I have 2 questions on mounting a bear. First off this bear was skinned (not by me) with a ventral cut, I am mounting it with the front elevated a little bit. Should I sew up the ventral cut the cut it down the back then put it on the form or just put it on the form and sew up the ventral cut, Ive heard sometimes ventral cuts can be harder. I know it will be more sewing but I wanna do whatever will work out the best and not give me too many problems. Second, I am doing this only part-time, I work at a sawmill during the day where we get no days off except saturday and sunday. I am using buckeye supreme for my glue if I dont get it all sewn up at night can I just bag it or will the glue harden on me? I guess my question is does the glue dry with the hide or faster then the hide? thanks for any help that can be given. (I wish george was here he would tell me how its done) But anyway thanks for any help, Kevin
Return to Lifesize Mammal Taxidermy Category Menu
I normally don't recommend sewing a ventral skin into a dorsal.In the long run,it takes more time.I mount a ventral cut bear in 7 hours,start to finish.Each leg takes 30 minutes.However,in your case,with your limited time windows,it might not be a bad idea to convert it into a dorsal.This may save you 1 1/2 hours on the day that you mount it.Buckeye Supreme can be tricky,if you let the air hit too much,it can "skin over" then it won't stick at all.I would sew the front legs down to the wrist pad,beforehand.Sew the back legs down to the heel.Make your dorsal cut all the way to the back of the head.Before cutting,make 3 or 4 magic marker marks across your cut line.These will be reference marks when you sew the dorsal.Put the form on it's back.Paste the tubed legs first,down to the wrist and pull onto the form.Paste the head and neck of the form,pull that on and do the face-don't spend a lot of time,you can tune it later.Put a row of large pins down the center of the belly(3 or 4).Now.pull the skin down one side and paste,pull the skin up and pin at the top of the back.Then do the other side.Pull all the belly pins before sewing up the back.Sew from tail to head.Wrap it in plastic till you are completely done sewing.Keep air off the Buckeye.Have your hide ready,ears in,form ready and all tools laid out so you can put the hide on early Saturday morning.You should be able to get it mounted in one day.If not,spritz it down with water,wrap it completely and get back after it Sunday.Make sure you cut decent sized ear pockets in the head,filled with clay-this lets you sink the earliners in the head properly.The dorsal lets you adjust those ear butts last minute,if you need to.Good luck,any questions,holler.
Thanks for the help Jim I think thats what Ill do with this. Its hard just starting out and having to have another job, ya know? work all day and all night but ahwell I like doin it so........ he we go.. Thanks again, Kevin
I know what you mean.I had a real job once,and did taxidermy after.It's tough.That's why I thought if you had everything ready to go before a Saturday,it'd be less stressful,then to have Sunday as a backup day.Just keep the hide refridgerated till you are ready to mount.Also make sure that hide absolutely fits before you dorsal it.You don't need any surprises on mount day.
I am off starting Wed morning if you need me. I will be home all four days so drop me a line if you need an extra hand.