home tanning.. ?

You do not need battery acid :shock:

Wear rubber or latex gloves and use a plastic bin.

Use formic acid at 7.5fl oz in a solution of 7 galls warm water and 6lbs of good salt. This will fix the skin first.

Shave it down and then drain off after about 2 days

After this use any tann you like but Lutan FN is a tan used for taxidermy work.

7 galls of warm water, 2 caps of tanning oil, 3lbs of salt and 2oz bicarbonate of soda, and 12.5oz of Lutan FN Tanning powder. Mix in put the skin back in and punch it about with a stick, do not use anything made of iron or steel.

I use a plastic dustbin, to tan a skin the size of a fallow you will need to use about double, as the solution is gauged on 3lbs dry weight of skin.

After about 2 days take out and drain and peg out and when nearly dry rub in some warm tanning oil and then work the skin over a a pole or old spade head to break the fibres up and it will come out as white calf leather.

This is dressing a skin NOT tanning, tanning means hair off, dressing you keep the hair on.
 
I did one last year:

Scrape all flesh from skin

pin out tight on a board using pannel pins

put salt on for 48 hours to draw the moisture out of the skin
remove salt

Make up a mixture of Bicarb of soda and diesel should make the consistancy of mayonaise
paint on about 1/4 of an inch thick

leave some where preferably warm ish for a month

remove the thick christolised withe paste

scrape the skin side and it will quickly come up nice and soft.

I use an 18 inch by 12 inch patch as seat, I always through it on the ground or on a high seat at this time of year ant the thermal properties are great.

Dave
 
thanks for the great info. is there a place to buy formic acid and tann?

as I have already salted the skin and clean the fat off do I got straight to

.....
7 galls of warm water, 2 caps of tanning oil, 3lbs of salt and 2oz bicarbonate of soda, and 12.5oz of Lutan FN Tanning powder. Mix in put the skin back in and punch it about with a stick, do not use anything made of iron or steel.

I use a plastic dustbin, to tan a skin the size of a fallow you will need to use about double, as the solution is gauged on 3lbs dry weight of skin.

After about 2 days take out and drain and peg out and when nearly dry rub in some warm tanning oil and then work the skin over a a pole or old spade head to break the fibres up and it will come out as white calf leather.

This is dressing a skin NOT tanning, tanning means hair off, dressing you keep the hair on.[/quote]
 
I used to stretch em pin em (wish i'd had a stapler) paint em with parafin when dry buff with lecy drill lasts for years.
 
Very useful info !
i knew about the salting , as I use some deer hair for fly tying .
will try the diesel and bicarbonate of soda method for a nice soft skin !
 
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