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Post by flatiron on Nov 10, 2007 10:57:15 GMT -5
Bear with me and hope I get it right . I've been using the tumbler for years , makes for a wet muddy day a bit more enjoyable when putting up the fur. Get an old clothes dryer and disconnect the heating element ( usually by just unplugging it) . My last one came from the dump after two unsuccessful trys . I then do one of two things , close the holes in the dryer drum with either that good NASCAR duct tape or by fiberglassing the holes shut . Get some good hard wood saw dust from a local shop ( mine comes from right here at home . Soft woods ( pine ext. ) works well also but dampens quickly. now to some pics of the job This is the washing of the fur using lemon dish soap( which cuts much of the grease and dirt), after this wash i often use a hair conditioner on fox and yotes . rinse , and squeeze all excess water out of the hide , pop the hides out real well which rids of even more water. then into the tumbler! there are actually 3 fox in there and I did a skunk after they were done . If doing fatty critters ( skunks , possum and coon ) change the sawdust before doing any fox as you end getting grease on the fox pelts . I always flesh the fatty pelts before washing and tumbling. end results !! good luck if you try it and feel free to ask me any questions of the process
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Post by Itrapny on Nov 10, 2007 16:29:58 GMT -5
Thanks for the post, very nice
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Post by jdpaint on Nov 25, 2007 21:48:35 GMT -5
That is nice, my fur guy is going to teach me how to put up my fox in his building, and im going to send to the auction , for first time ever . These pics show using boards over wire is that the best way ? thanks for taking the time to post, i have to wash some blood off mine .
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Post by flatiron on Nov 26, 2007 6:12:28 GMT -5
I just like the boards better . Wire works fine and plenty of my stuff goes on wire too , the fur put up on wire drys a bit quicker. I work w/ wood for a living and prefer most everything made of wood .
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Post by trapperdon on Nov 26, 2007 10:10:58 GMT -5
Sorry if this is a stupid question, but are the pelts fleshed first and then washed and tumbled?
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Post by flatiron on Nov 26, 2007 18:00:11 GMT -5
Sometimes , coon, gray fox , coyotes are all fleshed then washed then tumbled .
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Post by hunterchub on Dec 13, 2007 19:20:38 GMT -5
Flatiron. I have done this myself in past years. I hope to do it again. I have never washed my fur on purpose. Very few in fact. But I do like the drying and fluffing effect of the tumbler. My question for you. How long do you tumble for? The place I skin and do all my fur handling has no electric. I have been thinking about making one with a crank handle. So the question about how long comes to play. Thanks
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Post by flatiron on Dec 13, 2007 20:22:44 GMT -5
Chub, I put them in for as long as it takes for them to dry . often this means a little more sawdust and another---------beer! really , it makes a difference , if not snowed in I'll show ya the diff on Sunday.see ya then and we'll have a good chat.
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Post by pockets on Dec 19, 2007 15:33:03 GMT -5
Flatiron, A quick question for ya. Do you reuse the hardwood sawdust after it has dried out again?
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Post by flatiron on Dec 19, 2007 16:09:40 GMT -5
I do if i'm doing fox ! after tumbling coon , beaver , coyotes and other greasy pelts I usually burn that sawdust . it absorbs an awful lot of moisture and grease . you don't want to tumble coon and such and then switch to fox. What happens is you transfer grease and oils from the sawdust to those nice fluffy fox pelts . reminds me i've got some fox tumbling at the moment!
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Post by mickey on Nov 20, 2009 18:52:06 GMT -5
Von - I just used your idea on the tumbler and the foxes look great. I wondered how you get the saw dust off the fleshed side of the fox or does it come off when they are completely dry?
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Post by flatiron on Nov 21, 2009 5:37:44 GMT -5
If you are using some borax on them also I wouldn't worry about it . I rigged up another one I had a spare yesterday , after getting used to using one its hard to get along w/out it . glad it worked out for ya , Von
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Post by mickey on Nov 23, 2009 6:45:59 GMT -5
I have used Borax just on the head and under the front feet. The coons look great also but my saw dust- shavings seem to embedded into the head and neck where there is a little fat left. Do you think that will be fine?
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Post by flatiron on Nov 23, 2009 7:23:39 GMT -5
I reckon you could scrape that stuff off w/ an old soup spoon if you wanted .
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Zagman
#2 Newhouse
Posts: 2,186
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Post by Zagman on Nov 23, 2009 13:40:04 GMT -5
I love my "new" tumbler.......new to me. This is actually a commercial tumbler from a tannery. Bloody coyotes go in, and come up looking like tanned fur. Soft, supple, clean......you can really polish the turd with this piece of equipment! You can see how big it is....that is a 25 gallon trash can next to it. Always wanted to get one.......had one on ebay a few years ago that I missed out on. Talking to Von made me realize I had to have one...... Been taking frozen coyotes out of the freezer that I tumbled before I froze them.....what a joy to work with them, no blood, no mud. MZ
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Woj
#3 Newhouse
Posts: 3,381
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Post by Woj on Nov 23, 2009 14:07:02 GMT -5
Mark-
So are you tumbling them before you flesh them?
Thanks Woj
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Zagman
#2 Newhouse
Posts: 2,186
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Post by Zagman on Nov 23, 2009 14:46:30 GMT -5
yup.....
Understand that when I am on vacation, I skin and freeze. If super muddy, then I skin, wash, and freeze.
Later, I take coyotes out, thaw, and flesh......
Now that I tumble them, taking them out with no blood on them, they are not sticking to one another, and I dont have to worry about combing the blood out after it dries.
They really do come out looking as good as they can look...and that coating of sawdust on the inside is a nice base to start fleshing on.
I'll never trap coyotes without dogs and I'll never work over coyote fur without a tumbler again!
MZ
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Post by Rick on Nov 23, 2009 17:30:49 GMT -5
That's cool dude...about time. Now your furshed is complete.
And you finally learned the correct spelling of turd.
Wait til you see how your finished coyotes look tumbled.
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Post by flatiron on Nov 23, 2009 18:10:42 GMT -5
I rigged up a dryer I had been keeping in another building as a spare . I can't live w/out one ! I tried for a couple of days and even drove up to the Old Mans to use his commercial tumbler to clean up that run of fox and coyotes after the fire . I hope and plan to have a big tumbler in the new fur shed along w/ an electric peeler ! Ya can't beat how the fur looks after its been through the wash w/ a bit of hair conditioner on it ! Mark , they got anymore of those laying around down there ?
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Woj
#3 Newhouse
Posts: 3,381
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Post by Woj on Nov 23, 2009 21:20:21 GMT -5
Thanks Mark. That is a pretty nice looking tumbler there. I figured you were peeling and freezing. I didn't wash one of the fox I got and when I set it out to dry and turned it, there was blood in the fur. Tried combing it out and it looked like crap so I washed it and redried it. Thinking about getting a tumbler myself. Just trying to figure out where to put it.
Von, good to see you got that old girl up and working this week. Now you just got to get a load of sawdust to run it with. I can remember now seeing the pile in the furshed last week. . . . well what was left in the furshed at least.
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Post by flatiron on Nov 24, 2009 6:19:14 GMT -5
woj , lots of sawdust in storage ! I have an almost endless supply .
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