[Jacob-list] Sheepskin treatment

[dbennet954 at earthlink.net]

My husband does all the tanning, but I have a pretty good idea how it 
goes... scrape off  any fat. Rub alot of salt (non-iodized or canning 
salt) onto the hide. You can let it sit like this for quite awhile (in a 
place where it can drain). After a few days, rinse off the salt and 
thoroughly scrape the hide. Mix a solution of 1/3 each salt, alum and 
baking soda. Rub this on the hide and let it sit for a couple weeks to 
dry (time will depend on temperature and humidity). Rinse off any 
excess. Rub tanning oil into the hide. Break it (my husband puts it in 
the dryer on air fluff to tumble and bang it around).
We get the alum and tanning oil from Van Dyke's taxidermy company, 
www.vandykes.com

Debbie Bennett
Feral Fibre
Oakland, Oregon

On Tuesday, October 30, 2001, at 11:09 AM, Chovhani wrote:

> Can you believe this. I've spent an hour surfing the net, using four 
> different search engines and I CANNOT find some straightforward 
> instructions for turning my raw sheepskin into a rug or throw. I know 
> you guys won't let me down!
>  
> I didn't think I'd need advice you see. I own John Seymour's book of 
> self-sufficiency, and use it for everything, but just as I'm about to 
> get out the borax something told me to stop. These instructions do not 
> say anything about the wool.......I don't want to wreck it for the sake 
> of rawhide......his method cures rather than tans.
>  
> So.....I collected the fleece, head attached and dripping, still warm, 
> straight after the kill. Tons of blood everywhere, got it into my 
> bathtub, cut off the head and tail, cut a rough sheepskin shape, and 
> rinsed all the blood off. NOW WHAT?
>  
> Seymour says to rinse in a borax solution, then dump it in a solution 
> of salt and sulphuric acid, and leave for 3 days. Then rinse it in 
> borax again, churn in the washing machine, half-dry it, and finally 
> work on it by hand. I'm game for all this, but what about the wool? Or 
> do you guys have a better way? When I wash fleeces I do them in the 
> washing machine, but I don't use these harsh chemicals (I'm an organic 
> gal) so I'm clueless.
>  
> Please get back to me as fast as you can before the stores close in 
> case I need to go fetch anything.
>  
> THANKS!
> Melanie
>  
>  
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