anyone tries this, I'm going to , seem straight forward ,

You should be surrounded with eastern hemlock up there. A good choice for tannic acid.

If you're talking about using hemlock bark for its high percentage of tannic acid yes it does work The deer hides i've done were first simmered in wood ashes(lye) to loosen the hair then simmered in hemlock bark and then built a small teepee and smoked the hides Tough process to soften them but can be done 2 o0f the hides I done are still hanging upstairs as good as the day I done them the third i had no interest in anymore so it hung in my skinning shed for years hard as bone until a friend who needed to resring a snowshoe took it problem was it took about 2 weeks to soften it up but he used it hel;d up great but its probably 40 years or more since either of us snowshoed

The not so secret to any type of hide tanning is the breaking. That’s where soft and pliable comes from…elbow grease.

I’ve done several. Careful that you don’t cause the hide to seize-up from too much tannin at once. It’s a process. Should look like a light tea. May have to change the water every week or two. As water clears, add more tannins to bring it back to that tea look. Stretching every few days helps to keep the hide absorbing the tannins. Also seems to help when you go to soften it after the tanning process. I sometimes throw mine on the fleshing beam and push the water out with the dull side of my fleshing knife. I usually do this before adding more tannins. This is a way to stretch it too, and may be easier than pulling a wet hide to stretch for some.

The process works well, just takes time.

has anyone done furred animals, not just leather?

cfowler, how long in solution, everything I read has all different length of time,

The time varied every time I’ve done it. 1-3 months depending on hide thickness. I think temps play some part. I tried to keep mine cool, just because stagnant water with tannin in it tends to develop an odor.

I’ve had hides soak for 6 months because I was busy with other things.

Tanning fur on means the light colored fur becomes tinted by the tannins. Your whites won’t be white.