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Caribou Degreasing

Discussion in 'Skulls and Skeletons' started by Elkarcher, Apr 3, 2022.

  1. Apr 3, 2022 #1
    Elkarcher

    Elkarcher Member

    51
    13
    Alaska
    I have roughly 15 bou to degrease, all hard Antler but porous. Has anyone found a decent degreasing tank or had one built that works and not have to soak a portion of the antlers while degreasing? Right now i have them in a decent size tub and the antlers are soaking up water and the color is coming out of them. I can always stain them again but... Any help or ideas would be great.

    Thanks Tim
     
  3. Apr 4, 2022 #2
    Sea Wolf

    Sea Wolf Well-Known Member

    13,435
    1,609
    Taxachusetts
    I wonder if a solution would be to heavy coat the lower part of the antlers with Seal n Peel silicone. But that is a lot of antler and the stuff isn't cheap. One idea I toyed with was taking sturdy plastic bags, like those heavy duty contractor ones, putting one over each antler and wrapping around the base of the bur with something like twisted wire. Something that could be made tight enough so water would not leak up from underneath. The bag could be opened at the top to let air out if the water level rose above the burrs. There still might be water that would come in through the bone itself but maybe not very much.
     

  5. Apr 22, 2022 #3
    Elkarcher

    Elkarcher Member

    51
    13
    Alaska
    thanks for the ideas Sea Wolf. I changed by tactics on the bou. I now use a 8" deep stainless container and use a fish tank heater. wish they would get hotter than 88 degrees but it works. Takes longer but its not pulling the color out of the antlers. Moose on the other hand is still a PIA. Had an aluminum tank built but now i am trying to figure out how to get the antlers sealed off so it dont leak.
     
    Graybeard's Beetles likes this.
  6. Jul 31, 2022 #4
    Kevin Webb

    Kevin Webb New Member

    1
    0
    Oregon

    I ended up buying a sous vide machine (used for cooking). I clamp it to the side of my container. It has a 99 hour timer with a 70 to 200 plus degree temp control. I bought an Ink Bird off amazon for like 90 bucks and it works great. It also circulates the water and is easy to clean.

    For bear and deer I keep it at about 120.