Post by: pickardjw on January 10, 2023, 12:16:29 PM
So I'm not doing that method in the future. And it sounds like an ordeal to maintain a dermestid beetle population. Any good options for that around WA?
Seems like the other option would be maceration. Anyone tried this?
Post by: Karl Blanchard on January 10, 2023, 12:22:22 PM
Post by: KP-Skagit on January 10, 2023, 12:27:38 PM
I have a set of very long and thin needle nose for getting tissue out of the brain and nasal cavities. Around the ears there is generally some cartilage and such that is really embedded. Honestly, I just leave it. It dries out and is fine.
Post by: pickardjw on January 10, 2023, 12:29:25 PM
Post by: KP-Skagit on January 10, 2023, 12:38:19 PM
Good tip for the ears. I don't mind working on it more, I just don't want to miss meat in some nook somewhere and have that rotting on my wall.
You can always set it outside for a week or two when you are done and let nature clean up your mistakes.
Post by: vandeman17 on January 10, 2023, 12:41:41 PM
I also have a pressure washer that is pretty high powered so my bigger concern is usually how much matter ends up all over me :chuckle:
Post by: jrebel on January 10, 2023, 12:52:10 PM
I simmer in a large pot of water with a ton of dawn dish soap.
I try very hard to take the brains out prior to boiling....its very easy within a day or so of the kill. Wire or Coat Hanger bent into a loop.....stick in brain cavity and twist around scrambling the brains....turn up side down and shake them out. Flush with water and usually ready to prep for boiling.
Long needle nose pliers, picks, air hose, scalpel can all be your friends. Be patient and usually it is a very easy process. I used to hate doing my own euros....now that I have done a lot and have started to master the craft....I don't mind it and it is pretty easy.
I use Hydrogen peroxide past to whiten.
Post by: OltHunter on January 10, 2023, 01:06:47 PM
Watch white bone creations on YouTube.
The key is prep. Get as much meat, skin, brain, off the skull prior.
I simmer for never really anymore than the nose skin to split in half. Was about 45 minutes for my elk and 30 for a buddy's deer.
In that simmer, I have some oxiclean detergent and some borax.
WBC will show you how to knock out the ear bones and clear out room to spray. That will save you a huge amount of time. Nobody really cares about the bottom.
Long forceps to get membranes out.
Electric pressure washer on a 0 degree nozzle. Mine is 2100 maybe.
Spraying does take time. Maybe an hour total. I've had to return to a boil maybe a few times for a few minutes.
Then I use a wire brush on my drill to clean out that stuff on the back of the skull that is impossible to spray off.
Then the bleach simmer so a bit and I've got a grow light I sit it under for the drying process then some mop and glow.
Nothing close to looking like a bettle skull, but fine for me, and much better knowing I did it.
Post by: blindluck on January 10, 2023, 02:48:01 PM
Post by: haftard on January 10, 2023, 02:51:59 PM
Post by: fishngamereaper on January 10, 2023, 04:32:08 PM
I can do one in about an hour, no mess, no smell,no small bone fragments everytime I move or clean em. And realistic enough for me.
Post by: Rutnbuxnbulls on January 10, 2023, 04:55:03 PM
Pipe cleaners, hard bristle brushes work great for the hard to reach stuff. Pressure wash as needed. Sometimes I leave the nasal cavity in tact, other times I wipe it out completely. Depends what you're going for.
Don't use bleach. Ever. It can damage the bone and continue to erode the bone tissue.
Use Hydrogen Peroxide Cream and brush it on the head, if you want to whiten it up. May take several coats. This is a process and there's a reason people pay others good money for it.
Post by: chukar hunter on January 10, 2023, 05:24:43 PM
Build a plywood box, lined with rigid foam insulation. Ideal to have a slope on the roof, as the air will condense inside and you don't want the condensation to drip on heat lamp. Make it as air tight as possible(HVAC tape works well) with removeable side/door. Use a plastic tote. Fill with water above the skull plate, onto antlers OK. Fish tank heater in tote as high as it will go and 200W heat lamp suspended off of roof. 10-14 day soak. Check water after 5-7 days. Empty 2/3 pulling big chunks and replenish water. **Note** smell is horrendous. Wash with hot water in utility sink, scrubbing gunk accumulation on antlers with a toothbrush. Skull clean, with nasal bones intact.
Degrease with 2 hour soak in Kerosene(don't submerge antlers).
Whiten as preferred, though I boil H202 with a 1/4 cup of Volume 40. Ladle onto skull plate +250 times while you drink beer, not getting any onto antlers.
Post by: lewy on January 10, 2023, 05:50:27 PM
Post by: Duckslayer89 on January 10, 2023, 05:59:16 PM
Post by: lewy on January 10, 2023, 06:04:59 PM
Post by: Caseknife on January 10, 2023, 08:49:55 PM
Post by: huntnphool on January 10, 2023, 10:48:45 PM
Post by: Pete112288 on January 10, 2023, 11:21:13 PM
I have a coleman camp stove with the little green propane bottles.
I pretty much run it low and slow till I empty one bottle, typically one whole day while doing other chores.
I have a metal box that just perfectly fits a deer skull and supports the antlers out of the way. A repurposed liner from an indoor planter.
I drop one or two dishwasher pods in it. 20 minutes pressure washing and a little picking here and there and its done. I like to leave it the regular bone color it comes out as.
The biggest thing to me is prep work. The more you take off a head of time the better. And the soonest you do it after the kill the easier it is to cut everything off.
