I just finished spliting and salting a red fox. When splitting the tail I got about half way down and tore the skin a little (I know George, I had gasoline ass) and there is not a whole lot of skin there anyway. So my first question is should I just leave the tail like it is and send it to the tannery or should I remove(because the tannery is more than like going to finsh tearing it off for me anyhow). Next question is do you make your tails out of clay or wrap them out of cotton?(I make my bobcat out of clay but this is quit a bit longer tail than a bobcats)
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I hate to say it but if you don't remove the bone you'll probally lose it. The hair will fall of it and you'll need to replace it. Split the tail and get the bone out. Let the tannery know what happened in a written form so this way they'll be carefull around the tail.
I wrap mine up with cotton batting.
I make some/buy some. For the larger canids, I use the wire tail attached. I cut it to length and with 1/2 masking tape alone, I start wrapping the wire to form the tail. the masking tape will allow the flesh to slide down the wire easier than using jute or tow, so that's just the way I've done it. For smaller animals, I buy the squirrel tails from John David Ellzey. The fox squirrel tail is great for many small critters while the grey squirrel tails fit these little tree rats like a glove.
Frank, I have removed the bone. That is how I tore it, I was pulling on the bone and some of the skin stuck to the bone and it riped it. I guess I will leave it and ask the tannery to be careful. Thanks for the help guys
Jason
Jason, For next time....I think you might have split the tail and then skinned it off of the bone. If so I would suggest that you "slip" the tail off of the bones and once it is removed from the tail bones THEN split the tail the full length. You can buy tail splitter tools or make your own. As for the fox tail rebuilding, clay or wrapping the wire will both work- once the mount is dry, assuming nobody is wagging that tail, it should look fine no matter which way you choose. Enjoy, Aaron H.
remove the bone from whatever type of mammal you are working with, in this instance a fox, on a piece of cardboard lay a thick layer of silicone from a tube, press the tail bone into it and cover with more silicone. after 2-3 days cut the silicone open down the middle and remove the bone, you now have a reusable fox tail mold, simply put a wire in and fill with hot glue, you will like the results.