Drying Snakeskins

[Autumnarcher]

I have a guy that is going to send me a couple of fresh frozen snakeskins, I was hoping someone can tell me the best method to dry them to get them ready to back a bow with. I want to skin the back of my longbow, but have no idea what is involved with taking care or preparing the skin properly until I'm ready to do it.

[Pat B]

Unless he is local, he should dry them first before sending them to you. They will spoil in the mail!!!
   I use a staple gun and start at the head end with a staple on each side. Then work down the skin adding a staple to each side every 3" or 4", slightly stretching the skin across and down but keeping everything in line. After a few days it will be dry. With a razor or utility knife cut the skin just inside of the belly scales on both sides and the shins are ready to apply to your bow.

[Roy Steele]

Defleash them good.Next put them in a can cover with denatured alcohol 2 days scrap off.Take your bow ands and the back with 000 steel wool cease the back of bow and your cease the snakeskin with TB11.bBut on and rap with ace bandge.Let dry a couble days.
   The best thing to use that and old bowyer I knew. He used it all the time.Urine,sorry I use the alcohol it works fine.

[Eric Krewson]

I see a lot of people wrap a skin with an ace bandage to let it dry but feel this is not the best way to put one on.

I put a little glue on the bow and skin with a glue brush. Be sure to use. masking tape to keep smeared glue off the rest of the bow

 

 

I put the skin on one limb and spend about a half hour centering the pattern and working from the center of the limb to the outside with my thumbs to remove any air pockets and all the excess glue.

 

No need to wrap the skin because the ace bandage won't come close to the thumb pressure I have applied to the skin in the previous step. It has adhered completely by the time I finish with my squeegee job.

I do my first side trim about one half hour after I finish applying the skin, the final one after the skin is completely dry.

 

Final trim with a fine riffler file.


 

Remove the scales after the skin is completely dry. I like duct tape because it has lots of "stickum".

 

[Eric Krewson]

Back to your original question, Pat has it right. Tack it to a board with a staple gun, flesh side up, use a spoon to scrape off any meat. Work from the center of the skin to the belly scales. Some snakes like copperheads don't have any meat on them, timber rattlers have quite a bit.

 

Cut the skin off the board with a pair of scissors, cutting the belly scales off and leaving the rest. Roll up and store dry in a Ziploc bag.