I've been teaching myself Matt Richards' brain tanning process with his book and DVD "Deerskins into Buckskins". I've got one deer hide all the way through the process and was in the process of smoking my other two hides last Sunday. Matt warns the smoking skirt can catch fire. Well, Sunday I was made wiser by this phenomenon! The sack caught fire and I was barely able to get the hides off before it was too late. Managed to save most of one and about 3/4 of the other.I wonder if there is a better material than denim to make the smoking skirt.
Buckskin Wisdom
- Thread starter agill
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Desert Rat
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I wonder if one of those welding blankets from Harbor Freight or something along those lines would work? I'm not sure what the fire retardent abilities are or the chemical make up is but you might try something along those lines.
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I've never read this book, but the way I've smoked my braintan hides was with the use of a large smoke box I made from plywood. I used to smoke several hides at one time, so I made the smoke box
using 2"x2"for a frame and 5 sheets of 3/8 inch plywood. The whole thing measured approximately 4'X6'square with a top and bottom. I cut a hinged door on one side approximately 3'x 5". Cut two 2" holes at the outside top edges on two sides for ventilation. I strung wire hangers with sharpened "S" hooks inwhich I could spread and hang my deer hides. There is no cloth bag or stitching-up needed and the entire hide could be smoked evenly! For a smoke, I used a two burner HOTPLATE with two large coffee cans half filled with wet and rotten Cottonwood bark. Leave about a foot space between can rim and bottom of hides! Cottonwood makes a nice golden brown color! I made my smoke box so I could take it apart for storage. You can also pipe-in your smoke from an outside fire box!
There are several variations possible and you can put more into it than I did, but the main thing I liked about it was the QUALITY OF THE FINISHED HIDES! No excessive staple or stitchng holes or no turning inside out etc. Hope you get the idea!
using 2"x2"for a frame and 5 sheets of 3/8 inch plywood. The whole thing measured approximately 4'X6'square with a top and bottom. I cut a hinged door on one side approximately 3'x 5". Cut two 2" holes at the outside top edges on two sides for ventilation. I strung wire hangers with sharpened "S" hooks inwhich I could spread and hang my deer hides. There is no cloth bag or stitching-up needed and the entire hide could be smoked evenly! For a smoke, I used a two burner HOTPLATE with two large coffee cans half filled with wet and rotten Cottonwood bark. Leave about a foot space between can rim and bottom of hides! Cottonwood makes a nice golden brown color! I made my smoke box so I could take it apart for storage. You can also pipe-in your smoke from an outside fire box!
There are several variations possible and you can put more into it than I did, but the main thing I liked about it was the QUALITY OF THE FINISHED HIDES! No excessive staple or stitchng holes or no turning inside out etc. Hope you get the idea!
