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Old 03-22-2017, 12:03 AM
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KegRiver KegRiver is offline
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Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: North of Peace River
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Oldan Grumpi View Post
It's really easy to make willow hoops, especially in the spring when the sap comes up. (and its free) I used to lace hides into them with cotton clothesline cord, and later on with synthetic baler twine.

You need good thick willows, at least as thick as your thumb, or a bit thicker. If they don't bend right, soak them for a couple of days. Take two good willows and haywire one end together, then put your foot on the haywired connection and bend them around to haywire the other ends together. Make sure the ends overlap by a good foot or more. They cure good and hard, and by the second time you use them they're way better.

They last a long time if you hang them up out of the weather when they're not in use, and I always felt the hides dry nicer because the air gets at both sides.
Old school, and a forgotten art.

There were two problems with hoop stretchers.
#1 it took more time to lace the hide in and to remove it once dried.
#2 It was tricky getting the proper shape, and making it even.

On the plus side, the hide dried faster, and more evenly. As a bonus, the fur did not get matted down.
Hoops also lent themselves to hanging more easily.

It's how I learned to stretch Beaver and it was the method dad prefered.
He did switch to plywood when his dextarity became a problem.

I switched to plywood early on. It is a lot faster and the price realized is the same.
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