Main Discussion Area > Cave Men only "Oooga Booga"
hum - bitten off more than I can chew?
JackCrafty:
wow :o Thanks N2. Looks like I'll have to work outside or trim the hide like you did.
n2everythg:
What I have learned to date and status:
1. buffalo are a pain in the butt. and will kill you even when they are dead and skinned out.
I wouldnt try to wet wet scrape to flesh one out again. they are too big, too heavy and the skin structure is too weak and I have heard and can see from this one if you wet them too many times they start to fall apart especially in the front shoulders. Dry scrape only is the way to go with a buff.
Get a good scraper with a solid handle and a really sharp blade. I have been dry scraping using an old plane blade held in the hand. Forget that! blisters and aching hands! Next one I will build a good scraper before I start. Also there is a perfect window in which to scrape when the hide is not too wet and not too dry.
If you read articles about buff tanning they state that thinning is the most important part. I want to reiterate. thin, then thin some more especially in the rump and spine sections. I've got the front shoulders pretty soft and the sides but the rump and spine are still really stiff. apparently they wont tan unless thin enough from what I can tell and read.
I have "brained" 3 times now.
1. wet fleshed waited til partially dry then 'egged' with 7 eggs and some hot water.
2. waited til almost dry and thinned a lot (I thought) then brained with 2 lbs of pig brains and some hot water.
3. waited til dry. scraped a bit then brained with 1 lb of brains and almost a quart of Neatsfoot oil (hot solution) and folded the hide up and put weights on it over night.
tried to work the hide and stretch as much as possible between, during and after brainings.
Headiing out on vacation tomorrow for a week so - guess it will dry and relax for a week then will need more work and perhaps more thinning. Probably got 15-18 hrs into it so far.
Sure hope this turns out cause it is supposed to be the basis for my xmas gift for the PA exchange as well as for myself.
Want to build a pair of knee high winter moccs with the hair on inside. like this:
here is how it looked before last braining:
later. see y'all in a week.
stickbender:
As for the brains, you can do the stick and wire bit, or you can in through the eye socket, with a wire, with a right angle at the end, and put the wire in a drill and hit the trigger, and then drain out the mush through the bottom of the skull, where the spine attaches. The , just scrape out the remnants. You can put the head on a fire ant mound, or boil it good, and then let it soak in hydrogen peroxide, to bleach the skull. Those little beatles work really well also. But so do fire ants. What you aren't going to make a Buffalo head hat? Like the one in Little Big Man.
Wayne
mullet:
Wade, If you picked me I wear a size 9. And if you are close to Disney, give me a shout.
El Destructo:
--- Quote from: mullet on November 20, 2008, 08:06:43 pm --- Wade, If you picked me I wear a size 9.
--- End quote ---
Man you have a Big Head .............. >:D
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