# Beaver hide project



## huntin_dobbs (Feb 26, 2010)

Well I got the hide tacked down, and most of the meat and fat cleaned off. Nick, the 1st pic that thin film is the hypodermis right? There a couple spots where I got close to cutting through. The face is tough to get all that meat off without cutting through!! Gonna let it dry a little and then scrape it off. Am I doing this right so far? Oh yea Nick, you see that hammer?


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## Nicodemus (Feb 26, 2010)

Very good work, Becca. You sure you ain`t done this before?

That is hypodermis that shows in the pic. Nice job of stretchin` and tackin` down too. You have that one in the short rows now.


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## bam_bam (Feb 26, 2010)

Man Dobbs that looks real good, especially around the face. Bet that in gonna turn out nice. How big a beaver was it?


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## huntin_dobbs (Feb 26, 2010)

Thanks Chris, That face has got me worried! Mainly about getting those last pieces of meat off. I'll just have to take my time with it. I didnt measure it (will do that tomorrow) but it was about 35-40 pounds.


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## Nicodemus (Feb 26, 2010)

Oh yea, nice hammer! Does it hit good?


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## huntin_dobbs (Feb 26, 2010)

Nicodemus said:


> Oh yea, nice hammer! Does it hit good?



Does it!! I still cant feel my thumb!


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## LanceColeman (Feb 27, 2010)

huntin_dobbs said:


> Does it!! I still cant feel my thumb!



I knew it, yer sites are off on yer hammer.

Looks good


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## Dawg Tired (Feb 27, 2010)

Way to go!! looks Great!!!!!


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## huntin_dobbs (Feb 27, 2010)

Alright, here are some close up pics of the skin after I scraped the meat and fat off, still had that thin layer if hypodermis. All the edges are clean where its tacked down, and it is dang near impossible to get the face completely clean. The skin is so thin, I afraid to cut anything!!! Taking a break for now!! What ya think so far?


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## bigkga69 (Feb 27, 2010)

that beaver is pelt fodder now, thats the smaller of the three I caught last week but had the fullest prettiest coat!!  superb job for your first!!


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## Nicodemus (Feb 27, 2010)

It`s ready to cure now, Becca. Let it dry, keep the varmints away, keep it out of the weather, and let`s see how it does. You`ve put a lot of hard work in it. It looks great!!


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## scoggins (Feb 27, 2010)

looks great
i didn't get the head and face off of the one that i found in mom and dad's freezer of unknown origin and age

however I used muriatic acid to soak it in to set the hair , not sure if it was necessary but i did it any way.


good LUCK!!


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## huntin_dobbs (Feb 28, 2010)

bigkga69 said:


> that beaver is pelt fodder now, thats the smaller of the three I caught last week but had the fullest prettiest coat!!  superb job for your first!!


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## Katera73 (Mar 1, 2010)

Looks good so far Becca hows your thumb feeling.  You making another bag out of it?


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## gurn (Mar 1, 2010)

Did you use a bore sighter on that hammer before ya just hauled off and started swinging.


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## huntin_dobbs (Mar 3, 2010)

Katera73 said:


> Looks good so far Becca hows your thumb feeling.  You making another bag out of it?


No this one is gonna be laced into a frame and hung up, unless I change my mind! I think it will look cool.


gurn said:


> Did you use a bore sighter on that hammer before ya just hauled off and started swinging.



 Dang thumb still hurts!


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## TNGIRL (Mar 3, 2010)

Becca, you did a really nice job of skinning and tacking the pelt to the wood. It is so very time consuming to do, but once that's finished the hard parts over!!!!! And later you can make the pelt as soft as you want it to be!!!!!
I did a deer hide a couple yrs back, had an arguement with my daughter over the phone at the same time....man did I ever scrap the HIDE offa that hide!!!! Kept thinking it was her so it went really fast!!!!!ya got anybody youseis mad at???? go for it girl


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## backwoodsjoe (Mar 3, 2010)

Becca,
When it dries, take a palm sander to the flesh side and sand the membrain off and that will soften it up some. Then lace it in a willow hoop and hang it on the wall. I used to do Beaver pelts that way and use the hide for sheaths and bags. It works great ! Just be careful using the sander and use medium grit pads as not to eat through to the hair.


