How Long to Boil Skull

[Adam S. Daugherty]

Folks,
How long to you all boil your skulls for to prep for a european mount?  Also what is your recipe?

[J-dog]

Do not boil at all, run a risk of cooking the rease into the bone. Bone will yellow yrs down the road.
Better to rot it or best yet ant pile it if you do not have to worry about dogs stealing it.

After rot or ants then you can bleach with a 40% hair bleach (H peroxide).

It will turn out better this way.

J

[Adam S. Daugherty]

The ones I have done before I have just boiled to remove all the meat and stuff that could stink.  Then instead of bleaching I just taped off the antlers and spray painted the skull with flat white spray paint.  I have had folks comment on how did you get your skulls so white.  But it has been a while since I have done one and didn't remember how long I boiled it.  If you let it rot, how do you combat the sun bleaching out the antlers?  Also what is rease into the bone.  I am not familar with that.  Would sitting skull on fire ant mound say stuck inside a havahart trap suffice for anting it?  How long you reckon it would take?

[Trumpkin the Dwarf]

From what I have seen online it is recommended that you simmer it rather than boiling. Ant hills also work but take longer and you will still have to do some clean up afterwards.

[statikpunk]

I have done several now, and the time seems to varry, im not sure if the intensity of the boil is what made the difference.  but I do remember they all took a long time several hours.  I just kept checking back and when I could scrape the meat off easily then I stopped and scraped and back in the pot it went to get more.  then make sure you soak it in hydrogen peroxide (I wrap the skull in papper towels then soak the towels ) otherwise it will turn yellow on you.

also be very carefull of that nose piece, it breaks off super easy, and has on almost all of mine  :p   oh and make sure your antlers do not go in the water, cuz it will bleach them white too, a little wood stain can fix it if you do have to put a bit of the antler in the boiling water
here is a pick of a few I have done
 
 1112081822  by  statikpunk , on Flickr

[tuscarawasbowman]

Adam-Here is a little trick to help ya out. Use sal soda (also called washing soda). If you use it indoors for god sakes PLEASE USE A RESPIRATOR!!! also add a little bit of dawn dish soap. Boil for around a half hour.
statikpunk-The sal soda will eat all that nasty nose stuff and leave it like a jelly that you can pull out with forceps to prevent breakage on the nose bones.

My friend has been doing skull mounts professionally for 10 yrs. and they are top shelf. This is the way he does it.

[Dave McDaniel]

Use a pressure washer, you will be surprised how well it works!

[Raven]

All good advice! Just don't forget the Salt@Pepper!!            

 Good luck! I like the look of a good skull mount! Plus they are cheapper than a $$$ shoulder mount.

 Raven >>>>---------->

[statikpunk]

Originally posted by tuscarawasbowman:
Adam-Here is a little trick to help ya out. Use sal soda (also called washing soda). If you use it indoors for god sakes PLEASE USE A RESPIRATOR!!! also add a little bit of dawn dish soap. Boil for around a half hour.
statikpunk-The sal soda will eat all that nasty nose stuff and leave it like a jelly that you can pull out with forceps to prevent breakage on the nose bones.

My friend has been doing skull mounts professionally for 10 yrs. and they are top shelf. This is the way he does it.

good tip there, I used the dawn dish soap to cut the grease but had not heard of the sal soda, before, good tip

[longrifle346]

I've done it the old fashioned ant hill way but simmering is a whole lot faster and works way better. Every taxidermist I talked with advised not to boil, just a low simmer. They all also recommended not using bleach, it deteriorates the bone. I just finished one and did it from start to finish in a day. Once I got the meat loose and completely removed I added fresh water and Dawn with bleach alternative and slow simmered again. Keep changing the water every so often until the water stays clear. Also, make sure to remove all of the brain matter beforehand. It holds a ton of grease and if not removed will cause the skull to yellow. I put a coat hanger through from the vertebrae entrance and "souped it up", then rinsed it out really good with a hose.
All I have left to do is whiten mine using Salon40(40%peroxide) and whitening paste, available at any beauty supply store for less than $10. The 40% peroxide is mixed with the powder to make a paste and is then painted on. Sit in the sun or a warm spot, let it dry well, and then rinse. If it's not white enough to suit you repeat the process. Make sure none of the mix gets on the horns, it'll whiten them too. Done this way the Euro mount should stay white and last forever.

[critter69]

I do them with backing soda,simmer,scrape,simmer scrape,use a hanger with a hook bent in it to get in the brain cavity. But dont boil it, just simmer. Then let dry, and get hair bleaching  kit. Hydrogen peroxide from a beauty supply place. Paint it on thick every where but the antlers. Wash off and repeat if nessasary. I let it set in the sun while the peroxide is on it. Let set for the day(while iam at work) then repeat the next day.works great, good luck

[azhunter]

A friend of mine worked at a taxidermist shop for several years. I have done what he said many times now and it works out great. Very slow boil/simmer, water just turning over very slowly in the pot. Use Tide powdered detergent. I put in 2 or 3 cups. This really helps to degrease the skull. I have used other detergents and they did not do as well. I usually simmer/slow boil about 1 hour. I then take it to the car wash and high pressure spray it. This really cleans off everything and it looks really nice. He had me purchase 2 products from the beauty supply store that you mix. Cannot remember as I just leave the products at his house. Mix the 2 and paint it all over the skull. Wrap in seran wrap and put in sun. Comes out beautiful, super white.  Will look when at his house and post the 2 products.

