How I did My Euro Mount.....Warning carcass pics

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Tufrthnails
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How I did My Euro Mount.....Warning carcass pics

Unread postby Tufrthnails » Sun Dec 20, 2015 9:36 am

I'm not claiming this is the right way, wrong way, best way, or worst way. It is the way I did it. Here in FL temps even in Nov and Dec are still very warm and as you can see Ants and Worms will do a number on a skull pretty quickly.


I capped the skull out and stuck it on an ant bed and put a metal trash can on top of it with 50# of concrete block on top of that to keep critters out.



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Re: How I did My Euro Mount.....Warning carcass pics

Unread postby Tufrthnails » Sun Dec 20, 2015 9:37 am

I checked it every so often and took some pics because some guys wanted to see the process.


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Re: How I did My Euro Mount.....Warning carcass pics

Unread postby Tufrthnails » Sun Dec 20, 2015 9:37 am

Day 38 Before Pressure wash
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After pressure wash
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Re: How I did My Euro Mount.....Warning carcass pics

Unread postby Tufrthnails » Sun Dec 20, 2015 9:38 am

Gave it the simmer treatment
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Day 38 Boil em up
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Last edited by Tufrthnails on Sun Dec 20, 2015 9:42 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: How I did My Euro Mount.....Warning carcass pics

Unread postby Tufrthnails » Sun Dec 20, 2015 9:38 am

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Letting him dry.
Still have to pick up some peroxide
The bridge of the nose did split.
I tried to keep the temp down on the boil but it is a bit difficult with the coleman stove.
never got to a rolling boil, but did get going pretty good.
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Re: How I did My Euro Mount.....Warning carcass pics

Unread postby Tufrthnails » Sun Dec 20, 2015 9:39 am

I Started the process of cleaning, whitening, and degreasing the skull for my Euro last week. This week I finished it up. I cut the Cedar back board out of a log I had been saving in the back of the shop. Sanded it down added a bit of Kona stain to add some darker coloring and coated it with lacquer first followed by a High shine two part epoxy.
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Re: How I did My Euro Mount.....Warning carcass pics

Unread postby Tufrthnails » Sun Dec 20, 2015 9:41 am

I tried several different products for sealing and glossing the cedar plank. After a year on the wall it has developed a air bubble about the size of a nickel. Going to have to figure out what I am going to do about that.


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Re: How I did My Euro Mount.....Warning carcass pics

Unread postby Tufrthnails » Sun Dec 20, 2015 9:46 am

Tufrthnails wrote:I'm not claiming this is the right way, wrong way, best way, or worst way. It is the way I did it. Here in FL temps even in Nov and Dec are still very warm and as you can see Ants and Worms will do a number on a skull pretty quickly.


I capped the skull out and stuck it on an ant bed and put a metal trash can on top of it with 50# of concrete block on top of that to keep critters out.



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Re: How I did My Euro Mount.....Warning carcass pics

Unread postby Kraftd » Sun Dec 20, 2015 2:42 pm

Turned out good. For what it's worth if you're going to boil it and bleach it anyways,you can be done in three hours or so and avoid the whole anthill and weeks of waiting.

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Re: How I did My Euro Mount.....Warning carcass pics

Unread postby Jphunter » Sun Dec 20, 2015 4:19 pm

Looks great. The wood turned out awesome!

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Re: How I did My Euro Mount.....Warning carcass pics

Unread postby Tufrthnails » Mon Dec 21, 2015 12:25 am

Kraftd wrote:Turned out good. For what it's worth if you're going to boil it and bleach it anyways,you can be done in three hours or so and avoid the whole anthill and weeks of waiting.

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Agreed. It was kind of an experiment in how much the ants/ works would clean it. They leave a fatty substance that I had to boil to get out. I got two to do this year. My son's first deer and my Brother's first deer. We will see how they come out
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Re: How I did My Euro Mount.....Warning carcass pics

Unread postby Spysar » Mon Dec 21, 2015 1:03 am

The ants are a big waste of time. You need dermestid beetles for that, and yea dermestids exist in the wild.

But if your boiling, the best way is keep the skull fresh. Nothing worse than boiling a rotten head. Remove skin and and meat you can cut off. I use a brain blaster for brain removal . Then just simmer for a few hours. Young bucks have low bone density and the nose pieces may come apart. Mature ones usually stay together.

I like your cedar plaque. Did you cut it and make it? I've done some, it's best to only finish one side. Leave the wall side unfinished so moisture can escape so you don't get the bubbles. Those slabs tend to crack too unless kiln dried.
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Re: How I did My Euro Mount.....Warning carcass pics

Unread postby Tufrthnails » Mon Dec 21, 2015 1:17 am

Spysar wrote:I like your cedar plaque. Did you cut it and make it? I've done some, it's best to only finish one side. Leave the wall side unfinished so moisture can escape so you don't get the bubbles. Those slabs tend to crack too unless kiln dried.


Yes I cut it and made it from a log I have had drying for 5 years now. I wasn't sure what I wanted to do with the log but I liked the character of the wood and have had it in the corner of the garage and then the shop when we moved. I did practice on the backside and didn't like the results I sanded it back rough but it is possible to much penetrated and isn't letting it breathe out the back. for the cost of derm beetles I'd just take it to a taxidermist (it's not about saving $). I have another skull I am experimenting with. My son's first little Spike he shot last year. I put it in a five gal bucket of water i am curious to see how rank that is. I really been a let me see it for myself kind of guy.
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Re: How I did My Euro Mount.....Warning carcass pics

Unread postby Spysar » Mon Dec 21, 2015 1:26 am

OK then.

There is another method for you to try, which is one of the best for a quality skull. It's called maceration. It's a better method if the skull is already rotten.

You do it in the summer. Take a trash can and submerge the skull. Do this away from the house. It will stink. Bacteria will form in the warm months. Eventually the flesh will easily separate from the bone. Takes about 2 months. You can learn more about this on taxidermy.net in the skulls section. The one problem is the teeth may come loose, and the nose pieces, so when you dump the water, you might have to find the pieces and glue them back.
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Re: How I did My Euro Mount.....Warning carcass pics

Unread postby BassBoysLLP » Mon Dec 21, 2015 1:59 am

Spysar wrote:OK then.

There is another method for you to try, which is one of the best for a quality skull. It's called maceration. It's a better method if the skull is already rotten.

You do it in the summer. Take a trash can and submerge the skull. Do this away from the house. It will stink. Bacteria will form in the warm months. Eventually the flesh will easily separate from the bone. Takes about 2 months. You can learn more about this on taxidermy.net in the skulls section. The one problem is the teeth may come loose, and the nose pieces, so when you dump the water, you might have to find the pieces and glue them back.



You can macerate in a couple weeks. Aeration can also be used to keep the odor down. The bacteria doing the work are faculative. Keeping the oxygen up will minimize sulfide production (rotten odor).

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