# Tanning pelts... which salt to use?



## bunnylover (Nov 1, 2007)

Plain non-iodized salt, or Morton's pickling salt? Or does it matter? Thanks!


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## jil101ca (Jul 2, 2007)

I use course salt aka pickling salt, it is non-iodized which is what you need to use.


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## bunnylover (Nov 1, 2007)

Thanks, 4 pelts are now in the pickle


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## Beaniemom (May 25, 2007)

Let me know how they turn out (and what you used) I have 4 in my freezer now to "practice" on.


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## Kittikity (Oct 21, 2004)

Oh! I want to learn to tan my pelts too..


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## Kyah (Oct 29, 2007)

Are you doing some rex pelts? What will you do with your finished hides? 

I'm only going to have a few to work with, so my first project will be small - maybe sew them onto a cushion for dh's truck seat - his heater dosen't work very well. =) 
Later when I have more, I'm thinking a nice scarf.

Kyah


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## jil101ca (Jul 2, 2007)

Are you going to use a tanning solution or just a pickle? I have tanned them with solution aftert he pickle and personally find that they are nicer with just the salt/alum pickle. The hides are not water proof at all but the flesh is nice and white. Remember to work the hide alot as it dries. If it gets stiff then just re-wet it and work it some more. Practice makes perfect and don't be dissapointed if it is not perfect. It takes practice.


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## Pony (Jan 6, 2003)

Nick uses a combination of water, sulfuric acid, and canning salt. It's my understanding that 'most any salt is okay as long as it's NOT iodized.

He has a few pelts soaking right now. The last ones turned out absolutely LOVELY! 

Pony!


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## Beaniemom (May 25, 2007)

I was going to turn mine into dog toys to sell, so I think the acid is out as far as being non toxic. I keep forgetting to save the brains, and its not like the grocery store stocks brains! :O


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## Pony (Jan 6, 2003)

Beaniemom said:


> I was going to turn mine into dog toys to sell, so I think the acid is out as far as being non toxic. I keep forgetting to save the brains, and its not like the grocery store stocks brains! :O


Most animals have enough brain to tan their hides, with the exception (I believe) of buffalo, so you could use rabbit brains -- if you feel like digging them out of those teeny tiny craniums. 

As for the acid, it is so dilute as to be perfectly safe to touch with your bare hands. You can soak the skins for weeks without damaging them. Our friends' cats play with scraps of the pelts we treat, and there is no adverse reaction.

Pony!


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## celticfarmgal (Feb 25, 2008)

genrally you would neutralize the acid after tanning.
Shoulder Mounted a buffalo once in my taxidermy shop NEVER AGAIN way tooooo big and heavy for me to do by myself


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## Terry W (Mar 10, 2006)

Has ANYONE found a source of bulk alum?


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## jil101ca (Jul 2, 2007)

I buy mine at the local Bulk Barn, I don't know what you would call it down there but it is a dry bulk food store where you fill baggies out of bins. Maybe a health food store as well.


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## Beaniemom (May 25, 2007)

I seem to recall someone talking about getting it bulk at the farm store, only they called it something else. (Going today on a feed run, so I better go look up what it was called, who knows, I may be thinking of salt!)


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## Terry W (Mar 10, 2006)

Maybe when I go to Middlefield, I'll stop at the Salvage and check them out-- I DON"T want to use sulfuric acid!!!


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## bunnylover (Nov 1, 2007)

http://www.vandykestaxidermy.com/subcategory/128/ Do a search for alum, or look on this page, about halfway down. Thats where I got my 5 lbs of alum. 
2 of the hides are medium sized (from 12 week old rabbits) and the other 2 are slightly smaller, from 8 week old fryers. The bigger hides are black from a black Rex X Californian cross, and the smaller ones are white. I am not sure what I am making from them, what would be the easiest to start with you think? I think house shoes would be nice, but would probably be worn out really fast. And moccasins would be fun to try, put the fur on the inside and decorate with beads on the outside.
jil101ca- What is the difference? I am using the salt/alum recipe on this link http://www.motherearthnews.com/Do-It-Yourself/1983-01-01/How-To-Tan-Rabbit-Hides.aspx


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## rabbitgal (Feb 12, 2005)

I picked up a five-pound box of aluminum sulfate (sold as blueberry fertilizer) in the garden center at Wally World. I've only done ONE batch of hides so far, but they turned out just fine.


