Valley Fur Shed

wire wheeling a squirrel

i did a poll a while back asking which of my personal pelts i should tan next, and this black squirrel was the winner! i just now finally gave myself permission to actually work on her lol. hopefully i'll get her done soon

F&Tpost has B grade beams that are pretty cheap, that's where i got mine (the 5x46 one for $22.95) and it's lasted me years. shipping was under $15 so in total it was around $35-40. you would have to build a base for it though so that's not including any wood you might have to buy for that if you don't have any lying around, but you don't need much and any cheap 2x4 will do. or you can even get away with using it without a base, just bracing it between your body and a wall. i used it like that at first, it works ok doing a couple hides here and there, but it's definitely not ideal if you're fleshing regularly (it hurts after a while lol)

another option is to make your own beam, either out of hardwood or PVC pipe, but whether that's more affordable or not depends on if you already have the tools to do it and a source for the wood or pipe. here is a video on different options for fleshing beams and what you want in a beam, and there are a lot of videos on youtube showing how to make different styles of beam if you search 'how to make a fleshing beam'

fleshing a big ol stubborn opossum

man beavers are NOT fun 😩 but this is going to be a very cool pelt

dog face before and after shaving

it is possible to wash a pelt before salting without issues, as long as the fur is dried well before you salt it and leave it to dry, but i personally don't recommend introducing any moisture to a pelt if you can help it. excess moisture encourages bacterial activity, as well as all the extra time and handling of the raw skin, which can lead to slipping. a nice fresh skin can be ok with a wash but i don't find it worth the risk if it's not totally necessary. as a general rule, you want to get the pelt to a stable state (salt dried, pickled, etc) as quickly as you possibly can, while keeping it as dry and cool as you can. if there's blood, urine, mud, or other nastiness in the fur, i find it better to spot clean it as best you can with paper towels before salting rather than fully washing the pelt. you can then give it a full wash with soap and cold water after rehydrating, right before it goes into the pickle.

you need to flesh the hide before salt drying, to ensure the salt can get into the skin underneath the fat and meat, otherwise it won't be able to preserve the skin and it might slip. if salt on the hide is making it easier to flesh you can definitely rub some salt on it right before or while you flesh it, just don't leave it out for a while or anything before you begin fleshing. and avoid using borax on a raw skin; borax has a high pH and it can spike the pH of your pickle. sawdust and corn meal are some other safe options to give you more grip and aid in fleshing

wire wheeling fox body+legs (4x speed). i wanted to do the face and tail too but i had to take a break before i died of heatstroke in the 100+ degree garage lol. so i’ll record those parts separately later

fleshing a cat (2x speed)

a tayra before and after shaving. this was supposed to be a wet tan that i only needed to dry and break to convert to a dry tan, but when i got it in… it was a mess 😬 it wasn’t fleshed at all let alone shaved, and the prep work on the face wasn’t even done (lips not split, ears and nose not turned, etc). the skin of the toes and under the lips, nose, and ears was still pink- completely raw- when i split/turned them. it looked like the taxidermist just took the hide off the carcass and plopped in into a tanning solution and called it a day 😅 so now i’ve got to tan this pelt from start to finish

cat face before and after shaving

nearly grease burned cat before and after shaving

fleshing a cat (2x speed). this is a more average amount of fat compared to the last one i posted lol

wolfdog face before and after shaving

fleshing a huge cat (2x speed)

wire wheeling a hamster (very carefully) 2.5x speed

fleshing a cat

dog hide before and after fleshing