Taxidermy tools??


The Kid

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  • 2 weeks later...

You are looking at alot of $ to get started to do it right. If you are going to have them professionally tanned instead of tanning yourself, that will save you alot of $. You will need, at the least, these items:

Fleshing beam

fleshing knife

ear splitter

scalpel and blades

feshing tools (my favorite is one I made from a baseball bat. It is about 18" long. From the end opposite the handle, sharpen to a point, so you can stick it in eye holes and nostrils)

non-iodized salt (depends on the tanning outfit your using)

sewing needle

light thread

heavy thread (artificial sinew is awesome)

bank pins

brads

t-pins

hide paste

epoxy (natural, pink, black, and brown)

curved sewing needle

potters clay

critter clay

sculpting tool

stout ruffer

hide adjustment tool

lip tucking tool

lacquer thinner

bondo, f'glass matting and resin, hardener

dremel tool with small cone shaped tip

propane torch and grinder

screws

mallet

small level

tape measure

drill

drill bit

countersink bit

staple gun and staples

bright brushes

fine 00 sable paint brush

paint pallet

oil paints: white, yellow ochre, black, burnt umber, red, pink

air brush and paints: brown, black, bone white, red, med. pink

matte polymer medium

If you are going to do a "decent" job and plan on "finishing" the deer, you will need these items. You MAY get by w/o the airbrush or the oil paints one, but not both. I would recommend finding a local taxidermist who would "take you under his wing" for your project. There is alot more involved w/ mounting a deer head, that you will be proud of and enjoy looking at for the rest of your life, than most people realize. Mckenzie has everything you would ever need to complete the job. there are other supply houses out there, but most are lacking one thing or another that you may need. If you are serious about getting into taxidermy as a sideline or profession, save yourself a bunch of heartache AND headache and spend the $ to attend Joe Meder's deer mounting course and you will save yourself a lifetime worth of troubles. It is $ well spent. Even taxidermists who are already praticing, attend his courses and come out of there better than when they went in. You can find him on the net. He is THE MAN in the deer mounting taxidermy world as far as I and many others are concerned. I am on camospace as Patriotoutlaw if you want to holler @ me with any questions, I'll be glead to help you to the best of my ability. Good huntin. Take Care, Dave C. Patriotoutlaw

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We are not professionals, only do it our own deer and we think they look pretty dang good....here is what we use.

We had our hides tanned by a local "taxidermist", bad idea....get it done professionally, much better!!!

For the most part you need a tucking tool for the mouth, eyes, and nose, scalpels and blades, I like earliners for the ears, clay, the eyes and form, hacksaw to cut the skull, screw and drill with wood shims to attatch skull to form, get a good sewing needle and cape thread to sew up the hide and get a smaller needle and waxed thread for sewing up holes in the hide, use bondo and mache to form the top of the head after the horns are attatched, Staple gun to tack the hide to the back of the form, pins and/or t-pins to hold things in place (like the nose, eyes, and mouth after you tuck them), dremel with correct bits to drill out the eyes, nose and mouth, also need rough sandpaper to rough up the hide, get some good hide paste also.

Then when the mount dries you will need to paint it! ;)

Hope my long rambled on list helps and you can understand it and I didn't leave anything out. ;)

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You are looking at alot of $ to get started to do it right. If you are going to have them professionally tanned instead of tanning yourself, that will save you alot of $. You will need, at the least, these items:

Fleshing beam

fleshing knife

ear splitter

scalpel and blades

feshing tools (my favorite is one I made from a baseball bat. It is about 18" long. From the end opposite the handle, sharpen to a point, so you can stick it in eye holes and nostrils)

non-iodized salt (depends on the tanning outfit your using)

sewing needle

light thread

heavy thread (artificial sinew is awesome)

bank pins

brads

t-pins

hide paste

epoxy (natural, pink, black, and brown)

curved sewing needle

potters clay

critter clay

sculpting tool

stout ruffer

hide adjustment tool

lip tucking tool

lacquer thinner

bondo, f'glass matting and resin, hardener

dremel tool with small cone shaped tip

propane torch and grinder

screws

mallet

small level

tape measure

drill

drill bit

countersink bit

staple gun and staples

bright brushes

fine 00 sable paint brush

paint pallet

oil paints: white, yellow ochre, black, burnt umber, red, pink

air brush and paints: brown, black, bone white, red, med. pink

matte polymer medium

If you are going to do a "decent" job and plan on "finishing" the deer, you will need these items. You MAY get by w/o the airbrush or the oil paints one, but not both. I would recommend finding a local taxidermist who would "take you under his wing" for your project. There is alot more involved w/ mounting a deer head, that you will be proud of and enjoy looking at for the rest of your life, than most people realize. Mckenzie has everything you would ever need to complete the job. there are other supply houses out there, but most are lacking one thing or another that you may need. If you are serious about getting into taxidermy as a sideline or profession, save yourself a bunch of heartache AND headache and spend the $ to attend Joe Meder's deer mounting course and you will save yourself a lifetime worth of troubles. It is $ well spent. Even taxidermists who are already praticing, attend his courses and come out of there better than when they went in. You can find him on the net. He is THE MAN in the deer mounting taxidermy world as far as I and many others are concerned. I am on camospace as Patriotoutlaw if you want to holler @ me with any questions, I'll be glead to help you to the best of my ability. Good huntin. Take Care, Dave C. Patriotoutlaw

Is that all????:jaw: Geez O' Willakers

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