Taxidermist Question

[Bradical BH]

Found out that the taxi I've been using tans his hides with Alum Tan. He does awesome work but I've heard this is a less preferable method. Any opinions from those with expierence ?

[PondPopper]

Alum been around for years. Alum and oiled good will do fine.

[PERK]

makes a good tan

[BO-N-ARO]

Not really a "tan" but it does dry the skin and help preserve it. Called DP, Dry Preservative, has been around for years and hundreds of thousands of mounts have been done using it and 30 years later look OK. That being said, it's hard to get a nice looking mount because of the drying and shrinking after the skin is put on the form. This is all relative because it is up to the taxidermist, meaning a good taxidermist can make a nice mount with DP, while a bad taxidermist can not with a tanned cape....... If you are happy with his work, no worries.

[PondPopper]

Not really a "tan" but it does dry the skin and help preserve it. Called DP, Dry Preservative, has been around for years and hundreds of thousands of mounts have been done using it and 30 years later look OK. That being said, it's hard to get a nice looking mount because of the drying and shrinking after the skin is put on the form. This is all relative because it is up to the taxidermist, meaning a good taxidermist can make a nice mount with DP, while a bad taxidermist can not with a tanned cape....... If you are happy with his work, no worries.

DP is leans heavily towards borax as the preservative. Alum is a true tan but less superior to some. It's been around forever. I prefer synthetic tans but alum(aluminum sulfate)will work. Here is the recipe I found real quick. Oxalic is the pickle acid. I use Formic. Alum tanned skins that are oiled properly make really good flat skins. Capes
Should be oiled also.

[Bradical BH]

Thanks to all very helpful info. I guess to sum it up, if done properly should I have any hesitating in continuing to use the same taxi bc he uses this method? ie premature signs of aging?

[PondPopper]

Thanks to all very helpful info. I guess to sum it up, if done properly should I have any hesitating in continuing to use the same taxi bc he uses this method? ie premature signs of aging?

I wont use it because there are better tans out there. BUT there are different ways of tweaking all tanning recipes to make them better for certain applications.
He may have his fine tuned. A bunch of taxidermist still use aluminum sulfate. It's kind of old school.
There will be shrinkage regardless of method or tanning agent used. Wet leather will shrink. Plain and simple.
This is controlled by proper shaving(thinning) of the hide,manikin prep and good glue.