Question on mounting antlers. What would be the best solution to use to form a skull around the antlers? I was thinking of using plaster of Paris so I could form it easy enough. Car bondo would need a lot of sanding. Any words of wisdom on this would be taken gratefully. Thanks

When you take the antlers take the skull with them at that time. I soak the skull portion in bleach for a few days and then the hide portion can be removed and everything is clean and ready for mounting.
I guess plaster of paris would work if you had a mold.

Hafa8pt, Is soaking it in bleach easier than boiling a skull? Does the tissue come off pretty easily?

I did one last year for a boy in our club' s first buck ever. I used plaster of paris. It wasn' t too hard. What I did was cut a piece of thin plywood and screwed it to the back of the skull, then used the plaster of paris to build up on the front side. It is very easy to shape, and sets up quick. Once I got it shaped how I wanted, after it dried, I wrapped the whole thing with green velvet and stapled the velvet to the wood on the back. I put gold trim around the antler bases, and then I attached it to a walnut plaque I made. It turned out nice, and cost basically nothing but time..since I had all the materials.

Here is the best way to meet your objective. First you need a 3500 psi pressure washer yes a pressure washer. second a air hose and compressor. Make a small cut above the lip stick the air hose under the skin pull the trigger and the air will seperate the skin from the head. skin it out with a few cuts around the tear ducts and lip. Now for the messy part use the pressure washer and wash all the braines and bloof off the skull. Oh wear a rain coat and thick rubber gloves to prevent your hans from spliting from the pressure washer. This will wash all the blood and skin off. Then dip it in bleach for 30minutes to one hour air dry and then you have what is called a european mount. It looks a lot better with the full skill try it you will like it! Good luck!
sr. corndog

I find boiling the skull works the best for me, When you boil add a small amout of dawn dish soap to help to cut the grease in the fat. Make sure that you dont allow the antlers to come in contact with the boiling water because it will cause discoloration and a change in tewxture to the antlers. I use a large rooasting pan and fill with water until skull is submerged, I place a dowel rod across the top of the pan and tie antlers to the dowel rod so they dont come in contact with the water.WhenI boil I use needle nose pliers to remove some of the tissues that are sticking to the bone and boil and repeat process. You can use a thin fillet knife etc to insert into brain cavity to break up the brain so it will come out the hole in small pieces.I think they come out looking better than when I bleach, bury, leave exposed to the elements etc.
If you use plaster of paris, remember if you ever drop it or bang or bump it the plaster will break easily. I found out this the hard way by using it as a filler around the bases of shed antlers that I attached to a skull.
The auto body filler actually works quite well and can be formed like clay in the beginning to reduce the amount of sanding.
If you check with some of the taxidermy suppliers on the internet such as WASCO you will find that they sell imitation buck skulls for mounting shed or removed antlers for european mounts, and they sell a device that you can screw shed or removed antlers onto for mounting plus they sell lots of plaques for skull cap mounts. Hope this helps you.

Sr corndog...I' m visualizing that procedure...LOL

Lady...have you ever boiled using Sal Soda? For doing a full skull, this is the easiest (and cleanest) way I' ve found. It takes 15 to 30 minutes total, and is about 99% clean when it' s done. I' d tried bleach, peroxide, and soap....and a buddy of mine who' s a taxidermist told me to try using this. It works far better and faster. I did one last weekend for a friend. Just make sure you do it outside or your spouse is liable to ring your neck

WV,What is SAL Soda ? And what do I need to do? I' ve got one from this year in the freezer I want to do . Thanks in advance !

CBM...Sal Soda is a powder chemical you can get from your taxidermist. It' s about $10 for 5lbs...if I recall.
First, skin the hide off your skull. Take a large pot of water and bring it to a boil. Add 1 cup of sal soda per gallon, and let it boil a few minutes. Put the skull in the pot(make sure the antlers stay above the water) and let it boil about 15 minutes. Take it out, and clean off the meat, etc. Most of it will already be off, but some of it gets stuck in the little crevices. Put it back in for another 10-15 minutes if it is needed. After it' s done, remove anything that may be stuck in the crevices, rinse it off with clean water, and let it dry. It turns out real nice. You can soak it in bleach a little while if you want it real bright white, but I usually don' t.
**Make sure you do it outside! If you don' t, you' ll know why soon enough
Good luck!

Thanks! I' ve boiled a few but it usually takes me a long time (4-5 hours) and a lot of scraping . I' ve just done it, I' ve never really known what I was doing. Your right , my wife would kick me out of the house if I boiled one inside.