I'm tanning a couple small beaver,thought I would post a bit of info for anyone wanting to try.

Soak dried skins in cold water for a few hours.

Wring out skins.

De-grease with dish soap and a stiff bristle brush.

Rinse well in clear water several times so no soap left in skin or hair.

Mix pickle solution,3oz citric acid,1/2lb salt for each gallon of water.-ph should read between 1-2.You will need ph test paper strips to check acidity of the pickle as well as the tanning solution later.

Soak the skins in the pickle for 3 days.

I will add the tanning and finishing later.

nice,i'm watchin.

Bob, I always look forward to your posts on tanning and other Ideas on improving our return on the product we produce. Gary

Boco: Thanking you in advance.

Looking forward to seeing the results!

Great idea you got me watching ! Thanks .

OK,now for the tanning solution.
Take 1lb of aluminum sulfate and dissolve it in 1 gal of water.
In another container mix 1 cup of salt and 4 oz of sodium carbonate(washing soda) in a half gallon of water.
Slowly add the salt carbonate solution to the aluminum sulfate solution(not the other way around)-do it slowly as it will fizz up.Mix it as you add.
Check the ph-it should be around 4-4.5
Adding the carbonate raises the ph of the aluminum sulfate solution making it a tanning solution-otherwise it would just be a pickle.
Wring out skins and submerge them for 4 days in the tanning solution,mixing a couple times a day.




Will add the finishing later.

Pretty cool Boco! 4 days seems like a long time to be in a tan though.

It works fine JP.
In the pickle you can leave it as long as you want.Just keep checking that the ph doesnt rise.
4 days in that tan solution is fine,I would not be concerned letting it in longer for a thick hide as long as it was pickled sufficiently.
I should add that I do not neutralize the skins between the pickle and the tan.Just wring them out.You can give them a quick rinse in plain water too but I dont find it necessary.As long as the tan stays around 4 you are good.
You can re use the pickle many times as long as you dont put dirty skins in it.Just make sure that the ph remains correct between 1 and 2.
A lot of times I will do larger skins in a new pickle and smaller skins in an older pre used pickle.
I do the same with the tan solution.

I'm dialed in, thanks boco

Thanks Boco, good information.

Do you thin the hide after the tan Boco ? Or no need on the little guys ? Looking forward to the rest of the post ..thank you

I do some,but no need on the small skins like small beaver,mink,rats,weasels,fox,squirrels,marten etc.Otter and large beaver need thinning.I will do it by frost scraping when boarding or on a beam with a spokeshave after pickling.
It also depends on the use.For mitts I prefer thicker leather,and for wall hangers it doesnt matter.For hats you need thin leather.

How do I lock this thread so I can find it easily? And thanks boco I'm going to be trying this next year. Do you have to thin coyotes?

So after 4 days I take the skins out of the tanning solution and wring them out in a towell so they are just damp.
Then I slather the tanning oil(any commercial tanning oil will do), on the leather side,then roll them up for a day,then unroll but leave them folded leather to leather and let the fur side dry.
Once the fur is dry,I open them up and let the leather start to dry.Once the leather starts to dry I pull and scrunch them once in a while until the leather is dry.I keep a bottle of tanning oil thinned with water 50-50 and spray a bit on the leather once in a while while it is drying if thicker parts of the skin are not soft.Dont overoil the thin parts of the skin.
The fur looks all ratty at this point,but thats OK we will remedy that.
Once the leather is dry I give the entire skin a wash in dish soap and water,making sure I wash the tanning oil out of the fur.Then rinse well and wring the skin out in a towell.
At this point I will repair any holes in the skin and block it out-that is stretch and pin it just enough to take out the wrinkles.
Now since the skin was washed I will spray a little thinned tanning oil on the thicker parts of the blocked out skin,being careful not to get any on the fur.If a bit gets on the fur edges it can be trimmed off by cutting 1/16 all around the perimeter after.
Now I leave the skin to dry for a day,
then take it off the board.

