[TheForge] OT - Hides in ones Blacksmith shop

[Wes Marquart]

I have some elk hide I was going to use for the main bellows.  The buffalo
was going to be used for hinges and valves.

Some other things the buffalo hide was destined for: belts, possible drum
head, and for the soles of some new boots.

Yeah, that stuff is [heavy].  And we do have a line on 6 more from the same
place.  Biggest problem with it is that those suckers were heavily salted
then hung over a barn beam to dry - I think the over kill on the salt is why
we were having problems getting the hair to slip free.

-Wes

-----Original Message-----
From: theforge-bounces at mailman.qth.net
[mailto:theforge-bounces at mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of Saint Phlip
Sent: Monday, February 18, 2008 2:49 PM
To: Sponsored by ABANA
Subject: Re: [TheForge] OT - Hides in ones Blacksmith shop

That's going to be some awfully heavy material for the bellows- a bit
like sinking an I-beam for a tent stake. Do you have a splitter? You
likely want 8-10 oz leather, alum tanned. Brain tanning will work, of
course, but it's an awfuly big job, with a buffalo hide.

On Feb 18, 2008 3:14 PM, Wes Marquart <marquart at arlinn-tower.com> wrote:
> You could have my dilemma...
>
> I've got two buffalo hides sitting in a barrel of lye-water (actually
> lye-ICE) taking up space in my shop...
>
> A neighbor brought them over in early November so he could 'teach' me
> tanning... he'd originally said that we'd only need to soak them for 2-3
> days in wood-ash/water to get the hair to slip off... so we checked them
> every couple of days - for a month & a half - no slippage... so we drained
> them and then went to a lye and water solution... still no slippage...
> finally it got cold enuf for things to freeze into a solid block... so I
> have a 55 gal. poly drum sitting in the middle of the floor...
>
> I've even tried running a torpedo heater on it to try and thaw things out
> far enough so I can drain the liquid...
>
> Looks like I'll have two hides as residents till later this spring...
>
> Fun!
>
> .... OH YEAH!  Forgot the blacksmithing content...  :)
>
> part of the hides are destined to become part of a new double chamber
> bellows...
>
> -Wes
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: theforge-bounces at mailman.qth.net
> [mailto:theforge-bounces at mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of Jerry Smith
> Sent: Monday, February 18, 2008 2:01 PM
> To: Sponsored by ABANA
> Subject: RE: [TheForge] Pelt Stretching Frame
>
> Wes,
>
> I was think of doing that, I need the space and the
> barn is the right size to work on such things.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Jerry
> --- Wes Marquart <marquart at arlinn-tower.com> wrote:
>
> > You could always hang it from a beam... lower it
> > down with ropes when you
> > want to work on it & then haul it back up to free up
> > floor space.
> >
> > -Wes
> >
>
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-- 
Saint Phlip

Heat it up
Hit it hard
Repent as necessary.

Priorities:

It's the smith who makes the tools, not the tools which make the smith.

.I never wanted to see anybody die, but there are a few obituary
notices I have read with pleasure. -Clarence Darrow
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Checked by AVG Free Edition. 
Version: 7.5.516 / Virus Database: 269.20.7/1284 - Release Date: 2/17/2008
2:39 PM