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Post by Zagman on Feb 14, 2008 9:04:49 GMT -6
I assume you cut of the back legs just to make the overall package look neater?
Do you do the same with coyotes?
Those pieces make good lure holders/patch sets.......
I do a similiar process, only I use an air compressor for the fluffing......
With upstairs laundry and a neat freak for a wife who also thinks ANYTHING to do with trapping smells like a skunk, you wont see me lugging coyotes and fox up and into the dryer.........well, unless we get divorced.
Why speed that up by using the dryer she does MY clothes in?
I have a pretty nice/big fur shop....if I go that route, will just buy an old dryer and hook it up down there.....
Really good, informative posts there, Gray Fox Man.
Zagman
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Post by thebeav2 on Feb 14, 2008 9:19:59 GMT -6
Would It be better to trim the legs before they dry so you don't have those sharp edges after trimming? I have been told by a reliable source that you can dust the borax on to the hide side and place the hide on the board fur side out and It will dry just fine. I don't have any fox at this time to try It on but If some one does would you give It a try and see how It works out. If It did work It sure would make things quicker.
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Post by trappnman on Feb 14, 2008 9:23:31 GMT -6
I think thats the main point of the borax beav-
can't help it if your wife is a city girl......
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Post by bobwendt on Feb 14, 2008 9:29:07 GMT -6
beav, I think that is how everyone does it now, the borax and fur out to start. cameron, the eastern greys really are about triple the size, more course fur, and shorter tails. but still smell like a goat. the eastern greys are lot thicker hide too. the first sw greys I ever caught I was amazed at the paper thin delicate hide, the extreme silkiness and the tails seemed twice as long as the eastern greys. but the most amazing thing of all to me was the tiny tiny body size, bone structure and delicate little feet and features. almost a different species it seemed. like your 16 lb coyotes vs our 45 lb dog stuff. yoiu really have it made out there. heck, most of us havn`t seen or even heard of anyone catching a fox for years, let alone do it in the sun and dry sand.
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Post by Furhvstr on Feb 14, 2008 9:35:55 GMT -6
Quite a post C2 and thank you. 96 hr check must leave some computer time. No better or worse but I do a few things different here. I flesh the head pretty throughly and only run the beam up inside the hide at the very end. Hook the nose on the beam and lay the entire hide on top of the beam. Start fleshing and rotate the hide left then right on the way down to the shoulders then flop the hide over the end of the beam at the shoulder area and work my way down. For the heavy handed this might work better as there will be a cushion of fur between the blade and the board. Sorry if this is old news. I still dry skin out for a brief time and have no use for borax on the inside of the hide for a few reasons. Sold my baby Ca. greys at $38.00 x 25 skins, hope I don't regret it.
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Post by thebeav2 on Feb 14, 2008 10:00:51 GMT -6
Well dumb ass me I didn't look at the stretching part, my City Girl Is In the Carolinas And I'm here putting up with the snow and cold I guess I'm really dumb And I still have 60 beaver to put up. Dumb and dumber here In Oregon LOL
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Post by cameron2 on Feb 14, 2008 11:06:07 GMT -6
Mercer:
I'm going to have to try that "double layer" fleshing idea. I tend to get in a hurry and get heavy handed. That's when the holes start to appear. Maybe that would help. Thanks for the tip.
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Post by thebeav2 on Feb 14, 2008 12:14:32 GMT -6
The greys I trap are very greasy. Keep the dull side of your knife as flat as you can and you won't pull hair or make any holes.
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Post by BrandonH on Feb 14, 2008 13:16:36 GMT -6
Mercer, Why no borax on the leather of the hide? I've talked to lots of furbuyers and they don't seem to mind.
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Post by Furhvstr on Feb 14, 2008 16:43:47 GMT -6
I should mention with the way I flesh I use saw dust on the greasy ones. Helps with clean-up and adds some traction between my belly and the skin. My beam is not fixed to anything so I pinch the hide between my belly and the beam. Borax is handy on the skin side when drying fur out from the start but two weeks on the board is to long for me so I dry flesh side then flip and get my board back in 5-6 days. Real greasy hides equals real greasy borax on the inside of the hide and I just don't like that. Not saying it don't work just don't like it. I've done over 90 cats and 25 fox in last four weeks and I don't have enough boards to go fur out. Borax on the inside to me is a short cut around good fleshing and proper drying. Although I have not verified it for myself I have heard that too much borax at the tannery really plays hell with the PH levels in their tanks.
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Post by mostinterestingmanintheworld on Feb 15, 2008 8:10:01 GMT -6
I've never learned how to use a beam, I just use a knife, cat takes me 15-20 minutes, coyote takes zero minutes. lol!!
Joel
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Post by bobwendt on Feb 15, 2008 8:41:04 GMT -6
there is another break in the west. our easten dogs have 5-10 lb of fat all over and need beamed just like a coon. if not scraped down to white hide not only would boraxing be impossible, but they would just rot on the boards skin out even. I`d realy like to see you desert guys come east, if for no other reason than to wonder why all us fools stay here. no cats, bad fur, suface level water tables and constant rain/mud (real mud, not wet sand) and no sunshine ever. it`s just a terrible place to be a trapper. plumb takes the fun out of it no matter the catch if the weather is always miserable. I`ve been home 5 days now and still havn`t seen the sun since I left western ks. it gets light every day here, then dark, but danged if I can figure where the light comes from.
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Post by thebeav2 on Feb 15, 2008 10:21:08 GMT -6
Sounds like BOB Is on the mend LOl. What was It that good old Horace Greeley said GO WEST YOUNG MAN
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Post by mostinterestingmanintheworld on Feb 15, 2008 10:51:50 GMT -6
I wouldn't scrape a coyote for what they are worth. For twenty bucks they are lucky if I get the guts out. lol!!
Joel
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Post by ClaytonStockwell on Feb 16, 2008 18:56:09 GMT -6
Great job cameron2 - I like it. Please PM where I can buy the DVD direct.
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