curious if anyone uses one and what they think. Thanks
Ben I bought the Dakota IV at the PA Taxidermy convention two yrs. ago and it does a great job. I had been using the Mini-Flesher and was happy with that it allowed me to advance in my work and now I am using the Dakota and it shaves as thin as I dare to go.A bigger machine might be faster but my budget wouldn't allow me to spend that much and I needed to improve the quality of my hides.I would also recommend that you check out the Quebec Lite it is more money that the Dakota but less than some of the top machines.Its also a full size machine.
I had a Dakota IV and it was alright. But It is small and took me a while
to shave skins on it. I sold it to buy a larger machine. You can get the Quebec Lite
and the cost is not much more than the Dakota IV. I was amazed at the speed in which I could shave a cape with
the Quebec. I think you would be happier with the larger machine. Also
type in Quebec Lite in the search and read some more about it.
Todd B
Ben,
Dont confuse the 2 styes of machines out there. The D4 was not designed for High Volume/High End fleshing and is not advertised as such.It is labeled as the Dakota 4 DETAIL flesher! If a person will do over 40 heads a year,to use it as your primary fleshing machine, I would have to agree with Todd. A larger machine would be your best choice. The D4 turns at about 900 rpm's vrs. close to 2000 rpm.from the standard, full size machines.The slower rpm of the D4 offers you more controll over the cut of the hide,making it outstanding in the detailed, thin skinned areas, such as the facial areas, briskit and the pit areas.Plus it offers a smaller cutting surface of the blade because the blade is roughly 7 1/4" vrs.11 1/2" of the standard sized blades. Todd is correct in the fact that it takes a bit longer to thin out the thicker areas of the hide such as the neck and shoulder areas, but it will certainly do the job! But as I said earlier, dont confuse the 2 machines as they will both excell in their own areas in which they were designed! Weigh the 2 out and decide which would be the best for your application.
If you need anymore information on any of our Dakota Machines, Please feel free to call me at (1-800)843-3320 ext 105 or e-mail me at the address I've listed above.
Have a great weekend to all,
Dave>VanDyke's
Ben, I would say your decision should be based on how many deer or whatever you plan to thin out. I bought a Dakota 4 used from Todd B. at a very good price.{Hi, Todd} I only do about 10 or so deer a year right now and am very happy with the job it does. It takes me anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour, to thin a cape, depending on the size. It does a great job, but is a little slower than a big machine. Weigh your options and decide. Jan
Thanks folks for your input. After reading your posts and talking with several suppliers, I purchased a Quebec Lite and am very happy with it. The machine is well worth it im my opinion. Thanks again to all.