Followed beaverpeelers advice works great .

2-2 1/2 Inches

To keep the fur as clean as possible.

Unless I'm gonna frostscrape at a later date,I clean skin the face along with the rest of the beaver.

More elegantly put but that's what I was trying to say too.

I liked using the tail gate of my 2500 4x4 truck this year. not much bending over. I need to rebuild my trough

I usually skin beaver on the tailgate too.
There are some very good beaver trappers that skin on top of a plastic drum. I haven't tried it myself but have seen it done.

Since I built a trough (Charles Dobbins' design) my days of chasing and tossing a beaver around while skinning are over. Makes skinning em lot less of a chore.

My buyer allows me to cut the face off right across the ear line. Sure saves a lot of work and the face has no value anyways.
I take a 3' piece of 2x4 and screw It too a 3' price of 1x4. The 2x4 Is in the vertical position. I then clamp the set up to my bench with C clamps. I lay the beaver behind the set up and as I skin i just keep pulling the beaver up against the 2 x4 until I have reached the spine then I rotate the beaver and start the other side.
I always thought the trough was more of a hindrance.

This is mounted on a boat swivel seat base then bolted to my metal cutting grate.Works for me.

Dad and I skinned a lot of beavers in a trough. I still have the one he built showing how to construct one in his Beaver and Otter Trapping book.

Made a couple of these for skinning beaver

Looks good TD. I'd screw a deck board across the ends of them 2x4's that stick out below for a place to set your knives and bee... I mean soda pop.

I used to build these. I made them so they attached to a wall or skinning machine and would swing to the side as well as swivel on the center bolt. 24" long 3/16 steel 5" wide... they are not for everyone though I guess, lol.

You built a slick rig there ADC!!!

Tip: buy/mount a magnetic strip (from Harbor Freight) on the leg or side of the trough to stick your knives to. I also mounted a knife sharpener to the side.

Beaver trough also works great to lay a gobbler in to breast him out.

I have two plastic milk crates zip tied together, end to end. Lay the double crate down flat, and I sit in an old swivel office chair to skin. If need be, I can rotate the crates on the garage floor as I’m skinning.