Hello all,
I am new to this forum and to taxidermy . I have been lurking around this forum for the past two months and I found this forum to be a very valuable asset to the hobbie of taxidermy in all respects. As a beginner, I have many questions to ask and I think it is time for me to start asking questions.
1) I will buy a lioness hide from Tim Bragg in Fl. that was wet tanned and kept frozen. My problem is that I do not have a freezer for storing this hide. What is the proper way to thaw out this hide?. Should I hang it out to dry?. I remember searching the archive and someone mentioned that you can dry a hide out by drying it in the laundry dryer, cold setting, with a few beach towels.
2) How long can I keep the hide dry before I have to work on it?. I intent to turn it into a rug or a wall hanger 4-6 months from now.
3) Are there anything I should do to the hide before and after it is dried?. Something like stretch it out, any measurements, spray anything?.
4) What is the proper way to rehydrate the hide so that the hairs wont slip?.
5) What is the proper way to measure a lioness' head dimension?.
6) Has anyone done any business with Tim Bragg?. Is he an up-standing seller?
I apologize for asking so many questions and thank you very much in advance for all your help.
Andrew
wet tans do not really make a good rug. I prefer fully dressed hides for that. I have NEVER let a wet tan dry and then re-hydrated it. I always use them as they are, and I use them a lot. Some one else might have had a different experience.
Andrew that was me with the dryer but don't do what you want.
What it means is that it will aid in drying the fur not the skin. I have not or never dried a hide totally in a dryer and I don't know if it's the right way for what your looking to do. To tumble a hide to make it soft and dry out you need to have a much bigger tumbler for this. If you go to Bruce's web site( Rittel ) you will get info on how to make a soft hide.
In his site he explains on how to get a soft hide. You can do this by hand but it's time consuming. In reality on a lioness I would rather have it done professionally. These are the folks who have the proper equipment. But knowing you don't have a choice look at Bruce's site for help.