THese are old photos that I had used for an instructional post I had up before the site crashed. This seems to be a recurring question every season, so I've regathered my photos and wrote short descriptions above each. Hopefully the photos speak for themselves. This isn't the only way to do a fan mount, but its my way and the way many of the taxidmerists will use for not only fan mounts but the fan on your full mounted bird also.
Fan and some of the back feathers removed from turkey
Flipped over to show the meat that needs to be removed
Remove the feathers behind the tail (I usually give them to anyone that likes to tie flies)
Cut as much flesh/meat away as possible along the back side of the quills
Flip it back over to remove flesh on top side
Skin it back a little ways to remove "greese pocket"
Cut around the tail bone in between the center quills and pry it loose with your thumb and fingers. Be careful not to break the feather quills.
Notice how the feathers will already spread now that the flesh and bone have been removed. If you choose to borax or salt here, you'll still need to tack the fan down to prevent it from closing/twisting when drying.
I placed it in the freezer at this point because I didn't have time to finish.
I then had to rehydrate it by soaking in water because it was in the freezer for several months. It would have been much easier if I had continued instead of freezing.
Fan rehydrating after setting in the freezer for too long.
I like to separate the rows of feathers sometimes, but it isn't required. It does help in cleaning.
Using a knife to separate the feathers below the row of skin keeping them attached
Using a knife and a pair of scissors to remove the fat. If I still had the taxi shop, I'd use a wire wheel to make short work of this.
Feather's laid out after rewashing by soaking in dish detergent water and soaking in clean cool water to remove all traces of soap (change clean water until no traces of soap are left) I prefer to then soak in white gas (camping fuel) to displace the water and make drying easier, but I wouldn't advise that for most folks.
I use the blow dryer on warm or cool (hot can curl the feathers) and dry one feather at a time in the direction the feathers grow. The will open up completely when they are dry. Don't let them dry on their own or they will not open up.
All the feathers dry
Stacked back in place
Positioned and ready for bondo (buy it in any automotive department) Use the plastic sack for placing the bondo. It protects your table and peels away easily once the bondo kicks.
My process for reassembly using bondo and superglue gel or zap a gap
If you need to trim the bondo do it when it has just started to set and is still somewhat pliable
Bondo both sides (I can do this with one step if I set the first then roll a layer over the quills using the plastic bag) I also use the bag to press the bondo into the quills and smooth the bondo . I you use too much bondo and make it too thick, you'll have a hard time fitting it between the wall and the panel
I glue the next two layers on if I've detached them.
Too many feathers will make fitting it between the wall and panel difficult, but I like several rows of these.
Something that drives me nuts is to see the huge gaps that guys leave in the feather tips. It's simple to make a huge improvement by lightly pulling them together between your fingers.
Two fans (minus the panel). They can be screwed to the panel through the bondo. Drilling the bondo first helps prevent twisting a feather. The last row of feathers can really get crazy if you run a screw through the skin and hook a quill.
The bottom fan is only spread out and not finished. It has not been washed and I think the difference is obvious.
