I just tanned a small beaver. I oiled it and i have broken it by hand over an axe. I had the skin thin also. I have tanned quite a few other small game and never had anything so tough. I am using the same methods as i have always used using McKenzie tan and oil and the others came out great. I mean its not rock hard, its moveable but not as soft as i like it to be. Is there anything i can try, i do not have access to a six foot tumbler either. Thanks
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My Mom just read over my shoulder, whooaaaahoooohoooo. did she ROTFLHAO!
I just tanned a small beaver. I oiled it and i have broken it by hand . I had the skin thin also. I have tanned quite a few other and never had anything so tough.
I am using the same methods as i have always used oil and the others came out great.
I mean its not rock hard, its moveable but not as soft as i like it to be.
Is there anything i can try, i do not have access to a six footer either. Thanks
Nothing was added, just a few letters and words taken away, hey this is from Mom, now she is thinking maybe I need to find another profession!
Sarah,I'm not a big fan of that particular tan,just as you are experiencing it usually will not give you a soft tan unless you put a lot of work into it.
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The McKenzie tan is just as good as any other. It's the oiling and breaking that you lack. Take your tanning oil and warm it. Then pour it out on the hide and rub it in. Instead of an ax, get a large dowel and cut a wedge in the end. NOT A SHARP WEDGE, leave about 1/4 inch flat at the tip. Now drag your skin back and forth over that with tension on the hide. This is backbreaking work and your hands and fingers will ache when it's done properly. Contrary to what you've heard here, the BEST method to use of soft tans is to send it out to have them professionally done.
Have you sanded it and tumbled it? Not all hides act the same when tanned. I personally have not done a beaver but I have done several deer hides and coons. After I break thick hides like deer and sheep I sand them with a belt sander. i sand for a while then tumble for 30 minutes to an hour then repeat the process untill it is like I want it. This can take a while and like George said your back, fingers and hands will ache. trust George when he said the best way to get a soft tan is to "send it out". Your time is worth more than the pain.
first off, Beavers are fatty little suckers, did you degrease it? I too have done lots of coon and beavers and the ones I did not degrease came out stiff but not rock hard. also it may help to use an acid bate added to the pickle. Joe
i degreased in the pickle and afterward in a degrease solution. Do you guys like real course paper when sanding and does it actually thin the skin?
you should sand them, I like to use a belt sander with 36 grit sand paper. could also be you let them get too dry before you started to break them. If sanding does not help you may need to rehydrate, re-oil and re-break them but make sure you break them "as they dry" not when they are dry. Joe
I did a beaver for a college kid and found it rather tougher than other things. Really wanted him to go lifesize... college kid - stuffed beaver.... another story. But I thinned real thin, I mean real thin. Actually had another taxidermist ask who I sent it out to.
Real thin. Then followed directions on McKenzie tan. Then broke it over a 4" PVC end. Worked it for hours. Sanded, filed (rasp file) then used Baby Powder. If you work baby powder into the hide as you break it. It will work its way into the fibers and soften the hide. Worked for me. Hope it helps!
I have had the best luck Matt using ez 100 hundred almost all my skins come out soft and supple with little or not all that much braking