How long do you guys leave your turkey fans to dry out ? 1 wk, 2wks, or month
Lately, I've been leaving them in a cardboard and borax sandwich for years. :) Back in the day, I let them dry for the entire summer before messing with them. That's probably excessive, but I never had to worry about them being dry enough.
Same here. Cover the tail joint in borax and leave until completely dry and you won't have issues with bugs.
I usually let mine dry for about a month maybe more. I just keep re applying salt and checking it. Make sure it gets every drop of moisture.
Quote from: West Augusta on April 24, 2015, 01:27:37 PM
Same here. Cover the tail joint in borax and leave until completely dry and you won't have issues with bugs.
X3 I usually do 1 week of first dose of borax, brush off & reapply liberal amount and let go for another couple of weeks. Average 4? It will depend on how much trimming you did of meat and fat, etc.
Quote from: SteelerFan on April 24, 2015, 02:09:10 PM
Quote from: West Augusta on April 24, 2015, 01:27:37 PM
Same here. Cover the tail joint in borax and leave until completely dry and you won't have issues with bugs.
X3 I usually do 1 week of first dose of borax, brush off & reapply liberal amount and let go for another couple of weeks. Average 4? It will depend on how much trimming you did of meat and fat, etc.
I'm with SteelerFan. I trim as much meat as possible and liberally rub in the borax wherever I can see meat and then sprinkle a little more on there. After about a week I dust it off and liberally sprinkle some more borax on the tail joint. From that point I don't mess with it again until 3 or 4 weeks later. I have never not had one dry by this point before.
I just mound the salt on top and forget it. Usually a month or so later I remember to walk out to the bard and check it. I tap the salt off and do it again and then check it when I next think of it.
Quote from: kjnengr on April 24, 2015, 04:17:34 PM
Quote from: SteelerFan on April 24, 2015, 02:09:10 PM
Quote from: West Augusta on April 24, 2015, 01:27:37 PM
Same here. Cover the tail joint in borax and leave until completely dry and you won't have issues with bugs.
X3 I usually do 1 week of first dose of borax, brush off & reapply liberal amount and let go for another couple of weeks. Average 4? It will depend on how much trimming you did of meat and fat, etc.
I'm with SteelerFan. I trim as much meat as possible and liberally rub in the borax wherever I can see meat and then sprinkle a little more on there. After about a week I dust it off and liberally sprinkle some more borax on the tail joint. From that point I don't mess with it again until 3 or 4 weeks later. I have never not had one dry by this point before.
^^^This. I will also pack a little borax around the joint before hanging it on a board. Salt will not stop bugs.
If you prepare it right it won't take more than a couple weeks using borax. You need to cut out the tail bone and as much skin, fat, and oil as you can get away with. The nice thing about getting rid of the tail bone is that if you do it right you shouldn't really even need to do anything to hold the fan in place.
http://vanheldengamecalls.weebly.com/diy-projects--blog#PhotoSwipe1429916576302
Usually a month :smiley-patriotic-flagwaver-an
I take 2 months on this, When I first set I cover with borax and it sets undisturbed for a month, then I clean off borax and cover again for 2 weeks, and repeat. Last thing to do is bondo the base of these when I use them for decoys, keeps the base dry in bad weather and won't soften back up if they get wet. :icon_thumright:
MK M GOBL
Quote from: MK M GOBL on February 21, 2019, 05:51:19 PM
Last thing to do is bondo the base of these :icon_thumright:
X2 on the bondo. I flesh mine and clean it super good with Xacto knives and a small wire brush. Get between all the quills on the inside of the skin and get all that yellow fat out. Cut the tail bone out and borax the crap out of it. Then i pin it out on cardboard and mound borax up over the base of the fan. After a month or so, i knock off most of the borax and cover anything that's not feather or quills in bondo and let cure for a day or two. Never have to worry about bugs and the fan should last a really long time.
x3 on the Bondo. I clean as much flesh as possible, pin it to the cardboard and then pack in Borax for at least a month. I'll remove the Borax and reapply for a month or so. I then apply the Bondo to the flesh area.
