One thing that I don't understand about stetching boards for coyotes is that they want them to be 5/8" thick. Can't understand why they didn't go with 3/4" thick, which is the most common thickness for 1x4 to 1x10 inch boards. I'm sure back in the day my granfather and other trappers used 3/4" boards to make there stretchers, as very few people had a planner to shave them down to 5/8".
One thing that I don't understand about stetching boards for coyotes is that they want them to be 5/8" thick. Can't understand why they didn't go with 3/4" thick, which is the most common thickness for 1x4 to 1x10 inch boards. I'm sure back in the day my granfather and other trappers used 3/4" boards to make there stretchers, as very few people had a planner to shave them down to 5/8".
I was concerned about that when I first started. Using the regular sized boards is not an issue.
There is a little asterisk on the nafa board manual. It says with a split board 3/4 is acceptable. The solid boards need the belly wedge and that widens the thickness. I have seen split boards 5/8 thick. Most home made ones are all 3/4 from 1x4 boards.
Try not to over think this one. I watched the Canada goose guy take a tanned coyote or two and spray the leather down until it was wet then he stretched the heck out of the coyote all directions and stapled it down onto plywood and let it dry. Then he ink stamped a pattern on the back and cut it with a little brass razor knife.
The NAFA and Fur harvester patters are good ones tho. Just dont get too wide or too narrow, the stretcher makes for a "nice" pelt for presentation purposes which is a big part of the "game" of marketing your fur.
Stretching boards
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