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## jil101ca (Jul 2, 2007)

there is a tanning solution that you can buy that you would use after the salt/alum soak. It is about $13 and is suppose to leave you with a tanned hide. I was using it but find the hides are nicer without.I don't really know what the difference is other than the skin is a tan colour. Also when you take them out of the pickle (what the salt/alum solution is called) give them a rinse in cool water to remove any salt residue, this will leave you with a softer fur. The most important thing is to work and carefully stretch the hide alot as it dries.This is what will keep it soft, the more you work it the softer it will be.


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## LFRJ (Dec 1, 2006)

I tried dying some of my pelts. 

I'd cut them into shapes to become mitten tops, and thought I'd try dying them. They say to use hot water when dying. The fur takes to RIT dye nicely, but the leather sure didn't! It shrunk up and then dried up all curled and brown as a pretzle. Cracks on the edges too. Ah, learning.

I'm going to try to salvage them by resoaking in water. Next time, I may just dye in cool water. Don't know if that will make a diff, but I think the white pelts may be more marketable if I can color them somehow. 

It's still a cool expeiment though. Suggestions?


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## jil101ca (Jul 2, 2007)

LFRJ, Did you soak the pelts in the pickel first? I'm wodering if they were not done enough. I have never tried it but read that you put a peice in hot water to see if it is done. If it curls then it is not. I personally just look at them , if I see any pink in the middle of the skin (looking at the edge) then I leave them longer. Cold water sounds like it might work better. The only pure white furs I use are prime ones. I find the pure whites boring


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## Beaniemom (May 25, 2007)

You may have to cure the pelts before you dye them? I think if they get wet after they've dried they'll get hard (if they weren't cured?)

I picked up some Alum at the feed store (sold as water conditioner I think) so I'm all set to experiment!


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## LFRJ (Dec 1, 2006)

I did the alum/salt curing bit. One week in salt/alum, remove-peel the skin (or as much as you can) and then back in a more concentrated alum/salt bath for another week or two. 

They came out pretty good I thought. I fluffed and dried them, and the pelts were pretty flacid at that point. I figured I'd work the leather a bit more after the dying anyway since they would be wet and easier to work having been cut to shape. So...they appeared to be completey dry and nice pelts before the dye bath. Don't know. 

It takes practice, I realize so I'll try try again. This time with more alum (if I can find it!)
Thanks for the suggestion.

LF


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## n9viw (Jan 30, 2005)

I've read that true alum (Potassium Sulfate) and ALUMINUM sulfate are two completely different things, and do not give the same results. Don't know if this is true, just what I've read. 

The batch Pony referenced above went sour... I didn't keep a close eye on the pH of the pickle (okay, I didn't keep an eye on it at all), and it crept up to neutral. I blame the fact that some of the parts I put in were frozen, and the water from any remaining ice balanced it out. Long story short, the bacteria went hog-wild, and I had rampant and disastrous fur slippage. Lost the whole batch, down to the last one. They're in the compost bucket now. 

I think the trick was, the batch I used was one I got from Sometimes Paul, and have seen elsewhere: 1-1-1, one gallon water and one pound salt and one ounce acid. I think the problem was that the solution was not nearly acidic enough. The first batch I did, I followed the instructions as given at http://islandgems.net/tanning.html . Their ratio is 1-1-4, much more acidic.
The results of the first batch were pretty good, but some of the hides didn't seem to 'take', and the flesh was abysmally hard to get off. Also, it took for-friggin-ever to finish them, mostly owing to the fleshing issue. I think that may have been because I had nine in at once... perhaps with less material to work on, the pickle would have been more potent.

I neutralize the hides with a liquid dish detergent after rinsing them in clear water, and lay them out for stretching. Sometimes Paul recommended tossing them in a dryer on fluff (NO heat) with a bunch of shoes, and they come out pre-stressed and smelling a little better than with just stretching. I didn't have enough to warrant that; perhaps it works better with the larger hides he does. I freshened mine up by hanging them out in the garage for a couple weeks.


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## Beaniemom (May 25, 2007)

I saw someone online say they used a pressure washer to flesh the hides (Hung on a fence and blasted at an angle) Haven't tried it.

I bought some Aluminum Sulfate, and if I ever get around to it, I'll post my results!


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## gerald77 (Aug 2, 2007)

motherearthnews.com has a good diy on tanning pelts


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