Usually 4-5 weeks. Change the borax couple of times. Then usually cover in bondo or that thick gorilla glue.
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Quote from: alloutdoors on April 24, 2015, 06:35:08 PM
If you prepare it right it won't take more than a couple weeks using borax. You need to cut out the tail bone and as much skin, fat, and oil as you can get away with. The nice thing about getting rid of the tail bone is that if you do it right you shouldn't really even need to do anything to hold the fan in place.
This is what I do to a tee. Works great.
I tack the fan to a piece of plywood and bury the the tail muscle/connective tissue in 50/50 mixture of salt and borax. Place the whole thing anywhere it will remain dry and undisturbed. Usually, I don't fool with it until early Fall.
I've done dozens of fans, being sure to remove as much meat, fat, and bone as possible before dousing that area with copious quantities of borax. I spread the fan over a piece of cardboard, keeping it in position with roofing nails, utilizing one at the center of the base and one on each side to keep the fan spread out. Be sure to take time to get the smaller feathers like you want them because when the fan dries in a couple of month, nothing will be moveable. Be sure to save the borax as it can be re-used.
I cut the tail bone out and clean all the feather quills with borax and flesh all the meat off the skin and mix up bondo and set the tail feathers and when the bondo hardens it is finished.
In the past about 2 months.
Last year was the first I took the fan apart and scraped the mean off each feather then put the puzzle back together. If I keep another fan I'll use that same technique.
I have skin out a lot of turkeys for friends and myself. And I have only used Borax, but I do cut the tail bone out and clean as much meat and fat as possible. I have a dedicated steel brush ( once you use it you will not get the fat out of it again) that I use to brush it with. It opens it up real good and the borax drys thing up quick. Then I have a peace of styrofoam I use to pin it to dry. I have the long taxidermy needles to pin it out but can use shingle nails like said before. Some of my first ones I put silicone caulking around feathers underside to keep them in place. But now haven't done for a few years and if just hanging them don't think it is really needed.
Back when I saved them for display or a trophy,a few weeks.I now use them for decoys or give them away to others to use for decoys,so I still have mine from the last two years in borax in my basement.
I to think I have enough hanging up now. Just last week I boxed up six fully skinned out turkey fans, wings and tails and shipped them. Found a place in Pemberton MN called White Fox Fur and Feather Co that I shipped them to. Going to see what they will pay me for them, don't know what to do with them anymore. Shipped them this time of year didn't have to do any extra preparation, just took out of freezer and shipped.
I just use borax. I get the meat and fat off the hub as much as I can, cut the tail bone out too. I rub the feather quills with borax between my fingers to get the stubborn pieces off.
Never used bondo or hot melt glue on the hub and my tails are fine. The 2 top ones in the pic are 25 years old. The pic was taken a few years ago but they are still in the same shape the day I mounted them.
I pin the tail out in the full strut position and make sure the feathers are on the same plane with cardboard strips over the top of the tail. Sometimes a feather can twist or "warp" off plane.
Fans-Two weeks pinned out after defleshing, washing and in borax, then bondo the base of the quills.
Wings-A minimum of a month pinned out with same method and drilling holes out to blow marrow out of larger bones. Anything less than a month and the leaders/tendons in the hand portion of the wing can make it draw back closed.
I spread the fan on a piece of wood or cardboard, and use thumbtacks or small nails to positon the feathers. I then apply puffed borax to any exposed flesh, and let dry for a couple of months. I then usually place the fan in a freezer in the garage and leave it in there for several more months. The extreme cold seems to really dry out anything not taken care of by the borax. Zero bugs.
Thanks to Greg for asking the question and to everyone else for the answers, was wondering the same myself. I have this display I want to put mine on if I get one this year. Thanks to turkey_slayer for the link.
Clean as much meat as you can from the tail and between the quills, pin the tail on a piece of styrofoam, mix 50/50 borax and salt, pack around the tail and let set for a month or two. Lightly bondo the fan and attach to your favorite plaque or...