and recheck positioning. When it's hot, then you can start mixing your other ear as that one is just about done. One warning: don't mix the new batch in the old cup that has any residual. The heat of the curing epoxy can and often will accelerate the cure on your new batch. Either use two separate cups or clean your cup with lacquer thinner and dry completely before reusing.