Now when It is dry I pull the pins and take it off the board.
It will be done at this point,and the leather will be soften by scrunching just a little.I also take some coarse sandpaper and sand off any bloom on the leather at this point,also sand the edges from center outwards,you dont have to overdo this and be very careful on thin skins and around any sewed repairs.
You can take the finishing to another step,which I do.
It polishes the fur and further softens the leather.
First I will spray the fur side with a bit of mineral spirits,then rub it in with a shop towell.
Then I will put the skins in a bag with cob grit,sawdust or crushed walnut hulls(dampened with a bit of water)(the walnut hulls can discolour white fur),tie off the bag and tumble it in the dryer with the heat turned off for 20 minutes.
Take the skins out and blow them with a shop vac or just give them a good shake and they are done.

Very nice boco

Give it a try on some small skins-squirrel,groundhog,mink etc.
Doesnt cost much for the ingredients and produces a nice tan.
I sell small beaver like those for $25,and if you string them on a hoop they sell well for $40-$50.
Some people buy the very small beavers to use as doilys to display other stuff like skulls or carvings,jewellery etc.

I home tanned some hides this year for the first time. I sure need some practice, mine didn’t turn out as nice ask yours. Thanks for the post.

Great tutorial! You are helping out a lot of folks with this information with the fur market tanked!

Thanks,

Chris

Hey,no problem,Chris.
Huntall,i seen your question about coyote-as far as thinning the leather it would depend on the final use for the skin.For mitts or a wallhanger it wouldnt be necessary.Just make sure the skins are fleshed well,they can be fleshed before drying,then you can flesh any spots you missed any time during the pickle or tanning process.
it is best to flesh any skins for tanning very well right after skinning and before drying.This will keep a lot of the fat and grease out of the leather,which has to be dealt with and removed sometime before tanning.

Very professional looking work,Boco.Nice!

When you start off tanning fur there is a bit of a learning curve that takes some trial and error.
Thats why its best to start off on small,easy to tan skins.
Larger beaver are one of the most difficult to get good results.
Groundhog skins are good to practice on-their hide is thick in the neck and shoulders and thin in the flanks and hips.
Good to hone your tanning skills on.

Great post Boco.

Great thread Boco. I will definitely be trying this out.

Thank you for taking the time to do the write up and the pictures.

No problem,Guys,
When I get tired of BS'ing on the main forum,I come here and post something useful maybe once in a while,lol.

for the tanning oil what do you use? I see neatsfoot oil and also a orange bottle hide tanning formula, but that sounds like it is the whole deal

Great post! I appreciate the knowledge you share with other trappers.

I have used all different kinds of tanning oil.The stuff I have right now is a BASF product called PSE.I will soon be out and will just purchase whatever tanning oil is available.

Very cool, thanks for sharing!

Just finished off an otter and a few weasels.

Nice

love this thread

Nice write up baco.I wish I had your fur handling skills.

saw a couple beetles yesterday while puttin the last of the fur in the freezer.in your opinion,does freezing kill the bugs??i always thought it did but had a guy tryin to tell me it won't.what say you?

It definitely slows their sex drive!

Chris

The bugs could go dormant in the freezer,they wont be eating your skins or multiplying.They may resume their activity when you pull the skins out at a later date.
If I see sign of beetles,I grab the can of raid and give the dry skins a good spray before bagging and into the freezer.

Would phosphoric acid work as well as citric acid? As long as the ph was between 1 and 2?

I dont know,never tried it.
I know citric acid is safe to work with.
Its easily obtainable at the bulk barn,people use it as a food preservative when canning fruit.
Should be able to get it anywhere they sell food canning jars and preservatives.

Thanks for this tutorial. I've got a fisher in the freezer I was thinking of trying to do as well as a couple coyote hide that were damaged. I was thinking of trying to turn them into something usable and this really helps. Where do you get the aluminum sulfate?

Aluminum sulphate can be found at gardening centers that carry soil amendments and fertilizers.

