I have a beautiful cow hide--the size of a king size bed..it is tanned and oiled..problem is I am having one heck of a time breaking it!.. The owners want to use it as either a floor rug or possible make a couch out of it.. right now they are leaning toward the rug idea--- the flesh side just won't break down to the pliable soft state..if i end up putting a bur-lap backing or felt backing on it...could/would I hot glue it to hold it in place?.. Would this work? Should I put a little bit of material between the pelt and the backing to make it more uniformed--if so...what could I use? Also it is so big I can not tumble it--my tumbler is tooooo small (57 gal. one!) So any ideas as to how I can clean the hair side without ruining the tan?.. Thanks ahead of time...Pat
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Your tumbler isn't a fraction as big as it needs to be. This is another shining example of home tans being good ideas gone bad. Moose, elk, COWs, and other large animals need to be professionally tanned, PERIOD, no exceptions. When it's tumbled in a 6 to 8 foot tumbler, it'll be as pliable as any leather could hope to be. My suggestion is that you call a tannery and ask if your hide can be retanned.
I think your softness problem may be that the Tannery (or whoever) that tanned the Cowhide didnt shave it thin enough. Usually they require 2-3 complete shaves. Or (if it was heavily shaved) - didnt Drum it sufficiently to soften it before delivery. Or they should think about using a better Tanning Oil.
Actually there are a lot of questions here, that would help someone help you better. Did a Tannery tan it? Or a person? How was it tanned? EZ-100? Alum? Lutan F?
As for cleaning it - your best safest option is dry clean it in a Drum using sawdust and a solvent. For cowhides - a 6' wide by 6' high Drum is best! This allows the cowhide to lay out and not fold in on itself and roll in the Drum instead of tumbling. A 4' wide by 6' high Drum is too narrow for softening Cowhides!