Mammals (incomplete)

Skinning

_______Let frozen carcass thaw 12-16 hours.  Let is get warm enough that skin moves on outside, but core is still cool or frozen. 

_______Put on gloves.

_______For a life-sized, cut down back.  For a rug, cut the belly, then start in pad or foot.  Cut down back of legs to belly cut.  (If you rug the

                 cat, you’ll need a dry tan for best fur.  Don’t wet-tan in-house for rug work.)   Cut gum line.  Cut from base of skull to 2”  from base of tail with blade up. 

_______Skin down sides.  Skin down the leg to the hock.

_______Cut down center of pad to hock on all four legs.  Skin to one joint above the nail if you send to tannery. 

_______Flesh bobcat hide on bird flesher with brass brush from Lowes.

_______Split bottom of tail to skin.  If you send to tannery, flesh and salt.

_______Get all ear butt when skinning head.  Stick finger in eye hold when skinning.

_______Turn ears inside out.  Leave cartilage on the inside of the ear.  If sending to a tannery, leave 1/4” unturned. 

_______Split down between two layers of skin on lips.

_______Take septum out of nose and clean and flesh nose. 

_______To order a form, rehydrate hide to measure. 

_______Sweat the hide to rehydrate.  Follow tanner’s instructions for rehydrating dry-tanned cape.  If you don’t know who tanned the cape, use cold

                 water (with salt 1 cup) .  Soak hide for 30 to 45 minutes, submerged.  Hang to drip dry for an hour.  Roll up with head inside.  Place in plastic bag.  Refrigerate overnight. 

_______If hide is  tubed, cut down back from bass of skull to base of tail.  Stretch across girth and face. 

_______Eye to nose.  (A)  Form measurement can be equal to, or 1/4” shorter.

_______Nose to tail.  (D)  Order form 2” smaller than hide measurement.

_______Girth measurement. ( C ) Measure hide behind ribs.  Order form at same measurement.

_______Making earliners.  Lay ear on hardware cloth.  Trace ear.  Use first tracing to make second ear.  Cover edges with  masking tape.  Shape to ear. 

                Build an ear butt like the deer.  ( For smaller mammals, like raccoons, make entire ear out of clay. )

_______Set eyes.  Eyes on fox and cats are set with pupil vertical, tipped slightly in at top.  Eye lid will cut across pupil.  To shape eyes on cats and

                foxes, shape upper lid straight, bottom lid rounded.  (opposite of deer.)

_______Open Mouth Form.  Cut out foam out of mouth for jawset.   Cut a sloped line up with knife.  Take a pie-shaped cut out of top of head with

                band saw.  Do a bottom pie cut on wide open mouth. 

_______Set Jaw.  Set the bottom jaw first.    Set teeth in carved-out foam with hot glue, with top teeth set behind bottom teeth.  For aggressive mount,

                face will show tips of canines.  For mad, show to gum lines.  (Slick side is bottom jaw.)  (Fox or cat with bird in mouth may not need jawset.) 

_______Hide paste goes on back for belly cut.  Paste goes on belly for back cut. 

_______Sew back seam first.  Sew back of head to tail with white nylon thread doubled. 

_______Finish on open mouth.  You have 15- 20 minutes working time with magic sculpt.   Fill in be tween lip and gum line on bobcat with natural

                 or flesh colored resin.  Thin it to smooth with water.  Build bottom lip close to gum line.  On bobcat, no lip shows on top. 

_______Glue top lip from front, working your way back.

_______Bottom lip shows a little.  Hair line dips a little where top canine rests on bottom lip. 

_______Fox:   Brad nail each side of crease at inside corner of eye.  Put ears on top of head, making sure the pair is centered