|
Post by Woody Williams on Dec 8, 2020 22:22:38 GMT -5
I'm lazy and took mine to a feller in Elberfeld that has a dermistid (sp?) beetle colony. About how much does that cost? Last one I had professionally done was 150. They simmered it and it turned out great. If I'm just going to put one in the garage I bury it and mess with it as I have time. If they are going in the house I take them to the taxi. $135 if skinned out and $150 if he has to skin it. The beetles do their business and then he finishes by degreasing it. Probably be March or April before I get it back.
|
|
|
Post by 36fan on Dec 8, 2020 22:42:24 GMT -5
So I've done both bury or simmer (DO NOT BOIL). Simmering the thing is IMO the best way, as I like the whiter finish to them than the almost rawhide yellowed look burying them gives them. Now Before I simmer them I spend some time scoring the skin all over the head some with a razor blade, as the flesh simmers and begins to separate this will help you separate it easier. If you boil it the bones in the nose and such will get very brittle and eventually from just the slightest nudge will crumble. Low simmer, for 2/3 hours or so...take out clean as best you can by hand...place back in for more...repeat. A pressure washer can greatly assist here too. You'll get down to just the most stubborn pieces and a needle nose pliars and wire brush becomes your best friend. As for the brain well warm a coat hanger slipped in attached to a drill will help emulsify the brain and most will fall out of the hole (I cut my hole more on back underside). Just a quick couple thoughts. I just leave the skull in the sun on the deck for a couple of months or so and it whitens up. I should add, I've used a garden hose to blow the chunks off of it after unburying it. I have a pressure washer now, so I'll use it on the skulls in the spring.
|
|
|
Post by Pinoc on Dec 9, 2020 4:05:41 GMT -5
Herink’s Skulls in Mooresville uses beetles and is $100 without lower jaw and $20 more with lower jaw. I believe he is on Facebook?
|
|
|
Post by budd on Dec 9, 2020 9:26:15 GMT -5
Dang I'm to cheap. Ive been charging $75.
|
|
|
Post by scrub-buster on Dec 9, 2020 10:44:49 GMT -5
Dang I'm to cheap. Ive been charging $75. That's what I charged the last few years.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Dec 9, 2020 11:01:42 GMT -5
I just throw mine in the garden pond and wait to spring. Works good and more white than yellow per the ground bury. There is a green tint at 1st. One day in the sun and it's white and ready. I'll try to remember to take some pictures this spring.
|
|
|
Post by Ahawkeye on Dec 9, 2020 16:49:35 GMT -5
I just throw mine in the garden pond and wait to spring. Works good and more white than yellow per the ground bury. There is a green tint at 1st. One day in the sun and it's white and ready. I'll try to remember to take some pictures this spring. Do you throw the whole head in or hang antlers to avoid discoloration? how do the antlers come out? Stark white or still brown and polished like when you shot it?
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Dec 9, 2020 20:45:20 GMT -5
I just throw mine in the garden pond and wait to spring. Works good and more white than yellow per the ground bury. There is a green tint at 1st. One day in the sun and it's white and ready. I'll try to remember to take some pictures this spring. Do you throw the whole head in or hang antlers to avoid discoloration? how do the antlers come out? Stark white or still brown and polished like when you shot it? I throw whole thing. It contains most of the color. Antlers down to stay out of the light.
|
|
|
Post by Ahawkeye on Dec 9, 2020 20:48:48 GMT -5
Do you throw the whole head in or hang antlers to avoid discoloration? how do the antlers come out? Stark white or still brown and polished like when you shot it? I throw whole thing. It contains most of the color. Antlers down to stay out of the light. When you say garden pond do you mean a small pond maybe 10ft by 10ft with no snapping turtles? or a bigger pond with a bunch of critters?
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Dec 9, 2020 20:51:28 GMT -5
I throw whole thing. It contains most of the color. Antlers down to stay out of the light. When you say garden pond do you mean a small pond maybe 10ft by 10ft with no snapping turtles? or a bigger pond with a bunch of critters? 17 x 17 circle with no turtles.
|
|
|
Post by Ahawkeye on Dec 9, 2020 21:03:50 GMT -5
I see thank you.
|
|
|
Post by Russ Koon on Dec 10, 2020 11:47:35 GMT -5
Simmered mine after skinning them, in a cheap stock pot (had to buy the wife a new stainless one to get her to turn loose). I used a Coleman camp stove just inside the garage with the door open a little ways, and the fire turned down to just barely a simmer and a tent of aluminum foil protecting the antlers. I also used the Dawn dishwasher soap added to the water for the simmering, and changed water once or twice during the three hours or so. Don't recall the time exactly but it was pretty much two full football games, with the few minutes of in-person attention coming mostly at halftimes or between games.
I was satisfied with the more naturally weathered look of the skulls without further whitening, but I've seen them both ways and it depends on other factors like the area they're displayed in and the personal preferences as to which way looks best to me.
I found out recently that I made a mistake on my first one about twenty years ago. I was using a method of attaching the skull to the mounting plate that I had made from a piece of scrap wood I had in the garage, that included the use of a "Molly Bolt" that has an expanding threaded nut that spreads to prevent it from coming out of the hole it goes through. They're usually used for attaching heavier items to drywall, and it worked well for a couple decades, then apparently had a little too much pressure or the skull had dried to the point of becoming more fragile after years of hanging on my wall , and it popped off the base and fell to the floor disintegrating so much in the process that it would be impossible to repair. Not a huge loss, really, since it was just a memento that I enjoyed seeing there and was just a medium-sized eight, but I was disappointed that it failed after all those years. I'd recommend a method of hanging them that I've seen since, that just involves drilling a hole in the mounting board that holds a dowel the right size to go up into the brain cavity. Then you can simply park the skull on that peg with no pressure from any mounting hardware.
|
|
|
Post by scrub-buster on Dec 10, 2020 12:23:42 GMT -5
I would bend a 3/4" wide piece of metal flat stock at an angle to hold the skull so the rack was level. I paint the metal white and it goes under the skull into the nasal opening underneath. I ran the other end through a slot cut into the wood plaque and anchor it on the back side. I tied a small wire through the skull and attached it to the plaque. The skull angle could be fine tuned by bending the metal. When I was done the skull looked like it was floating out from the plaque. You couldn't see the metal holding it up unless you got directly under it and looked up.
|
|