There are several ways to tan hides. Here are two more common ones.
Tanning with Salt and Alum
The following info came from www.e-how.com
1. Once your fur has been salted, make your tanning solution. Start with 2 lbs. of salt to 4 gallons of water. Dissolve the salt completely. In a another container, mix 2 lbs. of alum in barely enough water to dissolve and mix thoroughly. Add this to the salt mixture.
2. Place the scraped pelt into the tanning solution. Allow it to sit for 24 hours, but stir it at least twice a day.
3. Remove from solution and wash the entire pelt with clean water. Hang the pelt, fur side up over a banister or railing not in direct sunlight. Let it hang for several days.
4. Roll up the hide, by folding flesh sides together and let it sit overnight.
5. Work the hide over a straight edge to soften the leather. Table edges or shelve edges work well for this process.
6. Work Neat’s Foot or other leather lubricants into the leather with your fingers; this insures the tanned hide is both soft and pliable. Use a brush or other comb to work out any mats or tangles on the fur side of the hide. Gently!
Alcohol and Turpentine Tanning
This method is best suited and perhaps the easiest for small fur skins (rabbit and squirrel). Although simple, alcohol and turpentine tanning is a method more valuable for preserving hides than for producing quality skins.
Materials:
• Large-mouthed gallon jar
• Wood alcohol (methanol paint remover)– available at local hardware stores
• Turpentine–available at local hardware stores
• Dishwashing soap or laundry detergent
1. Mix the tanning solution in a large-mouthed gallon jar with a screw top. Add equal parts wood alcohol and turpentine to the jar to cover a small fur skin. A half pint of each is sufficient for a squirrel or rabbit skin.
2. Immerse the skin in the solution and secure the lid. Shake or stir the solution each day, because the alcohol and turpentine will separate.
3. After 7 to 10 days, remove the skin and wash it in dishwashing soap or laundry detergent water to remove the alcohol, turpentine and grease.
4. Rinse the skin well several times to remove the detergent. Dry the skin by squeezing, not wringing. When the skin is partly dry, proceed to the oiling and finishing process.
V. OILING AND FINISHING
Materials:
• Fat liquor or tanning oil (such as Sulfated neatsfoot oil)–available through taxidermy supply catalogs
• Household ammonia • Paintbrush • Sheet of plastic • Electric fan
• Sheet of plywood • Nails (no. 6 finish) • Gasoline (optional) • Hardwood sawdust, bran or cornmeal • Sandpaper block
Let the wet, tanned leather dry somewhat. While it is still damp, apply a coating of suitable fat liquor oil (such as sulfated neatsfoot oil). The amount of oil required will vary depending upon the natural oiliness of the skin. For instance, a raccoon skin, which is naturally very oily, will require proportionately less oil than a deer hide.
1. Make the fat liquor oil by mixing 3 1/2 ounces of sulfated neatsfoot oil with 3 1/2 ounces of warm water and 1 ounce household ammonia. This fat liquor solution is for a 10-pound deer hide. Adjust the measures accordingly for smaller hides.
2. Place the hide on a flat surface hair side down. Apply part of the fat liquor solution to a portion of the hide and spread it evenly with a paint- brush or your hand. Continue until one-half the solution has been applied to the hide. Allow the hide to stand for 30 minutes, and then apply the remainder of the oil in the same manner.
3. Cover the hide with a sheet of plastic and let stand overnight. If several hides are fat- liquored at one time, they may be piled flesh side to flesh side.
4. The next day, drape the skin, hair side out, over a pole or sawhorse and allow the hair to dry (the flesh side should remain moist and pliable). Use an electric fan to speed the drying.
5. While the flesh side is still moist and pliable nail the skin, flesh side up, to a sheet of plywood, stretching the skin slightly. Space the nails (no. 6 finish) every 5 to 6″ around the circumference and about 1/2″ from the edge. The flesh side will begin drying and should be kept at room temperature.
6. When the skin is nearly dry but still slightly damp, remove the skin from the plywood board. Work the skin in all directions, stretching it from corner to corner and working the flesh side over a stake or a wooden edge, such as the back of a chair or a board clamped in a vise. The skin may also be worked this way through smooth metal rings.
Success in producing a soft skin lies in repeated working, which must be done while the skin is drying out, not after it is dry. This process may be repeated several times if necessary; simply dampen the hide evenly and work it again while it dries.
7. After the skin has been softened and dried, it can be given a hasty bath in white or unleaded gasoline, especially if the skin is too greasy. This bath also helps to deodorize some skins, such as skunk.CAUTION: Gasoline is ex- tremely flammable and should be used out- doors away from fire or flame. The gas must be used in an appropriate pan or receptacle and disposed of safely.
8. To clean and brighten the fur, tumble it repeatedly in dry, warm sawdust—preferably hardwood sawdust. Bran or cornmeal may also be used. Clean the particles out of the fur by gently shaking, beating, combing and brushing the fur.
9. If necessary, the hide’s flesh side may be smoothed by working it with a sandpaper block. This also helps to further soften the skin. If desired, thicker sections of the skin may be thinned and made more flexible by shaving off some of the skin.
This information came from the following website. There is more info in the free, downloadable pdf.
http://www.state.tn.us/twra/pdfs/tanninghides.pdf
These are some of the ways you can tan your skins. If you have any questions about this topic let me know.
