Jump to content
Fly Tying
Sign in to follow this  
davejg

Drying wings & sins

Recommended Posts

The wood doesn't matter ... as long as it doesn't have stain on it, or any other coloring that might stain the fur. It's pin with the fur against the board, and the borax does all the drying.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

You need borax for bird skins that have a lot of fat but for animal hides, you can air dry them if you scrape them well stretch them on a board and put the outside to the air. You'll have a stiff skin but that's fine. Our Mountain Men ancestors didn't pack in a bunch of borax.

 

You need cool, dry weather.

 

Edit: I don't know that you need to do anything to a duck wing or smaller bird wing. I don't see how you could get inside the wing, and have mallard wings that look fine without borax or anything.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Borax is a natural insecticide, so it's use is highly recommended. I usually soak my skins in a salt and borax solution for a couple of days to draw out excess moisture and to kill any vermin that might be hiding on the hide. A pine shelving board works fine for the drying surface.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

For my soak, I've been using 1 Tbs of Borax and 1 Tbs of non-iodized salt in 16 oz. of warm water. I use warm water so the borax and salt will dissolve better. An overnight soak is probably long enough, but I often let the pelt soak for 2 or 3 days. I then give it a good rinse in clean water, and then stretch it out to dry.

 

I use non-iodized salt because there has been some debate over whether or not iodine affects the pelt/skin. I haven't seen any conclusive evidence either way, so I'm inclined to think it doesn't matter. Still, it's easy and cheap enough to keep a box of non-iodized salt for this purpose, so I do.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Here's the way I did it with beaver hides. Birds are different as their skin is thin and they have a lot of fat/grease in them making it difficult to scrape them dry. If you do it the way here, you'll wind up with a non-tanned pelt that's stiff. You can then tan it, but I just cut strips off it for fly tying. Should work on rabbit and I know it works on squirrel...and deer, if you want to get ambitious.

 

I've never used salt of borax on a mammal hide, and have never finished out a bird hide. As I've often said the only thing that eats hair is a moth...the rest of the critters eat blood and will leave during the drying process.

 

This is how our ancestors did it for thousands of years.

 

http://www.ehow.com/how_6064762_prepare-beaver-skins.html

 

Here's an old thread with some great information about bird skins.

 

http://www.flytyingforum.com/index.php?showtopic=54455

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Guest

For skins I use a piece of plywood. I scrape as much as I can and any heavy blood chunks cut off. I use borax and dawn dish soap, wash the skin well and use an old brush to go through the hair, it will help get any deep dirt and grime out. rinse well and put non-scented hair conditioner through the hair side let sit for 5 minutes and then rinse. Squeeze well and press in between paper towel - brush out the hair again and tack to the board and put borax on it, covering completely.

 

Keep checking it and any wet spots use an old spoon to lift it off and put fresh on it. After 2 weeks I dump all the borax off and it the skin side is totally done I take an air blower and blow any borax off, and then put it in a zip lock bag with a piece of flea collar.

 

Ron Lucas a member here wrote a great article on Material preparation

http://www.hatchesmagazine.com/page/february2006/111

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Thanks again guys, Jay i got to many of them to think about, should have had a k in it, Off to eyebrook in the morning to try some daddies and floating fly.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
Sign in to follow this  

×
×
  • Create New...