Author Topic: Tanning Beaver Tails (Read 36066 times)

timber wolfe · « **on:** March 11, 2009, 04:58:03 pm »

Hi All,
I've acquired some "raw" beaver tails. I would like to know if anyone has a "home" tanning procedure they would like to share with me. I've read some of the other posts regarding beaver tails, and I see that some have put them on raw. How much shrinkage, if any, would there be? My concern would be too much shrinkage, and stitching pulling out (weakening). BTW I've been carving up some pretty nice bows, and now I'm in the process of attaching bow "bling" - I will post finished results soon.
Mike

stickbender · « **Reply #1 on:** March 20, 2009, 02:26:32 pm »

I haven't had any experience with it, but a friend of mine has made a full mount, and was told not to bother trying to tan the tail, it is too meaty, and oily, and just use an artificial one. You can get artificial ones from a taxidermy supply.

Wayne

huntertrapper · « **Reply #2 on:** March 26, 2009, 09:01:59 am »

well when the tail is skinned out it is actually meat-less and thin and yes cracking would be a concern, being a trapper i have a few hides me and my dad caught, and i can say the tail will shrink and might crack, but if a different tanning method was used it may not, ours was tanned at a tannery that uses chemicals and no natural processes, but i can imagine just skinning the tail out and not having to tan it wouldnt be a prob.

Ryano · « **Reply #3 on:** March 26, 2009, 11:45:47 am »

Mike, I just aply them green. They do shrink a little but if your stitching is tight it won't be a problem.

Ryan_Gill_HuntPrimitive · « **Reply #4 on:** March 26, 2009, 04:23:34 pm »

under ooga booga is my tan-along i did on a muskrat, its probably a few pages down by now, but its the same process except you wouldnt have to work it quite as much so get it supple, it could still dry a bit stiff and be fine. or apply it green as Ryano said - Ryan

Pappy · « **Reply #5 on:** March 27, 2009, 09:28:47 am »

I have one in the freezer,so what you guys are saying is I can just skin it/scrap it clean and put it on like a green snake skin.I wanted to use it on a grip.

About how much should you allow for shrinkage ?

Pappy

predatorcaller · « **Reply #6 on:** March 29, 2009, 02:30:59 pm »

yeah pappy it should be fine green there really no fleshing that has to be done on the tail except for a bit and im not real sure what to allow for shrinkage maybe none as long as the tails put on wet

Ryano · « **Reply #7 on:** March 29, 2009, 10:29:23 pm »

Pappy if you stitch it up tight it'll be fine. I use titebond 3 glue to hold it in place and wrap it with twine while it drys so it conforms to the contours of the handle.

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Pappy · « **Reply #8 on:** March 30, 2009, 05:59:08 am »

Great thanks,I will give the one I have a try.

Pappy

paulette · « **Reply #9 on:** April 26, 2009, 08:10:30 am »

Boy, that sure does look neat as a grip on that bow! Here is a pic of some beaver tails I have been working with recently. I hope the copy and paste works. I just joined here and at shutterfly.com and am unfamiliar with it all, thx.
http://notsoprimitiveskills.shutterfly.com/24

cheapshot · « **Reply #10 on:** April 26, 2009, 10:19:34 am »

Paulette, looked at those beaver tails, I know nothing about them but they looked good and clean. When you scrap the meat off, that's the white slick underneath, correct? How difficult is it to do? I've done a deer hide and it would take some "abuse" in the scrapping if I did it wrong. But the beaver tails look as if they'd be sorta delicate to scrap out. I thought that handle looked really nice. And it shouldn't have any type of smell to it, if it's done right, correct? Would you need to oil it or just treat like you would a deer skin wrapped handle? Mrs. Cheapshot (Tomi)

paulette · « **Reply #11 on:** April 26, 2009, 11:57:41 am »

Hi Mrs. Cheapshot, (Tomi), It is a pleasure to meet you :-). I didn't scrape the tails at all. I had all three clean in at least 20 minutes with the powerwasher and turbo nozzle. I would have had nicer looking tails overall if I had used a new razor blade on the scalpel! Oh well will just have to buy some more supplies! I learn from my mistakes sometimes!

I want to make leather from the beaver's tails, did enjoy seeing the bow handle and I guess some more uses for the unthinned rawhide would be for a cover on like rawhide knife or gun sheaths possibly? I will try to make one with some of this skin. I love the looks of the beavers skin! I spent a wad this week on a professional fleshing machine. two of them really and it was on account of how lousy my bench grinder was doing to thin down these beaver skins.. 3rd pic.. oh man, what a laugh that was.. and smelly?? hhahaha.. I totally smelled like dead fish! so I have these really high hopes of actually making a nice soft useable beaver tail leather someday. I may use chemicals too..well everything's a chemical.. smoke, brains..hey sometimes one shouldn't drink the water or breathe the air! So I plan to use this smaller detail fleshing machine to thin down the skins and then I got some paint on tan here with the oils already in it.. I think it will really make a unique bag thinned and softened and maybe sewn together with some, oil tanned buckskin. anyway I ordered these new machines because braintanning or even chemical tanning hides and skins is just SO Much labor and if the skins are too thick they are next to impossible to penetrate with the oils needed to properly 'tan' them. If a skin isn't tanned well it can easily become brittle and prone to breakage.. ok for small applications like bow handles or knife sheaths or gun sheaths, I think. I could be wrong! Probably oil from your hands would be fine by itself. I don't really know! sounds reasonable to me! In any event I find hides and skins totally fascinating!

brian melton · « **Reply #12 on:** May 08, 2009, 09:42:27 pm »

I just skin them, and borax is added for preserving....

Primitive Archer