Euro mount and hand made plaque pics
 

Here is my first try at doing a Euro mount and i decided to make my own plaque. I used walnut and decided to make a swivel mount like the ones used to mount flying turkeys. I kind of used arrowheads as a theme for the plaque. Just thought some might want to see some pics. Dan

RE: Euro mount and hand made plaque pics
 

Excellent job. I've never really liked the full head mount that most of the folks I hunt with would spend their retirement check on. My choice, if I was going to mount would be the euro mount. And I would prefer to do it myself.
Dan, give me somemore info..... What's the process???
I'mpretty good at wood work, so I believe I can handle that part.

-DD

RE: Euro mount and hand made plaque pics
 

DD here is how i did mine. my info was gathered from this forum thru some searching and asking a few ??? of my own. Here it goes. skin hide and as much meat as possable from skull as soon as possible. remove eyes and lower jaw bone. be very careful around nose area, its very fragile. some use dermastid beatles to clean the skull ( they are flesh eaters and i have never tried them) . I boiled mine in a big pot that i used to boil traps in. I did not boil for long, mabey 15 minutes just to help loosen some meat. if you boil to long the bones will become loose and teeth might fall out, mine did not. you can glue these back in.I then put mine on the ground and put some fencing around it(staked down) to let mother nature care of it. about once a week i would take it out and remove some more meat. a coat hanger with a hook is good for fishing brane matter out and an occanisonal rince with the garden hose. When all clean, soak in dawn dish soap and water for several days to degrease. now get some 40% peroxide from the beauty shop. i made my wife go in.:)I used a plastic container to set the skull in. mix the peroxide with water (i used two bottles of the 40%) take paper towels and fold two strips about 3/4" wide and wrap around bases under the bur to wick the peroxide as it will not cover the whole skull without getting on the bases of the antler. wrap bases with aluminum foil or something to keep peroxide off the bases because it will foam up. pour solution around skull just till its under the bases. part of the skull is still high and dry so fold some paper towels in a triangle and lay on the front and rear of the exposed skullcovering all bone and wet it down with solution. i had to weight my towels down because they will float when it gets foamy. i let mine soak for about 5 days rewetting the towels every day. then took it out and blotten on some solution straight from the bottle and let set overnight. rinsing off the next day. now take it out side and place in direct sunlet ( thanks nctaxi) for about three days witch really starts to whiten the skull. go to the craft store and get a bottle of MOD PODGE it looks like elmers white glue but dries clear. i used the Gloss. i put on three coats with a sponge brush but you can put on more for a greater shine. If i left anything out feel free to add fellas. I know some like to do different. hope this helps.
Dan

RE: Euro mount and hand made plaque pics
 

How do you screw the skull to the plaque?

RE: Euro mount and hand made plaque pics
 

treestandstealth- looks like he just screwed into the skull from underneath the plaque. cant screw in from the top side without a big metal screw on the top of the skull.

great lookin mount. i think my next mount, unless abslute monster im gunna try something like this.

RE: Euro mount and hand made plaque pics
 

I don't know if he did it the same way I did mine or not but I just put a screw into the top side of the mount and then run the brain cavity hole over the screw.

What kind of finish did you put on the walnut?

Cameron

RE: Euro mount and hand made plaque pics
 

Im not sure if the way i did mine is like most do but here is what i did anyway. There is one screw that goes into where the spinal colum attaches (you can see that one in the pic)this area of bone is pretty thick and i lubed the screw with light oil to aid in screwing into the thick bone after drilling a pilot hole. there is two screws in the pallet or roof of the mouth. but i had to put them as close to the teeth as possable. if you go anywhere else on the palet its just to thin.The finish on the walnut is minwax red mahogany and three coats of minwax polyurethane clear satin with a light sanding in between coats with fine steel wool. thanks for the comments guys.
Dan

RE: Euro mount and hand made plaque pics
 

I love the plaque but was wondering why you used two pivot points in the back. Couldn't you just attach the one piece (the male )to the back of the arrow head thenslide it into the twopieces on the wall and only use one pivot point.

RE: Euro mount and hand made plaque pics
 

Good question!!! you could do that if ya wanted. I entertained that idea but wanted it where i could swivel it more to the side to show off the back plaque a little more. You can buy these thru vandikes catalogue and this is how they build theres. Skys the limit, so do em how they suite ya.
Dan

RE: Euro mount and hand made plaque pics
 

I tried my own last yr and it was a bear! I ended up taking it to a taximan to finish.

He said to boil it for several hours like u would a roast. Makes it super tender and easy to get the junk out.

Ended up getting a second one done too.

I saw a euro mount today that was really neat the way it was done. I wish i had gotten a pic. I might try to get back in to getone.

Nice job on yours btw.