Do I need lots of kit to prepare skins and hides?

[Omega]

I currently send hides to Welsh Organic Tannery because:
1. I do not know how to treat hides
2. I do not have equipment to treat hides
3. I do not have time to treat hides - I was told it would take about 2-3 overall hours to treat each hide. If I count my hourly rate, it is notably more economical for me to pay someone £60 per hide for treatment
However, Welsh Organic Tannery cannot treat muntjac's hides and it takes a while to get them back, so I am considering if I should start treating hides myself
Is this correct that each hide would take 2-3 hours altogether to be treated? Perhaps this is the key question because, if it is, then I should outsource it
And do I need a lot of kit? As I understand, I will need:
1. 2 fleshing knives (one dull to remove hair, one sharp to get rid of fats)
2. fleshing bench/beam (I know I can make it, but if it takes 2 hours to find materials and make it, then it is cheaper for me to spend £130 and buy one new or try to find cheaper s/h)
3. stretching frame (don't even know how much it will cost)
4. buckets to wash hides (I am not going to use washing machine for this)
5. Treatment materials and application tools like brushes
And then I need space to store it in my garage, will it take a lot of space? I am clearing my garage at the moment, so would want to avoid putting anything in there, it is already full of fridges and beer/wine making kit
Feel it is a waste throwing hides away, but so far it seem this is the cheapest option for me
Thanks

 

[EssexBigMac]

@T.eddie is the the man with the advice on this one.It was my understanding the Welsh tannery stopped doing deer hides a while ago.

 

[VSS]

Just get a kit from Snowdonia Supplies. Their "K-Tan" is great for deer skins. No special equipment required, you can improvise what you need. And you can phone them for advice.

 

[Robs]

Large deer no, small deer should be no problem and a small tub or barrel will be fine for washing. As to materials you can buy the three magic ingredients online very cheaply, namely aluminium sulphate (to open the skin up), chromium salts (to cure) and bicarbinate of soda (to neutralise). Winter Roe make superb throws.

 

[Omega]

Just get a kit from Snowdonia Supplies. Their "K-Tan" is great for deer skins. No special equipment required, you can improvise what you need. And you can phone them for advice.

I spoke to them and concluded that it will take 2-3 hours per hide. I am thinking about extra equipment because speed and quality are very important to me

 

[VSS]

I spoke to them and concluded that it will take 2-3 hours per hide. I am thinking about extra equipment because speed and quality are very important to me

Speed = pressure washer for defleshing, and coarse sanding disc on power drill for final working.
Quality is more dependent on how soon after death you get the skin off the animal, how tidily you skin it, and how thoroughly you cure (salt) it before you start the tanning process.

 

[Robs]

One thing I found is to be selective with regards to the skins. It is wasteful of your time to choose a substandard skin or to use one that has been left too long before preparation. If you think about it when skinning you'll probably do a better job and leave less to do when preparing for tanning. VSS beat me to it and posted as I was typing.

 

[Omega]

Speed = pressure washer for defleshing, and coarse sanding disc on power drill for final working.
Quality is more dependent on how soon after death you get the skin off the animal, how tidily you skin it, and how thoroughly you cure (salt) it before you start the tanning process.

I started using pressure washer. I bought DeWalt for wine making, I guess I can use it for sanding too
However, I am not an expert, so I will be slow. I expect I will shoot 12 deers a year, 1-2 per outing. However, I am not sure about time I will spend on treating hides- if more than 2 hours overall, then perhaps I should outsource it if I can

 

[CBH Australia]

You can flesh over a log or some makeshift object
We used to buy a kit with 2 bottles and a knife then all you need is salt.
You can peg or staple them to a board.

Only you can decide if you have the time and space to do ithem.

What will you do with 12 skins a year if they are all tanned?

 

[Omega]

Only you can decide if you have the time and space to do ithem.

What will you do with 12 skins a year if they are all tanned?

Thanks
I agree - I have no idea what I can do with 12 hides a year, it is a lot. And it is perhaps with a massive margin - my family probably can eat about 8 deers a year, though I do give away whenever I can

 

[Sol]

There's several DIY fleshing stands online that fold up once finished that may be worth looking at making, your stretching frame Is honestly just 4 long pieces of wood on an angle in a high air-flow room.
+1 to pressure washer, though you wont need two fleshing knifes if your doing hair off tanning, you'll want to submerge skins in high amounts of wood ash (its some sort of chemical) that will cause non-bacteria hair slippage.

