Print

[user1]

dang, it was just above feezing, and i don't have a workshop....so, i used your tanning products on three fox hides and let them sit in the
shed, covered for 27 hours and the tannign solution was not frozen...then, i had a man offer me a warm back room he does not
use...so, i stuck them in there for 3 hours...then scraped and oiled....
good or bad?....can i retan?.....
also, i salted them down for 3 hours before i put the tanning solution on them?.....good or bad?
i live in alaska and it just happened that we had warm weather....
thanks for your help...
scotty

[The Tanner]

They should be fine. You can always re-tan them if you feel the need.

Salting them is a good thing and can only help the process. My only concern is that it may have been too cold for the tan to actively penetrate the skin. As the temp goes down the slower the tanning process gets. But since you were tanning fox that have very thin skin, they should be fine.

[Omega47]

I'm a newbie here, and have a similar question.  My son and I are starting coyote hunting this fall/winter.  We live in New England and my workshop is unheated.  My wife won't allow this stuff in the basement, so we're stuck with the workshop.  Is there a temperature below which the tanning process will no longer work?  I used to have a wood stove that kept it at a constant 80 degrees, but the neighbors complained and I had to take it out.  I'm thinking of putting electric baseboard heat in there and should be able to maintain 50-60 degrees through the winter.  Am I good or does it need to be warmer?

Thanks

[The Tanner]

The cooler it gets - the slower the process becomes, but you don't want it too hot because heat can damage the hair follicle. 

Ideally it should be 45-75 degrees.  When it gets below 40 the process pretty much stops.