I just finished a shoulder mount axis and it turned out good but it was real hard to pull on to the form, I was wondering if maybe I left the skin to thick, I measured it at least three times before ordering the mold. any advice on fleshing would be greatly appreciated. Thanks Wes
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Fleshing is simply removing the meat, fat and the membrane - whereas Shaving involves thinning the skin usually using a Shaving Machine.
If its really shaving it thin that you are referring to then when you shave the pickled cape - I like to shave it until I notice a "slight" change in color. The pickled cape being a milky white when you start - I stop when I see a hint of "blue". Any further and you begin to cut into the hair roots. I shave this way over the entire cape.
Fleshing is simply removing the meat, fat and the membrane - whereas Shaving involves thinning the skin usually using a Shaving Machine.
If its really shaving it thin that you are referring to then when you shave the pickled cape - I like to shave it until I notice a "slight" change in color. The pickled cape being a milky white when you start - I stop when I see a hint of "blue". Any further and you begin to cut into the hair roots. I shave this way over the entire cape.
Thanks for the info
The back of the neck must be shaved really thin to prevent rotting in the skin. We have had a a couple capes that we tanned and as they dried started to stink and loose hair. Some of these animals have almost 1/2" skin in the back. These are the ones you really need to watch and shave shave shave until they are less than 1/4" thick for mounts and much thinner for rug work. Take Bruces advice too. We emailed him when this started to happen to us and he solved our problem.
Did you measure with the hide on or off? Except for the Eye to Nose measurement,I take the neck measurements after skinning. I think it's hard to get a true measurement over the hide. Good Luck!
SOT are you saying that you take the measurements of the neck of the carcas and not the skin, Thanks wes