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need help on making leather from deer hide
paulc:
thanks for the replys...I live out on one of the islands east of Savannah. I am using a tanning kit I got online at cabelas, it is from van dykes if I remember correctly. It seems to be working fine with the one hide I am doing with the hair on...the other hide was no good after I tried to get the hair to slip.
So does anyone know about shaving a hide? It is supposed to be the way you even out the thickness and get a soft pliable hide...
And I would be very interested in a tan a long...
HoBow:
I just tale a dull knive and hold it at a 90 degree angle and take off the top membrane. A lot of it will peal off with your hands, too. This is so the tanning paste or solution will penetrate. To make it pliable - you have to break (or work) the hide. The more you stretch- the more the pliable and softer it will be.
Easternarcher:
--- Quote from: paulc on June 17, 2009, 07:14:01 pm ---thanks for the replys...I live out on one of the islands east of Savannah. I am using a tanning kit I got online at cabelas, it is from van dykes if I remember correctly. It seems to be working fine with the one hide I am doing with the hair on...the other hide was no good after I tried to get the hair to slip.
So does anyone know about shaving a hide? It is supposed to be the way you even out the thickness and get a soft pliable hide...
And I would be very interested in a tan a long...
--- End quote ---
If you mean thinning the hide by" shaving" what I did this winter was wait til I had the hidesemi-broke and since the hide was nearly 1/4" thick around the neck and spine I just went to my bench sander...turned that baby on and the hide fluff was flying everywhere! ::) but it worked well. Just don't fall asleep at the wheel or you'll sand holes in the hide. Keep moving it around and hold it by stretching a section between your hands(wear glovesto prevent accidental road rash) and run the taught hide over a coarse grade belt. Check the areas being thinned often to gauge the thickness desired...worked for me quite well. Saved a heap of breaking in too.
BTW, I used hydrated lime for making the hair slip. Got it in 10lb. bag from the hardware. 3 days soak and the hair about fell off!
Good luck.
PAHunter:
Yep I mixed a quart or two of hydrated lye (the kind people put on their lawn) with water and then submerged the hide for a week. The hair falls right off after that no problem. It's the tanning process that is a pain for me.
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