[oz]

boil with dish soap in the water to cut the grease, don't over boil only boil until the membrane on the skull starts to loosen then pressure wash.  boil/pressure wash/ boil etc, use long needle nose plyers to pull out inner nose structure, knock out the little burr under the ear hole and drill a hole from the nose into the brain cavity.  it is best to blast the brain out with an air hose or pressure washer as soon as the brain gets mushy or it discolors the water and is part of the discoloration issue.

[katie]

Get an electric hot pad. Like we had in dorm rooms. It will simmer the buck.  Cut off as much skin as you can. Put Dawn in the bucket. Check it every 4 hours (to add water). At 10 hours lift it out and shake. Like a good pot roast she will slide off. Then off to the car wash to get the rest.

[kskickapoo]

By far the easiest and non-damaging but time consuming way is this:  Simply find a container large enough to fill with plain ole' water, fill it up and submerge the the skull (horns too, it doesn't matter) and forget it for 8-12 months.  You may put some septic system bacterial growth promoter in the water, but it isn't necessary.  What happens is the bacteria in the water will consume all of the soft tissue, connective membranes, etc leaving nothing but the bone and adipose fat.  You will need to check the water level occasionally and add some but you'll know when its time to remove and swish around in new water with Dawn dish soap to rinse out the cavities and just use a stiff bristle brush to take off the adipose fat.  Let the cleaned out skull soak a day or two in a Dawn/Pine-sol solution then give it a final rinse out and let completely dry.  You may then brush with perioxide paste from the local beauty store and rinse off in fresh water a few times.  When its the desired whiteness, just allow to dry completely and brush on plain white glue to seal the bone and prevent the teeth from cracking and it will be ready for a display.  You will find that the delicate boney structures in the nasal cavity will be intact not hollowed out which occurs when you simmer/boil the skulls and you won't have fat staining (yellowing) of the bone.  It helps to have an outbuilding (barn) to store the container in or an understanding wife if you must use the basement.  I've done many this way and it works very well.

[Fish Finder]

European Skull Process

Step 1: Cut all flesh/skin of skull you possible can. Be sure not to puncture skull especially from under jaw and eye socket...the skull is very thin!

Step 2: Blend brain. To do so take a drill and put a 6-8" piece of wire hanger with a bent tip (90 deg angle) inside and make soup out of the bran. You can also use a wire brush attached to a drill but it won't clean easy.

Step 3: Bring to simmer water to cover skull with dish soap. (1/4c) and baking soda (1c) .  Simmer skull for an hour remove and scrape away as much flesh as you can.  Repeat process with fresh water/soap each time only simmering no more than an hour at a time.If you boil for more than an hour you risk ruining the bone structure and it makes the job that much harder!


Step 4: mix peroxide with baking soda and make a paste then apply it to everywhere you need white and put it in front of a space heater for a while until dry. Repeat the process until whitened.

Step 5: Remove skull/parts place on towel and let dry overnight.

Step 6: Glue all pieces back together with Elmer's glue.

Step 7: Once glue dries and sets spray with clear coat gloss/satin/matt finish depending on the look you want (glossy is fancy classic matt/satin coats and protects it but gives a more rustic look). Don't use a regular poly bc it will turn yellow. I forget the name of mine but its in a light blue spray can and it says DRIES CLEAR!! Be sure it says that. I used regular poly on accident and had to refund a customer because it turned yellow. Part of business and learning I guess. Be sure to clear coat it though otherwise it will eventually break away because of the peroxide. Plus it gives it a great smooth texture.

NOTES:* When fleshing and cleaning be careful and gentle! Lots of parts will come loose and that's fine but the least amount the better in the end look.

* The younger the deer the less time the skull should boil bc you will destroy to much bone.

* When cleaning watch the 4 nose bones...if you can keep them on while cleaning GREAT! But on younger critters they fall off and that's no problem. If so just clean and whiten then glue once dry.

* Pay attention to little detail the skull will change before your eyes and you will end up with extra pieces so be aware of what goes where. If need be jot notes down on paper to help even pictures.

* The teeth are touchy I leave them in...the front one or two on the top half will fall off often just glue them back in after drying. If you don't have to don't pry the teeth out you will do more damage to the skull then benefit.

* When gluing glue where the eye won't see.  Glue inside the nasal passage not the outside and put a bead of glue on the inside of each row of teeth to keep them in place.

* Utilize clamps and rubber bands to keep things in place when gluing

* DONT RUSH ANYTHING!!!!!! It will only piss you off! If it takes you a week to do it soup to nuts so be it! Boiling/cleaning needs to be done in one sitting.

PLAQUE:I secure skulls to plaque with a 1/4" machine screw with whatever length you need.  I drill just below where the spinal cord enters the skull in the solid part. Drill a hole slightly smaller than 1/4" and the bolt will thread into the skull and sure it no problem

[NittanyRider]

I've boiled a few and it seems to take about 5 - 6 hours at a simmer.  Pick at it every hour or so to see how loose the soft tissue is getting.  The first time, I did it on the kitchen stove, but the smell was not well received by the fam. I've been doing outside on the Coleman stove since then.

Good luck.