Excellent post. Thanks for taking the time to share your process.

insomnia last night so i went back through and took notes.

Hi Boco,

After the hide comes out of the 4 day tan, you said "Once the leather is dry I give the entire skin a wash in dish soap and water,making sure I wash the tanning oil out of the fur.Then rinse well and wring the skin out in a towell."

Is there any concern with washing out the "Tan"?

I've been tanning using EZ-100. Would I be able to wash these hides after tanning and oiling?

Boco has won a free vacation, you won't hear from him until he returns, might be awhile.

A quick wash after oiling and drying wont hurt them at all.If you let them soak for a long time it wouldnt be good for the leather.
Most tans call for a neutralizing wash right when they come out of the tanning solution,or at least a rinse,I just dry them and work them first.Basically postponing that step.Soap is an alkali so when you give it a wash it is basically doing the same thing as a neutralizing wash,or rinse.Make sure you rinse out the soap well after washing.Also the second light oiling is important also.

Boco your back we all thought you were dead

now behave yourself bubba,your too much fun and have more knowledge than most on here.

Thanx Boco!!!!

I'm about to tan 7 coons, 2 grinners and an otter. That should use up my current supplies. The next batch will be using your method.

Thank you again for all the knowledge you provide.

Can you use solar salt instead of table salt? Can't find bulk bags around me

I dont use table salt.You can use pickleing salt-it is food grade but coarser and no iodine additive like table salt.Sometimes called kosher salt.Sold in grocery stores.
If you are doing a lot of tanning you can buy haying salt-it is basically finer crushed rock salt.Thats the most inexpensive way to go.
Rock salt is no good-its too coarse.
I dont know what solar salt is.

The salt that Boco mentions, Hay salt, and the salt Dirtydogtrapping mention, Stock salt are the same. Available at any feed store. Just be sure and get Non-Minerailized. It is white. The Mineralized stock salt is red. The minerals in the red salt will get in the pores/cells of the leather and block the tanning chemicals from entering.

Would I need to do any thing different with salted hides.

Just relax the salted/salt dried hides same as dried hides and proceed from there.
Be extra careful bending or folding salt dried hides they will crack and damage the leather.Best to dampen them first before bending or folding.

This is a great post. I am going try this on some coon and fox that I kept. Do you leave the thinner skinned critters in the pickle for the same amount of time?



I can't seem to find this one. Is this for conditioning the leather? Is there another oil that would work? When I search for hide tanning oil I get the orange bottle stuff and hide tanning kits.

Should be some tanning oil available from one of the places that supply tanning chemicals like rittels.

I think this has been asked here before but were can I find the aluminum sulfate and the washing soda what department in a store I have looked every where.

Washing soda should be available where they sell laundry detergent,and aluminum sulfate is sold in home depot or any other garden center-it is used to treat soil for acid loving plants.
Just a note of intrest,washing soda is different than baking soda.
Washing soda is sodium carbonate.
Baking soda is sodium bi-carbonate.

Boco, I went through this method and got some tanning oil off of Amazon. I found that is gave the hide a very strong coconut scent. Although it wasn't entirely unpleasant, I'm wondering if I did something wrong. Have you tried the Hawaiian Tropic tanning oil?

I should have clarified-the tanning oil you need is what is known as "leather stuffing oil"It is called tanning oil also.It is sold thru Taxidermy supply outlets.
I think you got suntanning oil,lol.
Did it penetrate the fibres and make the leather soft?

LMFAO!!

Well I just spit my coffee out
But I can see where the confusion came from

Just messing around, when I googled "tanning oil" that is what popped up and it gave me a laugh, so I thought I'd pass it along. I just ordered the rest of the stuff and I'm going to give it a shot.

I am taking mine out of the tan today getting ready for the next step.

Isn’t neats foot oil used on leather ?

I never tried it,I heard you can use it.

I've tanned a few hides using this method and would like to go back and redo some hides I tried with another method (orange bottle). Is there any step I need to do to "remove" the old tan or could I start from the beginning?

Great HOW TO....post.