Boiling out skulls
#21
Like the others said, boiling can damage the skull. I do taxidermy on the side and use the beetles to clean mine and they turn out great.
Here is a 5 hour tutorial on how to do euro mounts. Thats about as fast as your gonna get
http://www.taxidermy.net/forum/index...,125076.0.html
Here is a 5 hour tutorial on how to do euro mounts. Thats about as fast as your gonna get
http://www.taxidermy.net/forum/index...,125076.0.html
Last edited by KYDeerHunter03; 05-31-2010 at 03:15 PM.
#22
Spike
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Western U.S.
Posts: 24
I also boil my skulls. First of all, try to clean as much of the skull by hand. When your water is boiling, mix in salt and possibly even Oxi Clean. I do this and it seems to help loosen the hide and meat faster while also whitening the skull some even before it is time to bleach. But like some other posts stated, try not to boil to long, it does soften the skull and can break easier. One way to help this problem is be sure to dip the skull in cold water after boiling the skull. Try some of these methods and see if they help.
HuntinGuy
HuntinGuy
#23
Spike
Join Date: Oct 2005
Posts: 20
Calcium carbonate (Sal soda or washing soda) added to the water will soften the meat faster. SIMMER about an hour and it should clean off easily, if not leave it a while longer. Clean off well and then put it in water with Dawn detergent and Ammonia (preferably heated) for several weeks to degrease (thats where the yellowing comes from). Then whiten with peroxide.
#25
Spike
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Western U.S.
Posts: 24
When dipping and bleaching the skull. Put a soaked rag from the mix you are bleaching over the top of the skull and around the base of antlers. make sure the rag is touching into the mix so it keeps soaking up the mix and keeps whitening the top and back.
HuntinGuy
HuntinGuy
#26
other hints
i skin the skull behind the eyes, leave the nose area intact for the first boil it helps protect the delicate nose bones. after the meat on the back half starts coming away from the bone take out and deflesh pull the lower jaw and make sure the hole in back of skull is open. boil again and get off rest of flesh and nose tissue. for bleachng i use clorox bleach (the splashless kind) put on with small brush
#27
Banned
Join Date: Jul 2010
Posts: 31
sure looks as if the ants picked it clean, doesnt stink, i left the bh in the skull too, is that bad...its kinda through the eye socket and into the mouth.
it did fall off the speaker and crash to the floor dislodging both sides of the jaw. there was a piece of leather (if you will) holding them together that i was able to peel off, but it didnt stink or anything...
btw whats so bad about bleach?
its been 4 years or so on my oldest and its holding up well.
i am tryin to get some pics uploaded...
it did fall off the speaker and crash to the floor dislodging both sides of the jaw. there was a piece of leather (if you will) holding them together that i was able to peel off, but it didnt stink or anything...
btw whats so bad about bleach?
its been 4 years or so on my oldest and its holding up well.
i am tryin to get some pics uploaded...
#30
Last year I found a dead deer in the woods. I put the head in a 5 gallon bucket and filled the bucket with grass clippings; I didn't skin it or do anything else to it. I left that in a hidden spot in my yard for about 8 weeks. It didn't smell and nothing messed with it. Pulled it out 8 weeks later and it was a bare skull with some bugs crawling around in the grass clippings.
That method is not for everyone I know, but for me it beats scrapping at a skull and trying to boil something outside.
That method is not for everyone I know, but for me it beats scrapping at a skull and trying to boil something outside.
Last edited by Stonewall308; 09-29-2011 at 10:47 AM.