Muskox ? for Bill Yox

[Pheasantpoint]

Could you please tell me where to get detailed instuctions on how to prepair muskox horns for a mount? I'm no rookie,but darn this is no common animal.Hoping not to stir up all the so called pros on the other link,t-net.How ya gonna learn with out asking? Thank you

[Bill Yox]

To be honest with you, I dont know of any instructions, detailed or otherwise, on that subject. If you are more specific as to what it is youre not sure of, Ill try to help you out. I just did one LS not too long ago, all I needed to do was build the boss back, no damage on that set.

[Pheasantpoint]

I just recieved the two life size hides back from carolina tannery.Had the client bring me the frozen skulls(they are cut like you would cut an antelope skull) half eye.Do you boil ?Where exactly do you cut to get the inside of horns clean?This is the first I've seen the skulls,horn plate.Looks to me that there has to be a trick to cleaning them the right way.Was your hides dry tanned? If so how much streach did you get when rehydrating the hide?Gonna do a dry measurement to see how much the forms need to be altered.Is that the best way?There not much choice in form sizes.Any help would be apreciated. Thank you very much

[Bill Yox]

Well, lets see...Carolina is one of the very best tans out there, so youll get stretch for sure. As for skins, I always soak em up before ordering forms, as dry measurements are basically useless. With musk ox, there not much difference in size selection, so assume its either large or average, and order. Then soak the skin for fitting/alterations.

As for the horns, I know what you read, but dont ever boil horns. They can warp, split later, or even disinegrate. Let them rot a bit and heres a good tip for you. Ready? See how the horn lays flat against the face of the animal? Well, take a chisel and chisel out the INSIDE of the horn sheath and break through the core, so the horn slips off. Boil the skull/cores, clean the horn, then slip back onto the cores. Of course, dont chisel ALL the way through the horn, just the inside. Once mounted that damage cant show due to being up against the face.