Also yes big unbarked log would probably also work as a 'fleshing table' anything that has a curve to it and is smooth should work. big cut widened pvc pipe maybe?

Truthfully though what's your use for them? Its not terribly economical to do hide prep the 'traditional' way you might be better selling them on to fellow taxidermists that want some hobby protects.

 

[CBH Australia]

There's several DIY fleshing stands online that fold up once finished that may be worth looking at making, your stretching frame Is honestly just 4 long pieces of wood on an angle in a high air-flow room.
+1 to pressure washer, though you wont need two fleshing knifes if your doing hair off tanning, you'll want to submerge skins in high amounts of wood ash (its some sort of chemical) that will cause non-bacteria hair slippage.

Also yes big unbarked log would probably also work as a 'fleshing table' anything that has a curve to it and is smooth should work. big cut widened pvc pipe maybe?

Truthfully though what's your use for them? Its not terribly economical to do hide prep the 'traditional' way you might be better selling them on to fellow taxidermists that want some hobby protects.

I will add the "Kits" that were available here turned the leather pale blue or grey. Not what I would call a natural look and probably no good for leatherwork etc.

 

[VSS]

I started using pressure washer. I bought DeWalt for wine making, I guess I can use it for sanding too
However, I am not an expert, so I will be slow. I expect I will shoot 12 deers a year, 1-2 per outing. However, I am not sure about time I will spend on treating hides- if more than 2 hours overall, then perhaps I should outsource it if I can

Outsourcing is expensive. I was getting them done by Welsh Organic Tannery, and you're talking at least £80 per hide + courier both ways.

Truthfully though what's your use for them? Its not terribly economical to do hide prep the 'traditional' way

I sell them for £130 each. Maybe the OP is planning on doing similar?

I will add the "Kits" that were available here turned the leather pale blue or grey. Not what I would call a natural look and probably no good for leatherwork etc.

Same here, but you get a nice soft finish and a more supple hide than the traditional method.

 

[Sol]

Outsourcing is expensive. I was getting them done by Welsh Organic Tannery, and you're talking at least £80 per hide + courier both ways.

I sell them for £130 each. Maybe the OP is planning on doing similar?

Same here, but you get a nice soft finish and a more supple hide than the traditional method.

His wording almost seemed like he planned on doing them hair off "(one dull to remove hair, one sharp to get rid of fats)" unless he's meaning the dried up membrane on the inside of the hide that looks hairy?

 

[VSS]

His wording almost seemed like he planned on doing them hair off "(one dull to remove hair, one sharp to get rid of fats)" unless he's meaning the dried up membrane on the inside of the hide that looks hairy?

I missed that bit! But I'm guessing he wants them with hair on for rugs and throws?

 

[VSS]

Incidentally, the plasterers' baths that many of us use as carcass trays are absolutely perfect for washing and soaking hides.

 

[T.eddie]

as others have said, the K-tan kit is pretty good, it is a little time consuming and will be one of those things that you will get better the more you do and allocate some time for putting in the work, as after the fleshing, salting and washing/tanning you need to work the hide to get it soft/supple and that part shouldn't be underestimated, while its not hard to get it reasonable, it does require a bit of effort and if your planning on selling as a finished product then do really take the time on that

Id also add, you dont need loads of kit, I used a plastic box with a lid that clips down, got it from amazon I think, the Ktan kit again from amazon (this is re-useable provided it stays in the container). I use a pallet for the drying rack and a staple gun to clip the hide on, a pressure washer and a big bag of course non-iodized salt

 

[Rasputin]

Speed = pressure washer for defleshing, and coarse sanding disc on power drill for final working.
Quality is more dependent on how soon after death you get the skin off the animal, how tidily you skin it, and how thoroughly you cure (salt) it before you start the tanning process.

This is great advice. I tanned a fallow hide that was particularly lovely. It took me several days and still was very stiff despite taking a sander to it. In the end I took and electric plane to the really thick bits.

Was a lot of effort and something ticked of the list but wouldn’t do it again much better to find someone imho.

 

[Omega]

This is great advice. I tanned a fallow hide that was particularly lovely. It took me several days and still was very stiff despite taking a sander to it. In the end I took and electric plane to the really thick bits.

Was a lot of effort and something ticked of the list but wouldn’t do it again much better to find someone imho.

This is what seems to me too - better use professionals than me doing an amateurish job (though Noah's arc was built by an amateur and "Titanic" by professionals ). And I don't want more things in my garage