ive lived in the "cold dry north" ( N.H. , ALASKA, N.Y. ) all my life...well i now live in the south (GEORGIA). ive skinned , fleshed and salted a bobcat i am going to do a L/S with...
problem: ive salted and resalted and hung to dry (with a fan), its been 4 days since shaking off the excess salt of 2nd salting....the hide has not begun to "stiffen" or dry at all...this has never been an issue up north.
solution?:im guessing a de-humidifer would fix the problem but i just want to confirm this with some of you "southern experts" b4 i go out and invest in one. if there is any tricks you can give me as far as dealing with the moisture down here it would be greatly appreciated
thanks in advance
eric
I live in Texas and have had this problem also. Im not an expert but i would say salt it a third time and let it hang a while longer, usualy takes my hides about a week and a half or 2 weeks to get rock hard. Just be patient with it and give it some time and you should be alright. Like i said im not an expert, so maybe an expert will give some helpful info.
William
When you mention, "hanging with a fan", I am not sure what you mean. Humidity is a problem in some areas of the Southeast. It certainly is here in the bayou city environs. A de-humidifier will work, but you need to provide an atsmopheric chamber in order for it to function well. By that I mean that you can't just place a de-humidfying device in an area where the air is interchanged with the outside air. A closed room set up with a de-humidifier and used for salting and drying may help. I throw a couple of handfulls of borax on the hide between saltings to help remove the moisture. The salt will not only pull water from the skin, it will also pull some from the ambient air. The age old rule of two saltings may not always apply, either. You may wish to change salt more frequently.
A fan will aid drying if the humidity is low, but in high humidity, it just blows additional moist air over the skin's surface. I usually use paper towels or other means to pull water off as it accumulates. Towelling off between saltings and using the Borax to help dry out the surface will help. Is the skin stretched? If so, is it on a board? If it is on a board, drill 1/4" holes on two inch centers over the board's surface to allow air to reach both sides.
If all else fails, hanging salted hides in front of a small window type A/C unit's vents may help, if the room or shop allows mounting one. I am sure there have been many approaches to the moisture problem, these are but a few.
ive done a few of the things you both have mentioned but both have told me things i havnt yet tried and am greatly appreciative...cur yes i have it., its lying on "chicken wire" at an angle to drain but ill be honest with ya i never even thought something as simple as dabbing excess moisture with a towel would help..william.. you make me nervous by saying a week or so to dry but im not going to doubt you as im sure you have worked this out being from down here so i thank you also .......thanks to both i feel better knowing this is a common occurance here.....
I like to lay my skins out on cardboard when I salt them. Helps draw the
moisture. I`ve tanned about 15 cats in the last 3 months here in the
ks humidity....I salt for 24 hours---shake off the salt and use a air
ram to dry out the hide...in 2 days with dewpoints in the 70`s I can
dry out a skin...I cut open a box to fit the size of my fan and slide
a 2x2 post through my cats and hang them inside for 2 days....have yet to
loose a cat yet...This advice was given to me by my buddy at the
tannery and it works great in hi humidity...good luck to ya...