Hey all, maybe I could find this info in the archives but will be quicker this way. I am not a beaver trapper usually....that said, I am going to get a finished beaver pelt to put in a willow stick frame for a wallhanger décor in my cabin. I have no clue about sizes (inches in dia) or how big a medium, large or XL is. I don't want to go too big as my cabin is fairly small. Anybody want to comment on sizes of a med-lg-xl pelt? Thanks all!!

They are measured as Length and Width added together. Once tanned they will generally shrink 15-20% of the stretched and dried measurement.

This is NAFA's sizes (in inches), with the minimum measurements, and my educated guess on what the Length, Width and Diameter is.

Size Total Inches Length Width Circumference
XXXL 70 42 28 112
XXL 65 39 26 104
XL 60 36 24 96
L 55 33 22 88
LM 51 30.5 20.5 81.5
M 47 28 19 75
SM 42 25 17 67

Go with a smaller pelt. Even a 30lbs beaver on a hoop takes up a lot of wall space

Got a smaller female on a hoop,30 inches diameter.

When you get it back from the tannery wet the leather side and block it back out to correct size on a beaver board before hooping.It will take out the wrinkles,and give the proper shape.Make any repairs before blocking.
Tanned beavers blocked oval.

Is it ok to just mist it with water or is there a better product?

I mist with water when blocking.

Warm water for fresh tanned skins,alcohol for old tanned skins or tanned skins with grease burn.
You can use a spray bottle or sponge to wet the leather.After wetting the leather,fold the skin leather to leather and roll up and set aside for a half hour,then it will be ready for blocking.Leave it blocked out to dry for 24 hours before removing from the form.

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Mike, Did you not mean circumference instead of diameter measurements(the last ones)?

Good advice!

I've found that rehydrating and blocking a freshly tanned beaver pelt, as shown by Boco above, will increase the size of that pelt by roughly 10%. Figure that into your dimensions.

Take that tanned pelt, lay it flat on a NAFA board without tugging at it, and measure. Add your 10%, take the pelt off the board and measure where that would be on the board. Maybe take a piece of string or lacing and lay that on one of your lines going around so you can keep track of where that line is.

Now figure where your willow hoop will be around the pelt. Probably looking at adding at least six inches across and eight inches up and down. Just a ballpark figure.

If you're real ambitious, cut out an oval piece of cardboard to match this new figure. Now you can have somebody hold this up on the wall while you back off and see if it looks "right" in that room.

A 46"-56" beaver makes a very nice wall hanging. 62" on up and that get real large, real fast.

I say, "go big or go home".

Here's a 62" beaver if I recall correctly. Gives you an idea of what "go big" size would look like after laced up. Wedding gift to my niece and husband. On their wall with canoe paddles on either side signed by members of the wedding party.



There's roughly 50' of lacing in this hoop, all continuous. Good source for leather lacing is Kentucky Leather & Hide. I highly recommend Michael & Penny for your leather supply needs. Good folks to work with.

https://kentuckyleatherandhides.com/

Yes Muskrat, I'd hang that on my wall!

Hey thanks all for the comments. Muskrat, that looks cool. I'll probably start with a smaller beaver. I can always go bigger and make another one. Thanks all again!!!

thanks for posting that leather website Muskrat

Thanks for the blocking advise. Muskrat, what diameter do you use to lace your hides? Do you use different diameters for different sized pelts?

Not at home today, but guessing the diameter is somewhere in the 1/8" to 3/16" range. And they're square, not round. Look up Kentucky Leather & Hide's phone number and give Penny a jingle and ask that question. If Michael is available he'll be able to tell you exactly.

I get it in bulk, Michael cuts either a half bend for me or a full bend. He does very nice work, little or no "weak spots" in the lacing throughout. Therefore, I have little waste.

I use the same lacing for everything down to muskrats. Even for hooping a fella's kangaroo this spring. Will be interesting on a hoop.

For lacing up weasels and such I triple up artificial sinew, roll that together, and string 'em up with that.

Laced a few deer hides with the above mentioned sized lacing too. Been asked to "hoop up" some buffalo, but have declined due to their weight. Some day.

20 pounder behind the snowshoes,,30 pounder on the left,,,30 pounder on my foot stool,,,i just love beaver

I had a couple that were put on the floor for my girls warmer when getting out of bed.