Congrats on your first tom! I cut the fan out without bone attached. If you grab the fan at the base and serperate the fan feathers from the back feathers you will see and feel a knob, which is all the tail feather quills. I cut that knob off and have never lost a tail feather. Then I trim as much meat off of that, trim it so you almost expose the quils on the outter feathers. Then put Borax all over it, between feathers, stuff it up in the quills as far as you can. Then I add more Borax to it as the meat absorbs it, if you think you have used too much Borax add more! The faster you get the meat dried out the less chance of bugs and smell. Then put some nails in a board and put the fan on it to spread it out as it drys, when it drys out the fan will be open. Take a look at the photos. Have fun!!!