First, that euro mount turned out awesome but.......like the others have said, he'd be on my wall as a shoulder mount. To each his own though. Great job. Looks really clean.
Yes, I make my own plaques. I make a standard plaque the skull lays on, a standard oval base, and two styles of risers. One for a wall mount and one for a pedestal/table mount; which is what I did on last years buck (see pics).
I made the shape I wanted into a template-1/4" veneer plywood. I then attach it (screw it) to my stock wood and cut it out with a router. Once you have the template you'll always have the same pattern to reproduce more. I screw the three pieces together, screw a typical picture hanger to the back side of the skull, and a mounting screw into the plaque to hang it from. This allows you to easily take the mount off for cleaning, or to just hold the bone in you hands. Good luck :darkbeer:
Never heard of redoing them? I let them dry/whiten up for about a month and then seal the skull (not the horns) with aerosol acrylic spray, matt finish. This seals the pores in the bone from collecting dirt and dust and looking dingy.
Nice Work! Nice Deer! I too like doing European Mounts instead of shoulder mounts. It's easy, costs next to nothing, and looks cool (besides, it's the only way any deer are ever going to be allowed in the house by my wife)! HR
The plaques are cool too. Not sure if it would be worth it to you, but you could probably make some good side $$$ selling plaques. Very nice craftmanship!
I've sold 2 or 3 of the plaques for $20. Some people complain "I see the same type in stores for $15". I tell inform them to buy the one in the store then! Cheap @zzes get under my skin.
you skin the head and cut it whatever thickness you wont the skull thin or with the teeth. then boil it in water entill all the meat and everything comes off then use hair bleach to bleach the skull. then some people clear coat them to keep them from turnning yellow
Process:
Skin out, pull out brains, eyes, and scrape as much meat of as possible prior to starting.
1.Simmer in hot water (almost boiling, just so bubbles start coming up to the surface) for around 6 hrs. I use a metal pail over one of those propane fish fry cookers to heat the water. I don't worry about the horn being in the water sense there's no bleaching solution or high temp boiling water to discolor the horns.
2. Power washed twice along with scrubbing/picking, and blow out nasal cavities with air hose.
3. When the skull is clean of all meat, ect.; submerge and reheat in fresh heated water for a few minutes to get the bone moist and hot.
4. Then pull out of water and rub on a pasty (like runny pudding) solution of bleach powder mixed with hydrogen peroxide (brown bottle stuff) while the bone is still hot. Use a paint brush to get deep in cavities.
5. Wrap skull in plastic bag and let sit for 2-3 days.
6. Pull out of bag and hose the solution off the skull, let it dry/whiten (month).
7. Apply acrylic aerosol (mat finish).
Here's a pic from a couple years ago. The process does have a distinct smell to it ukey:
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