I'm finished tanning and everthing, now the skin is taked to a board, approximately how long does it take to dry? it's on my balcony, where it gets a good breeze but protected from the elements (rain) though it does get some sun.
Thanks guys
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Annie - before you tacked out your tanned and oiled Beaver skin - I hope you first either tumbled it in a sawdust tumbler for about 5 minutes - or if you dont have one - you placed some sawdust in a plastic garbage bag, added the skin and bounced it around for 5-10 minutes. And in both cases - afterwards - you blew off the sawdust with an airhose. Those times seem short but thats all it takes to remove any excess moisture form the fur. Dont do it any longer!
Then - tack out the skin to dry - and dont distorte (or stretch it) it. Simply tack it out to its size.
The reason I recommend the sawdust is because it will hasten the drying time and prevent any mildew or mold to form in the fur. Plus when its tacked out and if it has excess moisture - the epidermis may begin to weaken and you may see some slippage occur!
Thanks for the advice but i have no sawdust handy and by the time i read your response, the skin had been tacked and drying for 3 days. I guess i'll just let it keep drying and hope for the best. When do i know it's time to take it off to stretch it snd work it? once it starts to get hard? it's really hard to tell by the instructions sometimes.
Thanks for the help, i'm new at this and i guess it shows :)
Annie