Beav, you have a skinning machine design?

[trappincoyotes39]

Do you have some drawings of a skinning machine? I'm looking to build one soon. Thanks.

[coonhangman1]

I'm probably sticking my nose where it doesn't belong. But I took k9's design, and made my own. He claims to have taken The Beav's design and making his own. Anyways, here is my skinning rig. Maybe you can make your own idea. It's a roller that rolls the tail and back fur up.

I used materials I had available. Mounted the winch on an old feed trough. Added 600 lbs of TRACTOR weights to hold that baby down.



I can open right there on the trough/bench.

[trappnman]

Nick, while I hesitate to give any advice on fur handing- everyone has their own methods- I find opening coon before hanging them, saves me a ton of time. the opening cut goes so much better when flat on their back- and after the opening cut, its a breeze to skin them to the waist (except for tail) and then hang and pull. Just an option.....

[k9]

Look at that guy skin! No this design is not Beav's but he told me about a roller type design he was working on, but it rolls the skin off the animal if I followed him right. I'd like to see it too.

Here is some of his skinner designs

thebeav.topcities.com/skinner.html

[swdawg]

Nick C.,

Do you have a close-up picture of the roller part for holding the fur down?I would appreciate seeing it so I could adapt mine.I kept tearing the coyotes using visegrips so quit.Just use a rope and golfball now.The roller looks much better.

I guess too much tension on cold coyotes and the visegrips were tearing the fur.No fun.

Love my skinning machine but just need to tweak it a bit.

Cheers,Mark

[Bristleback]

On the topic of tearing and vice grips..........give the fur a couple of twists before clamping in the vice grips........I haven't tore one since doing this.

[buckfreak]

Beav has a good design. Some tips to speed up skinning with a machine is to cut the legs off at the elbow. Do as trappnman suggests by starting coon laying down. I start all mine with a utility knife and a hooked blade. A wall mounted tail stripper to pull the tails. Also a cable or chain gambrel that way you don't have to worry about cutting a tendon. Skinning coon is basically assembly line work if you want to do a pile in a hurry. I leg all mine then open them and strip the tail, hang em, pull em, cut the ears, eyes and nose.
A skinning machine seems like a big investment but it pays for itself in the long run. I haven't talked to anyone that after they used one would ever go back to pulling by hand.

[thebeav2]

Lose the vise grips. I use nothing but cable slip nooses. I have never tore a hide with this system. On coyotes you can back off on the tension and re position your noose just by opening It up and sliding It farther up the hide.
My roller system goes like this.
I got some shaft material and had a square milled on the end I then used a steel Impact wrench socket to adapt It to the winch shaft. The shaft was set In two bearings. and mounted to the bottom of the skinning rig. I went to the junk yard and got some old seat belts I had a grommet sewed Into one end so I could attach It to the shaft with a bolt. I left the male end of the seat belt Intact to hook the cable noose to. You can't use cable for the whole thing It just gets to snarled up after a few pulls.
I wish I had pictures of this rig but I sold it with out taking any.
The rig was a table that was only 5' long at the edge above the winch I had a 1" pipe set so It could roll as the belt and the hide were being pulled across It. On the other end I had a adjustable telescoping piece of square tubing that I could slid out to accommodate the larger animals This Is where I hooked up the hind
legs . I only use one noose to hook up both hind legs. The telescoping tubing was set up so I could pin It at the right length.
A coon hide would never roll up on the shaft but a coyote would roll up a few turns. You could and I did build a vertical skinner like this. The problem with this type Is you need a hand winch to raise and lower the animal Into position when hanging and opening. You need to do this so you can get the animals head up to your chest level for easy skinning.
If you had a 12volt winch I could see making a set up for your truck.
I like to open In the hanging position It just seems easier to me then doing It on the bench and In this way I all ready have the critter ready to pull. But what ever works for you Is the way to go.
I will try an get some pics today after I shovel snow and move some coon hides out of the way. Don't have any coon to skin but have 14 more to flesh.

[coonhangman1]

Thanks Steve, I actually DO open with them laying down, as k9 can vouch for (because I helped him skin about 35 coon one night, ;D )

[trappnman]

thanks nick- wasn't sure...

you and k-9 have an assembly line? one opening and one finishing? that would really be a fast way to go-

[thebeav2]

I all ways found that hanging the animal by ONE hind leg was easier then by two. You can pull the un attached leg out and make one continuous cut from foot to foot. And remember to make the money cut when you do this. I then start my knife about half way down the tail and cut up and straight through the bung hole. No extra cuts around It.
That's a very good tip on cutting off the front legs. I use a ball peen hammer when I get up to the arm pits on coyotes this really helps to break them loose. If your not care full you can tear a coyote hide In half on the skinner and a coon will come a part In the body before the hide will tear.
I haven't figured out how to wire the winch to a foot control. I opened up the hand control figuring there were only a few wires to work with, I was wrong. It would really make a difference having both hands free. I know It can be done I just haven't worked It out yet.

[garman]

The fastest I have ever seen it done (450 in 8hrs) and the fastest I have done (275 in 8hrs) was take a large stump 2-3 feet across and waste height, that stump is where you do all your work, chop off both front legs at the joint (this is done in an order so the butt is facing you), then make your cuts in order across the back, (in order according if your right or left handed, so you are not wasting movements) then hanging turn on machine and you should be able to make cuts while machine is constantly moving. Rememeber no wasted movements! 2 guys should be able to easy do 60 an hour. All that time gives you more time do other things, more traps, time with family etc.

[coonhangman1]

trappnman said:

thanks nick- wasn't sure...

you and k-9 have an assembly line? one opening and one finishing? that would really be a fast way to go-

I rode a long with him about 2.5 weeks ago. Just so happens his beer fridge is an arm's reach away from the skinning table. Had me opening, and him pulling, gutting and bagging carcasses.I think we did those 35 in about 2 hours.

[garman]

beav our skinning machines where I worked were set up on foot control and that was nice, I just do not know how to hook it up sorry.

[centraliowa]

i do my skinning in two steps. i hang the coon by the back feet and open them up. when i get 20 or so coon opened up i then use a vertical skinner. i attach 3 at a time to 3 different bench mounted vice grips and then put both legs in a cable that is attached to the wench. i can do around 30 coon a hour doing it this way. pull until the font legs need to be cut, pull until the ears need to be cut, and then the eyes, and finally the nose. the only disadvantage is my right hand gets sore from holding the knife for so long. after skinning 300 coon in week my hand hurts for a good month.

[foxtail]

trappnman said:

thanks nick- wasn't sure...

you and k-9 have an assembly line? one opening and one finishing? that would really be a fast way to go-

Me, my friends Chris and Pat were doing that one year.
It was the cat's ass let me tell you.

Sadly, Chris married a succubus who cost him a couple hundred thou in 5 years and Pat started working too much to pay for his new house.

[k9]

Yes it is always good to have Nick in the fur shed with you.

My roller is fine until you start trying to force cold animals, especially coyotes, too far into the front legs and shoulders. Then you will pop off a tail or two. If I slow down at that point, and ease into it I am all right. Someone wanted a close up of the roller. I will see if I still have the pictures that Nick took last year.

[k9]

Thought I had them, guess I don't. Nick took some action shots last year of a coon being skinned, had good shot of the roller.