My son wants to cure a opossum hide

frugalmomma2 · #1 09/28/12, 12:18 PM

He really needs information on how to do it. We have read a few thing on the internet but I would like to know if anyone here knows how he can do this. We home school so i like for him to learn by doing plus he learns better that way.

He is scaping the hide now. What next?

MD Steader · #2 09/28/12, 12:21 PM

Google up brain tanning, FWIW you dont have to actually use brains. There is a book out there deer skin to buck skin or something that had the basic methods, You might find it in the library.

http://www.braintan.com/

oregon woodsmok · #3 09/28/12, 12:33 PM

If you go to some of the rabbbit websites, you can find directions on how to tan with battery acid. That's the easiest way and makes a really nice hair-on leather.

Although why anyone would want possum fur beats me.

springvalley · #4 09/28/12, 01:35 PM

[QUOTE=oregon woodsmok;6166834Although why anyone would want possum fur beats me.[/QUOTE]

Have you ever touched an opossum ? They are nice fur, a lot of low end coats use to have opossum fur around the collar or hood. Also the brain tanning would be the route to go, every animals brain is big enough to tan it`s own hide. I think all you do is scrape the hide to get all the extra flesh and fat off of it, then you smush up the brain and rub that into the hide. And you need to rub it in enough it goes all the way through it for the best results. I will look it up in a book I have and see what else I may have left out. > Thanks Marc

meanwhile · #5 09/28/12, 02:57 PM

You are lucky it is only a possum. My sons want to make some type of explosive stuff that is made out of rust! I have forbidden this stunt. Good luck with the possum.

fishhead · #6 09/28/12, 03:36 PM

What is in brains that makes them suitable for tanning hides?

solidwoods · #7 09/28/12, 04:29 PM

I like the salt Alum method. I can't remember the alum to water ratio but its on the net.
Easy.
jim

watcher · #8 09/28/12, 06:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by meanwhile

You are lucky it is only a possum. My sons want to make some type of explosive stuff that is made out of rust! I have forbidden this stunt. Good luck with the possum.

Its probably not explosive it just burns REALLY good. Iron oxide and aluminum powder. BTW, you can use it to weld as well, not pretty but you can stick chunks of iron together with it.

When they start gathering up ash (charcoal) and old soil (saltpeter) and asking you if you think the soil needs to have sulfur added you might want to keep an eye on them.

Ditto if they start looking at your car battery strangely.

Yep, I was one of those kids. Back then it was a lot easier to get the stuff you needed and the local police types didn't get their undies in a bunch when they heard loud noises. FYI, I still have all my fingers and my eyebrows have grown back

Forerunner · #9 09/28/12, 07:15 PM

Brain tanning requires a lot of working and wringing of the hide and is far more suited to making hairless buckskin. It is too rough a method for keeping the hair on, especially when applied to a smaller hide.

I am, as of yet, unfamiliar with the complete workings of the battery acid/salt tan, but What I am familiar with is the afore-mentioned salt/alum tan that I applied to rabbit hides, many times in my youth.
Scrape the skin until all fat, muscle and excess flesh is removed, then apply the salt/alum mix (2/1 respectively) to the moist hide, rubbing it in well then fold the hide, flesh to flesh and let it sit/cure in a cool place overnight. I used a plastic bag and Mom's fridge.

The next day, unfold and allow the hide to air dry until it is clammy but not damp, and then work the flesh side vigorously over a sharp edge, but not too sharp....such as the butt end of a board, thus keeping the fibers stretching and eventually breaking up ever so slightly until completely dry. This leaves the softest finish and makes for the most pliable tanning job. A failure to work the hide down properly will leave more of a cardboard "tan", but is wholly suitable for a rug or wall hanging.
For clothing, though....work it well until dry.

fishhead · #10 09/28/12, 07:25 PM

A taxidermist told me he softens hides for mounting in a dryer with the heat off. For a mere $20 I promise not to tell your son about that method.

frugalmomma2 · #11 09/28/12, 07:38 PM

Thanks for all the advice. I think he is going to try the method Forerunner suggested. He is catching the opossums in traps set for what ever is getting our rabbits. We figure if he practices on them then he can do rabbit skins. His 4H teacher also likes pelts for teaching some of her classes so she will probably want some.

