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More hidework

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BowEd:
Pictures are good.Nice looking set of tails.You've done a great job skinning and fleshing them first off and that's a must.It would'nt have hurt to tack them out while they dry to avoid curling.
You've got yourself some nice bow handle wraps there or for whatever else you might have in mind.For bow handle wraps not much sanding is needed if left in the raw stage which I'm sure you know.
Vegetable tanned tails tend to naturally thicken from the process so a little sanding is required to make use of all of the tail.If boughten they are quite expensive like this one.
I still say removing the scales and then tanning will get a pliable piece of beaver tail leather.
I'm no complete expert about everything but know enough to make what I want to look good when done.Your own standards rule the day here.

Piddler:
Thanks ED, I'll make a handle wrap or something with them one day. Your info is always appreciated.
Piddler

BowEd:
There's a lot of things out there to learn yet no matter who you are.

Piddler:
Well lots of learning went into this one. Learned that the hides need thinned a lot down the back. Especially around the front shoulders and hip area. The belly turned out great right off the bat and is really soft. Had to reapply tanning solution on the center though. Still fairly soft but more rug like. Still need to trim the edges. Could work it some more but gonna stop on this one for a while and go hunting. Think bow shooting is hard on a shoulder. Definitely gonna thin the others before tanning. I picked the one with the worst fur to experiment with. Had some really strange spots of fur.
Piddler

BowEd:
Looks pretty decent to me.I could make a hat from it....ha ha.Although I would need to hand stitch it.
When beaver are put up [that means skinned and fleshed properly] and dried to sell up north they are wiped with a paper towel  number of times while drying to absorb the grease that sweats up along the way to drying.That helps a lot.I tumbled coons and coyotes here doing that.
Still a fair amount of grease is still dried into the hide on a beaver.Tannerys have chemicals that can soften those hides and other chemicals that will get rid of that grease.Then they can tan it.Thin it and soften it.All with automated equipment.
For the fella that wants to tan a greasy critter like a beaver for themselves salting a few times is the best degreaser and drier.That dried in grease into a hide makes it hard to rehydrate inhibiting the ability of tanning solutions or brain oils to penetrate.Then after stretching and drying thinning can be done.Then tanning [brain or chemical] can be done.Then softening.
It can take some practice.
Hunting season opens here soon too.

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