I am just starting out and don't have a way to shave capes. I do have a wire wheel for birds and was wondering how large a mammal can I tan in my shop without sending it out to be shaved. I am sending out deer capes and similar sized, but can fox or bobcat sized mammals be tanned with good results without being shaved? Thanks for any input.
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That's without difficulty. I've used tanneries in the past that had aversions to shaving hides and gotten elk back with half inch hides, so I guess it depends on the pickle and the duration. Still, there's no reason deer and smaller animals can't be tanned without shaving.
Thanks for the advice.
I have to disagree with George on this one. Not shaving deer sized animals is going to get you in trouble! Both in tanning and mounting. Where I come from, most whitetails have hide 3\8" thick on the back of the neck during the rut. You mean to tell me, Thinning this area is not required? Try getting your stretch back....good luck.
Maybe thats why George is such a Epo-Grip advocate?
Taxi-ing your skin, putting in detail, and just general workability require a thin evenly prepped hide. Degreasing is also much easier in the tanning process if shaved properly.
Do the job correctly, but don't take my word for it...
Your tanned skins that weren't shaved properly are going to tell you loud and clear!
Don't mean they're right, however. Now in 46 years, I've seen a few deer from a whole lot of places. I hunt Saskatchewan and I've hunted Florida with South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia, Montana, Illinois, Colorado and New Mexico in there someplace and I've NEVER seen a white tail with skin that thick.
We were talking about REQUIRED. It surely helps with a lot of detail work, but if you take a 17 inch necked deer and you put it's hide back on a 17 inch form, the only reason it didn't fit was because you didn't know how to use a tape measure.
Charles, you learn to measure your deer properly, flesh it well, tan it, and it won't matter if you use spit as an adhesive, it'll fit and it will be tanned.
And Jim, I don't work for Epo-Grip any more than I work for Joe Coombs, McKenzie, WASCO or dozens of other products that I use and like and that have proved successful FOR ME.