Euro Mount (finally) Done

[fishnfur]

I finally got tired of seeing that skull just sitting in my office being ignored.... 
Got him done yesterday.

I think he needs a big brother to keep him company.

[bhawley76]

Looks good I like it!

[elkboy]

Nice!  I like the old, weathered fence board, too- nice touch!

[blindluck]

What was your method of cleaning? Boil,maceration,Beatles?

[fishnfur]

I was all hot to get it done fast, but the picking at tissue got old quick.  I moved on to a two hour simmer with the antlers wrapped with foil, trying to keep the water around 170 degrees or so.  The flesh was still really stubborn coming off and I got lazy, so I put it out in the garden with a tote over it (to keep the rodents off it).  The cold weather in December slows down the decay rate significantly, and the bugs I was hoping would clean it up were only about 10% of what I was hoping for. 

After about six weeks, I could see that the skull was starting to discolor, so I pulled out the pressure washer (like I should have done six weeks before) and using low spray pressure, cleaned it up in about 20 - 30 minutes.  Two weeks drying in the garage and it moved to my office where it sat again.....

[Goose Noose]

Next time, quickly after boiling, pressure wash it. Most of the flesh will come right off. Same with the brain cavity, stick a screwdriver in there to loosen it up, then pressure wash it out.

[pope]

I like it. How did you secure it? Skullmax?

[fishnfur]

Goose Noose - I knew that.  My pressure washer was at deep in the garage - a half hour just to get it out, and the weather was freezing.  I was feeling way too lazy to deal with it the correct way.

The mount secured with a fixture from Lowes that I found in the hardware section - I'm not sure what the intended purpose of the thing was - it was in a bin next to coat/garment hooks.  I had to put in on the grinder for about 10 minutes to modify the shape so that it fit in the Foramen Magnum/spinal chord hole without modifying the skull.   It worked out OK but the skull will move if it gets bumped a bit.

[BOWHUNTER45]

nice .. I will give a little advice if u do not mind .. I figured out a couple things on my own and I am no expert but when you boil your skulls and you are all done cleaning and ready to let dry take a Zip Tie and go around the nose and snug it up so the bones around the nose are tight ..let dry for a couple weeks and you will not have any separation of the bones around the nose ...something I figured out and works great ..

[fishnfur]

That's a great tip - I had a piece of the right maxilla come out just as I finished pressure washing.   I let everything dry for a week and managed to replace the separated portion into it's original position with a nice tight fit.