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## huntin_dobbs (Mar 3, 2010)

TNGIRL said:


> Becca, you did a really nice job of skinning and tacking the pelt to the wood. It is so very time consuming to do, but once that's finished the hard parts over!!!!! And later you can make the pelt as soft as you want it to be!!!!!
> I did a deer hide a couple yrs back, had an arguement with my daughter over the phone at the same time....man did I ever scrap the HIDE offa that hide!!!! Kept thinking it was her so it went really fast!!!!!ya got anybody youseis mad at???? go for it girl


All I gotta do is think abot the folks I work with!! Haha that scraping was the tough part and Im sure glad its over!!


backwoodsjoe said:


> Becca,
> When it dries, take a palm sander to the flesh side and sand the membrain off and that will soften it up some. Then lace it in a willow hoop and hang it on the wall. I used to do Beaver pelts that way and use the hide for sheaths and bags. It works great ! Just be careful using the sander and use medium grit pads as not to eat through to the hair.



Thanks for the tip Steve!! I'll keep that in mind.


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## 243Savage (Mar 3, 2010)

That's gonna turn out nice.

Don't get your thumb under the sander.


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## huntin_dobbs (Mar 4, 2010)

Well tonight I went out and made sure it had dried out and sure enough its dry as can be!! So I untacked him and flipped him over finally to see the fur side and I got so excited!! I think it turned out pretty good! I went over  (very carefully) with the sander with 120 grit, my other choice was 60 so went with the 120(and I didnt get my thumb!). It did a good job of softening it up! I brushed the hair out and picked through to get any remaining pieces of flesh or dirt, now for a willow branch!! Almost done!!!


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## Nicodemus (Mar 4, 2010)

It turned out great, Becca! Fine job, proud of you!! Bring it to WAR. I`d like to see it.


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## slip (Mar 4, 2010)

looks awesome!


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## huntin_dobbs (Mar 4, 2010)

Thanks!! I'll have it with me at WAR!


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## Nugefan (Mar 5, 2010)

Dang it looks like Nick ....      sorry Nick , couldn't help myself ....

that turned out nice ...


ya gonna brain tan it ???? or just make a purty out of it ???


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## bam_bam (Mar 5, 2010)

Dagum that this is nice, I knew it would be. You done an excellent job on it.


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## dpoole (Mar 5, 2010)

Nick where is that Otter you have?


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## backwoodsjoe (Mar 5, 2010)

*Becca.......on your next one, sew up the leg holes after fleshing it with dental floss or sinew. Do that before tacking it down and those holes can't be seen after lacing it to the willow hoop. Also you can really clean it up after drying with Naptha. Just pour the Naptha on the hair and flesh side before lacing it to the hoop. Brush up the fur real good with the Naptha on it and hang it outside an hour or so and the Naptha will evaporate. It is a great degreaser and will get the oil and grease off. You can get it in the paint section at WalMart or any hardware store. Looks great Becca !!! Keep up the good work !!!*


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## Scott Cain (Mar 5, 2010)

Becca just a piece of advice do not take that hide into your house and leave it . It IS NOT tanned or poisoned dermestide beetles will get into it and then they will get into your other mounts and ruin them.


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## chehawknapper (Mar 13, 2010)

Becca, good job! As the hide is drying on your board a wire brush from the dollar store will do wonders in all those tough spots around the head and elsewhere to breakup and remove stubborn sections. If you want to tan it soft, several more steps are necessary. First is getting the hide grease free. Store bought chemicals like naptha work great, I'm just too cheap to buy much. Homemade lye soap works great and so does cheap Dawn dishwashing detergent. It is critical that all hypodermis is removed if your going to use brains as the brain oils will not penetrate through that membrane. Apply a thick brain mix to the hide and let dry. Scrape off the dried brains and apply another coat and let dry again. Apply another coat a little soupy and break the hide soft and dry. I know everyone, myself included, calls it braintannig but the brains do not tan the hide. They only allow you to soften the hide by lubricating the individual dermis fibers and breaking them free from the natural glues (water soluable) that are coating them. The advice about dermisted beetles is a great one. To prevent that problem and to permanently tan the hide the last step is to thoroughly smoke the hide on the skin side.


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