How to stop tanning items from floating

Pascal, the pickle works simply through osmosis. The hides, if properly salted have left the hide "thirsty" for fluids and the acid is "sucked" into the cells. I keep wondering how a plastic jug filled with water "sinks". The natural boyance of the plastice surrounding a fluid of equal mass would seem to stabilize at some point. I guess just "surrounding" the water would allow the water to be "stacked" on top of the hides. Either way, let'em float.

 

Float..keep the flesh side down..


You aren't pickling the hair....

 

George, that makes perfect sence. Thanks for the explaination. I'll probably keep weighting them down though, just for peice of mind.

 

Just my opinion on this...

Weighting them down in say....a bucket....while home tanning does more damage than good. I had mild slippage once upon a time, when cramming hides into a bucket...and not allowing the pickle to be exposed to the hide easily.

Placing the hide in the pickle folded over on itself...with weight on top, increases the liklihood that some of the pickle won't get to some area of the hide.

Better to make up a bigger batch of pickle, give the hides some room,stir them twice a day...and let'em float.



Jim

 

Agitate daily to twice daily and you wont need the submerging. I usually only the first day will have a plastic sifter thing from a 55 gallon pickle barrel cut to fit the container, I keep the skin submerged for the first day and then just keep it agitated. If Its the only one I am tanning at the time I will just leave it submerged...

 

I let mine float and turn them at least twice a day while stirring the solution while doing it. They always stay wet anyway, so there is no need to keep them totally submerged. Never had any problems.

 

In all my years of tanning, I have never ever weighted them down. Let em float and for the love of god, turn them over several times a day and keep checking your pH levels when pickling AND salt concentration.