Always interested me but don’t catch enough to matter but how long does it take to clean skin one

Danny,
I have previously watched the Groeny video. Wouldn't surprise me if it was custom made.

Having worked in manufacturing most of my life many companies build or have fabricated custom equipment for specialized jobs.

I can’t find any videos or advertisements for this machine. All that comes up is shaving machines which are not for fleshing. I’m going to ask Grounwalds when I sell about it.

I’m a clean skinner too but it takes me more time than rough skinning, if I remember right. I haven’t rough skinned in years.

If I was going to freeze for selling green I think a little meat on the hide would be better. I’d probably go back to rough skinning if I was selling at the Grony truck.

I used to clean skin but I can ruff skin and flesh much quicker

It’s close for me. Clean skin gets the nod when I figure messing with scrapings etc. I can also clean skin at camp without messing with beam or fleshing knife so hides are done and ready for boards when I get home.

I’ll look into a loop stapler…never saw one. I have an air stapler, but never used it on beaver….figured it would be hard to remove the staples. That sounds slick.

I switched to a brad nail gun after losing too many thumb nails. Faster and less painful.

On a good day I can rough skin a blanket sized beaver In about 8 min. I normally flesh the face when I'm doing the skinning. Ten or 12 min max to flesh It. Never timed the boarding of one.
Use to do the staple thing but found It took to long to pull the staples and you always left some In the board that had to be removed.. And If I ever left one behind I figure the grader would end up with a staple In his hand and that beaver would be down graded. LOL I noticed all those that clean skin seem to have to go back over the hide with some type of scrapper once the hide Is boarded. I don't have to do that.

I clean skin in about 20 minutes, used to faster but years are starting to catch up. I little touch up while boarding and it’s done. I usually figure about 45 minutes from first touch of the knife to having the beaver skinned, fleshed, boarded, castor taken, and gutted for freezing for cat bait.

GFW Scraping Beaver

https://youtu.be/miFlAp6TVlA?si=EV0RxRq-it8v2_19

I named that machine "The Market Killer" First it was for coon. That market is dead. Then it was for coyotes. That market is dead. Now it is for beaver.

Groeny has convinced some of you that put up fur is only worth $3 more. But that’s just his way of getting it for the low price he offers for skinned beaver.
Makes you feel good getting that money for skinned beaver while you laugh at others while they put theirs up.

$3 more for put fur is what Groeny pays. FHA pays a lot more.

I think both Boco and I both run over the pelt with a scraper lightly after it's boarded to pull out any remaining liquid grease or blood out of the leather. A couple of minutes worth. I did a demo at K. Falls in March and forgot my scraper so it was put up without the final going over. After dry it looks like most guys put ups.

I tried doing staples once but the first time I took staples out and realized how much more time that added to my pelt handling I s-canned that notion.

Fur graders and tanners hate staples. Guys dont always get em all out of the pelts and they slice fingers and ruin the shaving knives.

that video doesn't show the machine, I wonder if its a planer or modified planer? sounds like one

Google:" tannery fleshing machines."

If you are going to skin, flesh and dry, GFW is not your best option to sell. As stated, others pay more for finished beaver. GFW has a process that costs them approx. $3.00 to flesh, stretch and dry. It would not make any sense business wise for them to pay you more than their cost to do the same thing but other buyers who have not developed a mechanical process like GFW has are willing to pay more. GFW does buy some finished beaver but the percentage compared to green is small.

Would be interesting to know how their total beaver numbers compared to the total number handled by FHA. GFW processes a lot of beaver.

I think their machine may be an alligator fleshing machine?

In their video care is taken not to show the machine itself. LOL Don't want to give anybody ideas about getting their own set up.

And yes, Quiet, I also wonder how GFW's beaver numbers compare to FHA. I gotta think that GFW and other bigger buyers that have direct access to the felt industry do more volume.