Alice In TX/MO · #12 09/28/12, 07:41 PM

I vote for salt/alum also. Did some rabbit hides 30 years ago. They still look nice.

tinknal · #13 09/28/12, 10:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fishhead

What is in brains that makes them suitable for tanning hides?

I believe it is related to the fats and acids in the brain.

I agree with OW that if he is going to go through all the work to tan a hide he should try to catch a coon. Much nicer fur. Of course more work because they are so fat.

tinknal · #14 09/28/12, 10:50 PM

Since this is an educational project and he has more than one he could also make rawhide.

fatrat · #15 09/29/12, 05:41 AM

I have tanned buckskin and fur hides using both the brain and alum methods. I have also done it using an oxalic acid method. I would recommend the alum method for fur skins and the brain method for buck skin. I would not recommend the oxalic acid method as I hear it is quite poisonous. There are some good books out there on it and if you do a google search I'm sure you could find them. Maybe I'll dig around and see if I can find mine and list them for you. I'm not sure what it is about the brains that tans the buckskin but I did notice that after the buckskin sits in the brains and the brains begin to decompose they seemed to have a formaldehyde smell. I'm not saying formaldehyde is what does it but it sure smelled like formaldehyde. It would be interesting to have a chemist test the brain solution when it starts decomposing.

Yes I would recommend the alum method over the brains for fur skins.

I have done opossum and other types of fur. Opossum fur is quite nice when fully prime but mine were from up north and I'm not sure what a prime opossum would be like from your area.

||Downhome|| · #16 09/29/12, 06:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by meanwhile

You are lucky it is only a possum. My sons want to make some type of explosive stuff that is made out of rust! I have forbidden this stunt. Good luck with the possum.

Its called Thermite, its not explosive.

It is a pyrotechnic incendiary composition.

meanwhile · #17 09/29/12, 08:35 AM

Yep - my sons want to make Thermite. They also bought some Tannerite to explode in target shooting and once they had me go in the gun shop and buy up some "black powder" which I bought without really knowing what it was. The gun shop made me sign for it and he asked, "who?" is gonna be using this stuff?

Yes, I keep an eye on them!

They found a possum once down in our lower garden. The dogs had cornered it and all five of them (boys and dogs) thought the possum was dead. Suddenly, and without warning, possum up and starts snarling and growling at them.

What does your son plan to do with the possum?

fishhead · #18 09/29/12, 11:20 AM

If the possum isn't dead yet I would wait for it to prime up. The fur will be much better and more durable (I think).

KIT.S · #19 09/29/12, 11:57 AM

Hey, meanwhile, "forbid" just means they do it where you aren't able to supervise! My dad left my son his book "Formulas for Fun and Profit." Dynamite, fireworks, gun powder, soap, tanning, all kinds of information. His friends would come over and we'd do some minor blowing things up. We did it safely, learned some chemistry, and I got to enjoy the fireballs too! Did you know that a 2 liter coke bottle can expand over 3 times it's original size before it explodes? Kewl!!
Kit

watcher · #20 09/29/12, 01:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KIT.S

Hey, meanwhile, "forbid" just means they do it where you aren't able to supervise! My dad left my son his book "Formulas for Fun and Profit." Dynamite, fireworks, gun powder, soap, tanning, all kinds of information. His friends would come over and we'd do some minor blowing things up. We did it safely, learned some chemistry, and I got to enjoy the fireballs too! Did you know that a 2 liter coke bottle can expand over 3 times it's original size before it explodes? Kewl!!
Kit

Ahhh. . .good old days . . .

A coffee can (do they still sell coffee in cans?) some newspaper and an 1/4 full can of your sister's hair spray can lead to having your father asking a few questions, being forced to tell your sister you are sorry and being humiliated by having to go into to the "girls part" of the store plus having to stand in public and buy a can of hairspray.

Then there's making a cannon out of pump pipe, using the cutting torch to fill all sorts of things, and. . .