Time for another mount thread
Wild Sheep
Contributors to this thread:
With the season open no better time to do a mount thread! Over the next few weeks I'll be doing this thread on a beautiful Dall!
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These are great threads Mr. Razza.
Go for it.
Good luck, Robb
lets get this started with the hide prep.
Love following these threads!
When the hides come back from the tannery they first get inspected then stretched, measured, and froze. This hide has just been thawed and ready to work on. the first step will be to thin the eyes, nose, and prep the ears. The thinner the better!
There's a lot of extra skin that needs to be removed. It is very important to get everything as this as possible.
A look at how thin the eye skin should be.
Next is the nose skin. I'll remove all the excess cartilage.
Turning the ears to the outer edge.
Now the lips and seems are thinned ( no pics). After everthing is thinned I repair holes. Sheep tend to have a lot of damage.
When repairing holes you need to take out all the cut hair. Sometimes this can be difficult with BH's.
This is an area I think gets overlooked often in taxidermy. The Hooves need to be cleaned and pulled to the tip. It is not easy but must be done.
When you first look inside it looks clean.
This is the area that needs to be pulled and clean.
I start by injecting them with a solution to soften the inside. They are usually rock solid.
After they soften a bit I'll cut and remove the inside.
I guess I should mention to be carful. A week after pulling these I was working on an Impala foot and run the filet knife through my thumb and out the other side.
All 4 feet... a lot of food for bugs if left in!
The hide is ready to test fit. By test fitting the hide I will see what form alterations are needed. The form should be made to fit the hide.
As you can see this hide had a lot of mineral staining and is very dirty. After I fit the hide I can now clean and if needed bleach. Bleaching is discussed with the client and is personal choice. Bleaching to hard is not good for the hair and if not done right can cause irreversible damage.
Look how dirty the ears are.
My personal choice is a light bleaching to clean it up but not give a brite white look. After talking with Mark we decided bleaching was the way to go here.
Here is the hide before I started. the higher the volume bleach the stronger and more damaging it is. I used 20 volume for this sheep. 20 vol is on the low end.
You start with the heavy soiled or blood stained spots first then move to the lighter spots.
I babysit the hide and watch the color change. When ready I will wash the bleach out of the hair. I try not to leave the bleach on for more than 20 min.
I will blow dry the hide and check the color. If needed I will repeat the process. After I am satisfied with the color I will wash the hide in a shampoo and also a conditioner. The hide will also look lighter when mounted so you don't want it snow white at this stage. I never bleach more than 2 times.
After the test fit We had very little form altering to do... changed the head position a bit and added a little girth. The next set of pics will be of the alterations and putting the form together.
I'll finish up this week.
Thanks, Dennis
Awesome thread! Thanks for sharing.
WOW ~~
What a project!
Good luck, Robb
Thanks guys!
Now that the form is roughed into position and a good fit I will start the detail work. I start by setting the horns. I don't have any pictures but first the horns need to be pulled, clean, and bonded back on.
I drill out undercuts for added support.
I will do the nose and face detail next.
I like to use a septum in all my animals. The next few pics are of how I install.
Awesome thread Dennis!! Can't wait to see more....
So, I have no idea where the map pic came from and I gave away my next thread with the cougar pic! Haha...
After the horns are set and the face work is done I can fill any imperfections in the form and get it ready to mount.
Forgot to add this picture... I like to move the feet so the rod will exit a toe. they usually come out the center and you can see them when mounted. I just reshape the foot to one side.
Now that the form is ready I finish the hide. A few things need done before mounting... The ears, tail, clay feet and fill the testicles.
One this sheep I used a bondo ear.
I don't know where those 2 pictures came from ( the map and tractor)... I've never seen them before.
Where's the testicle filling pics??!!
Incredible amount of work that goes into a mount that 98% of people don't give a second thought to! You are truly an artist Dennis!
Love these kinds of threads. Thanks for taking the time to share them with us!
Dennis, these threads are so cool! I love watching a pro at work, keep it coming!
The boys surprised me with a little habitat project!
looking great cant wait to see the end product
Hope you all enjoyed. Thanks for following! If anyone has any questions feel free to ask and I'll try to answer.
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Here is a short video of a Stones Sheep I did.
Very fitting mount for the Number Four Pope & Young Dall of All-Time! Congrats Mark and also Dennis! C
Best thread I've seen in a while!! Incredible!!!
Nice work Dennis!
Thanks for a fun thread.
I have no regrets I trusted you with the wolves and lynx from the Babine trap line.
Awesome photo documentary of the work that goes into mounting a life-size animal. Great pictures and work, Dennis!
Really cool thread Gives a good idea of what it takes Great work
Now the truth is revealed! Looks like only 6 minutes to get it done by the video! But of course you have to move really quick to get it done that fast:)
Thanks for the comments!
Charlie, I'm very lucky to get such great trophies in to work on. I remember admiring this Ram at the P&Y convention. I have to thank Mark for trusting me with his trophy!
Treeline, If I could move that fast I could retire early and hunt every day! lol
Beautiful work. Your a true artist.
Turned out great!
Thanks for sharing
Good luck, Robb
Fantastic, very, very nice!
Dennis,
The ram has turned out incredible to say the least...I cant wait to get him home to MN!
"I have to thank Mark for trusting me with his trophy!" After seeing dozens of your finished works of art and talking to several of your very happy customers, the decision to have you do the ram was an easy one...
You are at the top of your game Dennis.....Congrats!!!
Mark
Very nice guys. Love everything about that ram/mount.
Beautiful sheep. Congrats Mark and Dennis!
Your talent is amazing Dennis, true artistry! Thank you for sharing this thread, amazing all the work that goes into an incredible mount!
Mark, congrats again on a smoker Dall if I didn't congratulate you before! What a stud!
fantastic!! love these threads dennis...
A similar position as mine? I like that pose. lol
lol. no idea how that picture is put on there? wheres the corn stalks. How does this keep happening to posters?
I'm eating luch and looking at beautiful Rams!
Mine looks beautiful buy tiny compared to Mr. Watkin's sheep. lol. Nice work Dennis.
Great thread learned a lot!
Fantastic work Dennis! This thread is very informative thanks for sharing.
It is crazy the mount of detail and work that goes into your mounts. There is no one in the business any better!
Nice work Dennis.I know very few taxidermists that remove the toe bones.It's well worth the effort.
Ned, I can only hope to take a "twin" of your bighorn to add to the family! And a "twin of your Stone's...and a Desert to boot while I'm wishful thinking!!!
We all need to do what we can to keep Dennis busy!
Mark
Awesome thread!!! Such detail in the work you show. Wish you had a Taxidery shop in Canada, we could use someone like you up here.
CONGRATS ON YOUR WORK!!!
Beautiful work Dennis!
Congrats again Ned and Mark!
Dennis, you are truly a master. The detail is remarkable.
This is an awesome thread! So awesome that I now feel like I know a lot about taxidermy, anybody with a sheep to mount this year bring it to me....I'm much cheaper than Dennis!!!
Thanks for taking the time to do these!
Dennis,You do truly wonderful work!
Those are some beautiful mounts already and you have not even completed them! WOW
As a mold maker in a machine shop (at work right now), your attention to detail is outstanding! Thanks for sharing the process I very much enjoyed it!