Preserving Snake Skin for Bow Backing?

[Etter1]

#6165

I recently killed a copperhead and am looking for a second one to back a recurve with. Could somebody tell me the best way to preserve it until it goes on the bow? I know you are not supposed to tan, dry, or salt them. I have the one sitting in a zip lock in the freezer right now.

Thanks

[William Warren]

#48658

I’ve purchased skins that appear to have just been air dried. I live in a fairly humid area so I use Borax on mine. Borax can be found in the detergent section in most grocery stores. It will dry any type of skin. I plan to just rinse it off of my skins before use. I think it would be OK to use your skin thawed out right from the freezer if you are going to use hide glue or Elmers. Just apply glue to the limbs and position the damp skin, then lightly wrap with rags to keep it in place while it dries. After it is dry remove scales with masking tape. Be sure to remove all scales before applying your finish or a missed scale will appear milky under the finish.

[Etter1]

#49316

Duncan wrote: I’ve purchased skins that appear to have just been air dried. I live in a fairly humid area so I use Borax on mine. Borax can be found in the detergent section in most grocery stores. It will dry any type of skin. I plan to just rinse it off of my skins before use. I think it would be OK to use your skin thawed out right from the freezer if you are going to use hide glue or Elmers. Just apply glue to the limbs and position the damp skin, then lightly wrap with rags to keep it in place while it dries. After it is dry remove scales with masking tape. Be sure to remove all scales before applying your finish or a missed scale will appear milky under the finish.

Thanks! Plan to use barge cement

[Troy Breeding]

#49497

Duncan has it about right.

I’ve dried hundreds of skins without problems.

I take the snake and unzip it right up the belly. Then I peel the skin off the body. After removing any fat that might be on the skin I turn it flesh side up and staple the skin to a piece of plywood. The plywood needs to be atleast 6″ all the way around bigger than the skin.

After stapling down to the wood apply Borax about a 1/4″ deep.

Wait 24 hours and remove any dry borax. The wet borax is now history. It’s full of body fluid and fat. Rake the wet stuff into the garbage and again apply 1/4″ of Borax.

Keep doing this until you no longer get any of the wet Borax. At that point you can now trim the belly skin away and you are left with the back and about half of the side skin.

When your ready to apply the skins to the bow you will need to rehydrate the skin in water and wash off any remaining Borax.

Once the skin is clean it will as soft and plyiable as the day you took it off the snake.

Blot any remaining water off with papertowels.

To apply skins with the best results use titebond II or III.

Apply a thin coat of glue to the bow as well as the flesh side of the skin.

Place the skin on the bow and work out any air pockets. Once you have that part done you can rough trim the skin to about 1/4″ bigger than the area to be covered.

I use Ace Bandages to wrap the bow and skin to prevent lifting of the skin until the glue dries. Allow two to three days to dry. Then remove the bandages and finish trimming the skin. Be sure and remove all scales. Masking tape does a great job to remove the scales.

After all the scales are gone apply a good UV resistant sealer like Helmmans Spar Urathane and let dry for three days before shooting.

Troy

[Etter1]

#49550

Troy Breeding wrote: Duncan has it about right.

I’ve dried hundreds of skins without problems.

I take the snake and unzip it right up the belly. Then I peel the skin off the body. After removing any fat that might be on the skin I turn it flesh side up and staple the skin to a piece of plywood. The plywood needs to be atleast 6″ all the way around bigger than the skin.

After stapling down to the wood apply Borax about a 1/4″ deep.

Wait 24 hours and remove any dry borax. The wet borax is now history. It’s full of body fluid and fat. Rake the wet stuff into the garbage and again apply 1/4″ of Borax.

Keep doing this until you no longer get any of the wet Borax. At that point you can now trim the belly skin away and you are left with the back and about half of the side skin.

When your ready to apply the skins to the bow you will need to rehydrate the skin in water and wash off any remaining Borax.

Once the skin is clean it will as soft and plyiable as the day you took it off the snake.

Blot any remaining water off with papertowels.

To apply skins with the best results use titebond II or III.

Apply a thin coat of glue to the bow as well as the flesh side of the skin.

Place the skin on the bow and work out any air pockets. Once you have that part done you can rough trim the skin to about 1/4″ bigger than the area to be covered.

I use Ace Bandages to wrap the bow and skin to prevent lifting of the skin until the glue dries. Allow two to three days to dry. Then remove the bandages and finish trimming the skin. Be sure and remove all scales. Masking tape does a great job to remove the scales.

After all the scales are gone apply a good UV resistant sealer like Helmmans Spar Urathane and let dry for three days before shooting.

Troy

Thanks! I’ll use your method. I assume it’s okay to leave the skin in the freezer for a few weeks right? I’ve seen some youtube videos where the skin was completely dessicated but still came out great in the end.

[Troy Breeding]

#49623

Never froze a skin. However, I’d think they would be find if not left frozen for more than a few weeks.

Once you have the skins you need go to work on drying them. A dried skin will last for years if not handled. I normally role mine up and store them in ziplock backs. Got to keep the bugs away or they will eat small holes in them. Lost four skins a few years ago by not storing in bug proof bags.

My biggest problem right now if finding the last 6 skins I dried (two copperheads and four timber rattlers). Knew right where they were when I lived in MO. Since moving to OH I have yet to find them. They have to be here, I’d never throw something like that away.

