Veggie tanned leather

[cdm101]

Out here in West Texas we have a shortage of oak trees whats a good subtitute if youi want to vegggie tan leather? How muck of it do you need?
Many thanks,

 

[mazo kid]

I just did a search for "bark tanning" and there are a number of sources. Here is one: http://www.braintan.com/barktan/2tannins.htm
There is a long article in the Book Of Buckskinning VII, page 222 on bark tanning, describes the process from start to finish. I would think mesquite might be usable, as well as fir trees and those should be prevalent in your area. As one article said, you can use nearly any wood and the leathers produced may be slightly different in color and make-up. Emery

 

[cdm101]

I wonder if a person ahd a signifigant amount would coffee beans work?

 

Black tea works good but it would get expensive real fast for bigger projects. Also the strength of the tannin bath varies over time - too strong at the wrong time in the process and you will burn aka ruin it......
See the braintan site noted above - lots of info and you can ask questions......

 

[cdm101]

I have access to baout 5gal bucketful of coffee grounds a day. they should work(I think)

 

[rabjr]

It should work fine. I had a thought when I made this shot pouch out of rawhide, I let it soak over night in a left over pot of coffee. The rawhide was basically white and took on a nice brown color.

 

[mazo kid]

Did the pouch soften up at all? From what little I know, the tanning process can take several weeks before the leather is "fluffy" and soft.

 

[rabjr]

Yep, brought it to a boil and then dropped the two rock hard halves in and let soak over night. I was able to stitch it up and fill it with #5 shot to get the shape. I know rawhide is different but it still should stain the leather like it did my pouch I would think.

 

[rabjr]

http://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/f...made+my+first+shot+pouch/fromsearch/1/#423262

 

[kansas_volunteer]

There's a lot of the dwarf Harvard oak in the sandhills around Monahans. I've seen it growing around cotton fields in the lower Panhandle, too. There's always some live oak planted in the towns. You may not be as short of Oak in West Texas as you think. A ways east of Midland/Odessa you start to run into stands of real oak, too.

 

[paulvallandigham]

YOu have oaks all over texas. They are just runts, by standard the rest of us are used to seeing Oaks be in the rest of the country. There is not enough water to feed your oaks, so they are small, rarely more than 45 feet tall, but very broad. Up in the Midwest, Oaks often get over 100 feet in height, and 120-150 feet is not impossible. White oak is harvested to use in make whiskey barrels, because the cells grow in columns, letting moisture be carried up and down the length of the woodgrain. Red oak is much harder, tougher, and more gnarly to handle. Slower growing, too.

 

[David G]

Quebracho works great.

 

[Ohio Rusty]

A bag or two of mulch made from dark hardwoods like oak will work perfect. Soak the mulch in a container for a few days and mash it to get the tannins out of it. Strain it and squeeze the water from the tanning 'liquor' you just created. You can always pour that same tanning liquor you just made over another bag of mulch and do the same procedure again to make it stringer and darker. This is how you make a finished product like bark tanned deer leather.
Ohio Rusty >