I was wondering what company makes the forms that the eyes are already in the form, I looked through McKenzie and could not find any. What are everyone's opinoons on them, are they easier for a beginner?
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I remember a post back a few weeks here were a guy learned on that easy snap together form you are talking about, and he was asking how to do the clay method because he wanted to try other brand forms. The forms you are talking about are Rinehart forms. There are easy, but you will never learn how to clay an eye up for the rest of the taxidermy industries forms. You will be forced to stick to his forms if you do not learn the clay way. The easy way, it saves time, but all short cuts are not the best way to go because you don't learn from them. You might as well learn up front how to clay an eye up, it is not that hard and every other form will need clay because if you wanted to do a hog, caribou, antelope, mulie, fox, coyote, bear, or anything else that the forms do not have eyes installed, you will be handicapped as how to do them. The pre-installed eyes to me are sales gimmicks for short cuts. Nobody else does that to his or her forms. To each his own Imo.
I just did a deer on one of those forms yesterday actually, they are pretty easy to use but Mr. T is right you won't learn how to do your own eyes with them. They are pretty neat though, be a good thing for a beginner to try and start learning on. I got the "proud look" form but I don't think that the eyes are exactly right, I'm some what of a beginner my self but I don't think they look quite right. They are easy to use though, just remember to route your mouth out to tuck your lips, I tried that for the first time the other day and I won't try it any other way, just take a dremel tool and about a 1/4" round bit (mine is just a grooved round ball) and dremel all around the lips. Good luck!
will install eyes on any of their forms for an additional charge. " A Supply company" also sells forms with pre-installed eyes.
Please whatever you do don't start out using these forms, learn to build and sculpt your own eyes. If later on you decide to use the pre-set eyes then thats fine but learn how to do it yourself first. If you use these forms you will never get a good looking deer mount, the eyes are not anatomically correct, they are the wrong shape. If you mount thirty deer and there is no notable difference between your first and your last one then switch but you are 100% better off doing them on your own. These forms are just an excuse for people who are too lazy to learn to sculpt their own eye lids.
a 1/4" lip slot? You been smoken again? The best way is to cut a thin slot with a jig saw blade or butter knife and PUSH the lip skin into it for a tight fit so you dont have to pin it. A real deer doesn't have a 1/4" gap around it's mouth. And how do you get a straight groove with a dremel tool?
with Mr T., my lip slot is the width of a business card(no joke) a dremel tool shouldn't even be a consideration. Especially if you mount very early season whitetail. Just my oppinon though. I use a dental tool to just score it lightly and you barley see a slot. This will leave a very clean lip line on early season or late winter whitetails.
I was wandering if someone was going to hit that one, wow 1/4inch Had to shake my head on this one ,still am.
At one time I did use a dremel with an 1/8" bit to do the lip and tear duct slots and then just open the back corner of the lips to about 1/4" But I have sence stoped and just use a screw driver now.
The preset eyes are a good form to use for comercial work. I use them only when a customer requests them. Clay eyes are not that hard with ref pictures. Just don't ever stop using them! Your eyes will slowly start to look like crap if you stop using the pictures.
I use my lip tucking tool to prepare the slot for tucking the skin.