Tan that hide

S

simonkenton

New member
Don't throw that deerskin away!

Send it down to Sebring Custom Tanning get it tanned.
They do beautiful work. I have been getting hides tanned by these guys for 20 years. It is a little mom and pop operation, they don't even have a web site.
They work cheap. A deer skin costs $25, plus you pay shipping. Hides tanned with hair on only.
It takes about 9 months to get your hide back.
I stitched four of my hides together with a sewing awl to make a blanket for my girlfriend, she loves it!

Sebring Custom Tanning
429 Webster Turn Drive
Sebring, Florida 33870
863-655-1600

You need to do minimal preparation. Remove the big chunks of meat and fat from the hide. If you spend more than five minutes cleaning up the hide, you are wasting your time. The pros at Sebring will clean the hide up.
Thoroughly salt down the flesh side. You can't use too much salt.
You need to let the hide cure for 3 to 5 days. A lot of nasty bloody fluid will seep from the hide. You can lay it, fur down, on top of something curved, so the fluid can drain off. You need to put it out of the sun, and where the possums can't get to it.
A garage or shed works well.
You could set a plastic sheet on the floor, to catch the dripping goo.
Then set a big cardboard box on the plastic. Then set a small box in the middle of the big box and lay the hide on that. This way the center of the hide is elevated.
After a day or two, lay the hide back on the ground and re-salt.
Check the hide daily. DO NOT let the hide dry out.
In 3 to 5 days you will see that the fluid has quit dripping from the hide, but it is still moist.
Pack it up and ship it to Florida.
 
It takes about 9 months to get your hide back.
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The price is right, but what's with the 9 months turn around time? You could literally have a kid in that amount of time :D. I'm sure they do excellent work, but I'd just as soon brain tan my own for that amount of waiting. If I was going to send it out, I'd rather pay $40 or so and get the hide back in a few weeks personally, but that's just me. YMMV. I guess it would be good if you had a whole lot of hides, or didn't care about getting them back in a hurry. I might try them once this season.

Jason
 
I pay $45-50 to get the hides tanned (golden buckskin) and it takes about 2-3 months. When I get a few more, I am going to make a leather parka out of mine. So far I have 8 tanned hides, I need 2 more. This may be the year!
 
I may be speaking out of turn here, since I have never sent a hide to be tanned but it seems like someone told me once, that it takes a lot longer to tan a hide with the hair on, than to tan a hide with no hair. Something to do with the "locking in" of the hair, to keep it from coming out.

One of the guys here at work, had a cowboy duster coat, made out of his hides a year or so back, and it was absolutely gorgeous. I think it cost him around $200.00 when it was all said and done, but the coat would probably retail for $600.00 to $800.00 in a store.

I told him if it turned up missing, that it would not be in my closet.;)
 
I may be speaking out of turn here, since I have never sent a hide to be tanned but it seems like someone told me once, that it takes a lot longer to tan a hide with the hair on, than to tan a hide with no hair. Something to do with the "locking in" of the hair, to keep it from coming out.
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Maybe so for the way they do it commercially. If you brain tan it, removing the hair is just one more step that adds time. It's quicker to leave the fur in. Like I said though, it may be quite different the way they do it commercially. I haven't a clue how taxidermists tan them.

Jason
 
Ok,
There is one up in the NW corner of the state, on floats that has Scorch on the side. Saw it about a year ago, thought maybe it was yours.
 
Gator hide

Am looking to get my gator hide tanned. Anybody know the cost of that through Sebring? Does that take 9 months, too?
 
jodi48girl:

Gator hides are somewhat different. The best place to send them is American Tanning and Leather in Georgia. Do a search of AMTAN and it will come up. I've had deer hides done by the folks in Sebring and they do a fine job at a very reasonable price.

In fact there is one hide sitting here in the bedroom that is about a dozen years old and still in good shape.

I've had gator hides done at Amtan and they do a very good job with that.
 
UPDATE:

There is a problem with Sebring Custom Tanning.
They have been doing a great job for me for 20 years, and I have had fifteen or more hides tanned there.
Now, something is wrong.
I sent in a real nice hide last December, biggest deer I ever shot. It only had two holes in it, one .45 and one about 1.45
Still haven't gotten it back. That is ten months, and counting.
The longest they have ever taken is 9 months.
I called and left a message 4 days ago, they have not returned my call.

I will give a report if/when I find out what is up.
 
Soft tan

My wife shot a nice piebald deer last season and kept the hide in the freezer ever since. We have yet to find a tanner to Soft tan it. Perhaps one of y'all can direct us.
I used to hard tan my deer hides as a way to keep the trophy, but thats become too much work for me now. 'sides I got a passle of em in the attic and the mice done pulled a buncha hair from em to make nests. Now I dont need the trophy I just need the venison. I would rather shoot a young doe and FEAST upon her flesh than shoot a nice rack to look at later. I make the best jerky I ever tasted and I can and do use it as bribes for invites to good huntin grounds.
Sorry, back to point. Any soft tanners out there?

Old e-bear
 
New Tannery in Florida!

We are actually a new tannery located in Oxford, Florida. Please feel free to contact us for pricing and lead times. Right now we are turning hides out in 2 weeks. Deer hides "soft tan" cost $50.00.
"Size Doesn't Matter" Hide Tannery 352-427-3646 or 352-427-4920
 
OK, flhidetan, I will save your phone numbers.
I still haven't gotten a call back from Sebring Custom Tanning.
It looks like "something is rotten in Denmark."

I will report if I ever hear from them. I have a feeling that I will not be seeing my deer skin again. Oh, well, I am out 73 cents worth of salt, and a $9.44 shipping charge.
 
Update #2

Whaddya know?
I got a call today from Sebring Custom Tanning. My deer hide is ready. $30.44 including shipping!
I told the guy, you didn't return my call 3 weeks ago, I figured I never would see my deerskin again, I thought y'all had gone out of business.
He said they had been real busy.
Well, it is ridiculous to wait 10 1/2 months to get your deerhide back.
But, they do great work and they are definitely the lowest cost in the country.
 
That's good that you got it back. I have my receipt from 11/7/06 for 8 items and have never gotten a call back. That's one reason we started up. We met with a taxidermist today that said he has had a hide there for several years. Luckily.. that's one of his personal hides.
 
flhidetan, if I get one I will send it to you.
I like Sebring Custom Tanning, they are nice guys, and they do good work, but 10 1/2 months is absurd. No was to run a business.
They ought to hire a couple more seasonal workers and increase production.
 
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