Maybe nobody cares....or already knows this. But I used to have "troubles" when it came to putting up beaver. Knicks, holes, slices, and finally tearing as I take them off the boards.

Really trying to take my time this year....and I was bored the other night too.

Open to any and all feedback and criticism. Its a lot of work, and I'm open to anything that may help my put up.



SO.....here we go.

Skin some beaver and make sure they're dry....


Got a little behind on skinning, and this female was a bit warm by this time, if you can't tell by the fatty areas around the head and front legs. But it dried fine and no worries.

I hook the nose on the board first. Tried the whole "case skin the head out" thing, and it just seemed to slow me down. But maybe its worth it.


Guess I try and rip a little "relief" on each edge of the beam first, then clean up the middle of the back....like this....






And clean up the hind end in the process. Probably the worst of it in my opinion. But get it looking something like this...


I then put it nose down and clean up the head and cheeks. I have a feeling I do more than needed here, but I think it helps them dry better, and an extra minute or two helps with the look of the pelt, at least to me.


Then, keep the center of the pelt on the nose of the beam, and work the "easy" stuff out towards the edges. Seems to help keep things cleaner for me. Like this...




Finally, I hook the head back on and squee-gee off as much of the white, liquid fat "stuff" as I can. Also, cleans off any scraps.


Now....to shoot the thing onto the board. I guess I do it the hard way and eyeball it. I'm just stubborn and that's what I do...but maybe the equation thing actually works for some.

I shoot the bottom on first, then pull the nose up. Then work the sides out and make sure I picked the right line.

IMPORTANT....If a pretty girl is texting you, it is CRUCIAL that you keep your phone on the board



Then, kind of like the star pattern when tightening lug bolts, I work my way around the bottom 3/4 of the beaver. I usually do the head last, guess because it seems like that area would be the most forgiving if my skinning was a little off. Anyway, sort of like this....




Any little tags, I try to clean up like this. Also, I usually trim the lips and nose too. Not always, but depends on how the beaver shoots on. I think it does help the pelt dry and look nice.




Not sure if this is best, but I pinch, staple, and trim the leg holes, like this...

DONE.

Now time to carry the board in to dry with the rest of them... in the laundry room....right next to the clean clothes

They turned out very nice, thanks for sharing!

Awesome post MNCedar!!! Your put up job looks good! I flesh a touch differently then you do, but i think it all comes down to personal preference. Have you found that the staples are a pain to pull out when you pull the pelts off the board? I use nails myself and have thought about staples, but i am just too gun shy you could say to do it LOL.

Here is a tip for anyone making beaver boards, make sure that when you stenciling on your ovals, alternate the colors of each ring. This way it is a lot easier to follow.

looks like you get an A . Good to see its about taking pride in ones work and not about economics . I vote this post to the archives ...Tom

Thank you for the educational beaver fur put up. Great job

Very nice pics and descriptions...thank you.

Pulling staples is something you need to get used to at first, but its not that bad. Once you do a few....you get faster. I used to really rush this part, and the fur check would show it!

I use a screwdriver and a pair of sidecutters to pull staples. Sometimes I just lift the pelt loose and off the board with the flat screwdriver, and then grab one "leg" of the staple and pull it through and out.

I asked on here and with a buyer about the KB staple rake. He modifies them a little....but that thing is basically getting the snot used out of it too.

Oh, as far as the ring colors. My buddy did his last year, alternated between blue and black or red and black every other ring. He thought it was great.....

It just made me dizzy.

I count the "spaces" when I board. Like the beaver in this post, I see it as "one showing"....meaning one space. Maybe thats a little abstract...but thats just how my brain works.

Using your method,how long does it take to flesh and board a blanket?

I'm not an expert.

Oh geez....I don't know. Never honestly timed anything out. I just know the staple part of it goes fast, once you do a few it only gets faster.

One thing I wanted to try this year, but didn't, was to use a pneumatic stapler (soffit gun) and turn the air pressure way down. That would leave a large portion of the staple sticking out, and make it very easy to pull out. I was shown this by a buyer, and plan on it for next year.

What kind of fleshing knife are you using?

Necker 600

cedar, i was thinking the same thing with a pnumatic staple gun. turn the air down low so the heads stick up 1/4 inch. also a brain fart and have never tried this but would the hide dry faster if you were to cut out a hole in the middle of the board. say a 10" hole or so??than stick a piece of lathe inside,to lift it abit.?? good informative post. and NO Lyonch. i ai'nt coming down to help you skin/flesh that pile you got

Hey bucs ray and I have a pile in dustys freezer for you to start on.

not a chance!! i'm alergic to them things and if i hadta flesh that many, my forearms would look like yours and i don't need hot chicks chasin me no more

bucks I use a pnumatic staple gun for mine and I rigged a block onto the saftey of mine which holds it off the board about a Quater inch as for the cutting a hole in the middle of the board it might work (cant say for sure as I use double sided boards) but back when I was hammer and nailing mine I would lift the hide up off the board after nailing and it would help with the drying time doing them that way

Would you be able to use a long enough staple with the pneumatic gun so that you can raise the pelt a little....?

Looks like a real nice job Cedar. It might be a little easier if you do make a size chart for yourself though. I just hang the fleshed pelt from a nail and measure from nose to base of the tail. Anything 42" or more is a blanket (XXL), 39"-41" is an XL, etc.

Cedar I tried it in my gun (now mine is a small cheap gun so others might be diffent) and it wouldnt shoot a long enough staple to make it worth the effort. I do custom fur put up for some fur buyers down here and my drying room has a a dehumidifier , air conditioner, heater and fans so I can really regulate the temp and such in my room and do my best to keep it 65 degrees with the humidity as low as possible (not easy to do down here most of the time) now with I staple and leave the hide touching the board I average 5 days on the boards (somtimes I can get them off in 4) on my boarded beavers and 4 on hooped ones, when I was hammering and pulling the hide off the boards I could probly take all of them off in 4 but when I nailed I would have at least an inch of space between the beaver and the board

Thanks Kirk. I can't imagine drying fur down there. Up here, right now, I've been getting by with 3 days bringing them inside. But that gets to be a lot of hauling boards in and out of the house. I must say that not everyone is as thrilled as I am with the laundry room being filled with beaver boards. But, you only live once.

Goldy, thats a good idea and I'm going to put it to use tonight.