By the time I put it in the water all skin and hair is gone, 90% of the muscle. The lower jaw and tongue are gone. I coat hanger the brain cavity like crazy. Hose it out. Do it again, etc. The brain cavity is pretty dang clean before going in. I break out the ear bones. I cut the eyes out and everything behind them I can manage.
I look at it like painting or seal coating asphalt. The better the prep the better the result.
Post by: Buck Rub Jr on January 11, 2023, 08:59:03 AM
Post by: millerwheeler on January 11, 2023, 09:08:35 AM
Oxi clean , baking soda , and getting as much off as possible , remove ear buds , and volume 40 bleach all great tips
Post by: pickardjw on January 11, 2023, 09:18:17 AM
I watched some of the whitebone creations videos last night, lots of good tips there.
One of the disappointing things is how brittle much of it seems to be now. First deer skull I've handled so maybe they're all like that? The whole nose seems to want to fall off. The two nose pieces indicated in the attached photo are intact in most skull photos but are loose and about to fall off on mine. That's really why I'm looking into more "delicate" options.
Post by: jrebel on January 11, 2023, 09:50:23 AM
I'll be using peroxide paste to whiten, haven't had time to get to that quite yet.
I watched some of the whitebone creations videos last night, lots of good tips there.
One of the disappointing things is how brittle much of it seems to be now. First deer skull I've handled so maybe they're all like that? The whole nose seems to want to fall off. The two nose pieces indicated in the attached photo are intact in most skull photos but are loose and about to fall off on mine. That's really why I'm looking into more "delicate" options.
Likely had the water to hot if the bones are that brittle. Low and slow will remedy that problem. A little glue from a hot glue gun will fix the nose bones if needed.
Post by: pickardjw on January 11, 2023, 10:09:34 AM
Post by: vandeman17 on January 11, 2023, 10:28:26 AM
I'll be using peroxide paste to whiten, haven't had time to get to that quite yet.
I watched some of the whitebone creations videos last night, lots of good tips there.
One of the disappointing things is how brittle much of it seems to be now. First deer skull I've handled so maybe they're all like that? The whole nose seems to want to fall off. The two nose pieces indicated in the attached photo are intact in most skull photos but are loose and about to fall off on mine. That's really why I'm looking into more "delicate" options.
Likely had the water to hot if the bones are that brittle. Low and slow will remedy that problem. A little glue from a hot glue gun will fix the nose bones if needed.
I have only done a few but I have been told you either go hot and fast or low and slow to help avoid the bones getting brittle. Twice in a rolling boil water for mine for 30-45 minutes and they came out plenty strong. I also wrapped foil around the base of the antlers to help them not lose their color.
Side track to this thread, I want to try the burying it in the garden method. That seems like it would be pretty darn cool and easy.
Post by: Rutnbuxnbulls on January 11, 2023, 11:01:14 AM
Another tip- just pop the ear drums out instead of trying to clean around them. This also makes it easier to run a wire loop threw to hang it from
I do the same thing, pop out the eardrums to get stuff cleaner back there.
As far as mounting, I've been using the brain stem hole and I'll drill about a 5/16" hole an inch down from the stem hole. Screw two wood screw 1" apart vertically on the wall at my preferred height, battaboom battabing skull is mounted to wall with a floating look. Just another option.
Post by: Karl Blanchard on January 11, 2023, 01:41:08 PM
this. Super glue works well also.I'll be using peroxide paste to whiten, haven't had time to get to that quite yet.
I watched some of the whitebone creations videos last night, lots of good tips there.
One of the disappointing things is how brittle much of it seems to be now. First deer skull I've handled so maybe they're all like that? The whole nose seems to want to fall off. The two nose pieces indicated in the attached photo are intact in most skull photos but are loose and about to fall off on mine. That's really why I'm looking into more "delicate" options.
Likely had the water to hot if the bones are that brittle. Low and slow will remedy that problem. A little glue from a hot glue gun will fix the nose bones if needed.
Post by: jrebel on January 11, 2023, 02:11:18 PM
Post by: jrebel on January 11, 2023, 02:12:34 PM
Post by: pianoman9701 on January 11, 2023, 02:16:45 PM
Post by: Ghost Hunter on January 11, 2023, 02:38:29 PM
Post by: pickardjw on January 11, 2023, 03:32:22 PM
Maceration with aquarium heaters work for me. A few days, everything falls off, brains pour out. No pressure washing involved. Namely bones intact. Rinse, dawn soak, peroxide to whiten.
How bad is the smell?
Post by: jrebel on January 11, 2023, 03:36:07 PM
Maceration with aquarium heaters work for me. A few days, everything falls off, brains pour out. No pressure washing involved. Namely bones intact. Rinse, dawn soak, peroxide to whiten.
How bad is the smell?
One of the worst smells I have ever encountered. I tried it once.....did it in the garage and the smell seeped into the house....wife about killed me. Seriously...it would knock a buzzard off a turd pile. :puke: :puke:
I work in a field where I smell some of the worst smells a human body can produce (dead and alive).....and a skull macerating in my garage beat the worst smell I have ever smelled by at least ten fold.
Post by: Ghost Hunter on January 11, 2023, 04:04:31 PM
Wouldn't do it in the house or garage. I have a small greenhouse structure I use. Not that bad if you don't get the water on you. The end result is well worth it to me.Maceration with aquarium heaters work for me. A few days, everything falls off, brains pour out. No pressure washing involved. Namely bones intact. Rinse, dawn soak, peroxide to whiten.
How bad is the smell?
Post by: WAcoueshunter on January 11, 2023, 04:26:54 PM
Post by: blindluck on January 11, 2023, 04:47:27 PM