Troy

[William Warren]

#49772

Troy Breeding wrote:

My biggest problem right now if finding the last 6 skins I dried (two copperheads and four timber rattlers). Knew right where they were when I lived in MO. Since moving to OH I have yet to find them. They have to be here, I’d never throw something like that away.

Troy

Yeah but my wife would:wink: She threw out 2 of my best copperhead skins, said they creeped her out. Now I keep em where she can’t see them.

[Troy Breeding]

#50221

Never have to worry about my wife doing anything like that.

First off she would never touch something that she deems creepy.

Second, she knows all heck would break loose if I ever found out.

I never fool with anything that is her’s and she never bothers anything that is mine. The last time she wanted something gone and I refused brought slience to the house for about a week before she finally caved and just ask me to put it where she couldn’t atleast see it.

Hehehehehehe!!! Amazing what selective hearing can accomplish.

Troy

[BuckyT]

#56209

You just have to have your copperhead skins………:D

You could have had a fine Eastern Diamondback skin….. It would have pained me deeply to kill such a beautiful creature, but for you and your cause, I would have deemed it worthy and honorable.:D

Usually see quite a few copperheads, but you’ve jinxed my usual encounters with this beautiful snake with your request for me to kill one for you..:D:D

I’m still looking….:wink: and your time window for this year is dwindling.

[Etter1]

#56216

BuckyT wrote: You just have to have your copperhead skins………:D

You could have had a fine Eastern Diamondback skin….. It would have pained me deeply to kill such a beautiful creature, but for you and your cause, I would have deemed it worthy and honorable.:D

Usually see quite a few copperheads, but you’ve jinxed my usual encounters with this beautiful snake with your request for me to kill one for you..:D:D

I’m still looking….:wink: and your time window for this year is dwindling.

I know it. It sure seems unlikely at this point that I’ll come across one. I can’t believe this. I’ve had 7 people with instructions to kill one if it’s big enough looking all summer and only the one I killed in the mtns has been spotted.

I saw several last year.

BTW- on the diamondback, I don’t want to see those big ones getting killed. That snake is probably 20+ years old and because most all hunters are terrified of the woods, they get killed onsite. It’s sad to me.

There’s plenty of copperheads still to go around, just apparently not for me.:D

[Etter1]

#56220

Here’s the finished product. Thanks to everybody on here with all the help.

[Troy Breeding]

#56396

Oh baby!!! thats one pretty skin.

Hope you can find another to match it.

It took me almost a year to find two that matched. One came from N. AL and the other came from L.A. (lower Alabama).:D

I’ll try to get a pic of that bow and post it.

Troy

[jpcarlson]

#59832

Troy,

A buddy shot a prairie ratteler sitting just outside the truck door while antelope hunting a few weeks ago. I skinned it and stretched/pinned it to a 2×4, flesh side down about 3 weeks ago. It is dry now, but is it still good for using since I didn’t use Borax?

Can skins be glued on glass limbs on an existing recurve? How?

Jans

[Etter1]

#59853

jpcarlson wrote: Troy,

A buddy shot a prairie ratteler sitting just outside the truck door while antelope hunting a few weeks ago. I skinned it and stretched/pinned it to a 2×4, flesh side down about 3 weeks ago. It is dry now, but is it still good for using since I didn’t use Borax?

Can skins be glued on glass limbs on an existing recurve? How?

Jans

I can answer yes to all of your questions. Check it out on youtube and use titebond as was mentioned. Nothing to it.

[Etter1]

#59855

As luck would have it, I came across another big copper tonight. He was warming himself in the asphalt road just out from my hunting lease and he was trying to get away fast. I tried to find something in my truck to dispatch him with but as quick as he was moving, the pistol was my only option. The .40 did it quick and painless, even though 3 hours later he was still wriggling as I skinned him. Beautiful middle ga red clay color, as opposed to the first which is a northern brown. The bow should look great and I will appreciate the lives I took for the life of that bow.

Unless they are in my yard where my family or my walker hounds are in danger, I will never again kill another snake.

[Etter1]

#60443

Well, I’m halfway toward skinning the bow. Put the first one on the upper limb today while the other is drying. I don’t know if I need to dry it because it’s ready to put it on the bow but I’ll do it unless someone tells me otherwise.

I put waaaay too much glue on the first time and it was a big mess, but I got most of it cleaned up and the remaining stuff can be sanded off and refinished.

It should look really good in the end. The copper skins will starkly contrast each other in coloration.

[Etter1]

#60445

Troy Breeding wrote: Oh baby!!! thats one pretty skin.

Hope you can find another to match it.

It took me almost a year to find two that matched. One came from N. AL and the other came from L.A. (lower Alabama).:D

I’ll try to get a pic of that bow and post it.

Troy

Looking forward to seeing it!

[Etter1]

#60570

Decided to do the second skin as well. Hell it was pretty dry already and after I soaked it in water, it was just like the first one anyway.

I made a lot of mistakes, but I think it looks pretty good for the first try.

[jpcarlson]

#60851

looks great! Good job, sure does make the bow look perty:)

[Troy Breeding]

#60860

Yep, looks pretty darn good.

Best way to learn is by your mistakes. You never forget that way.

Troy

[Etter1]

#61832

What if the scales are not coming off easily with tape? Should I seal it anyway? I’ve gotten alot of them off but it sure has a lot of texture still that I must assume is scales.

[Etter1]

#61835

There are also still some glue bubbles underneath at the curves. Will those harden over the next few days and should I seal the edges with super glue as some people have recommended?

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