Directions for Tanning Skins
First:—After weighing the skins, soak them in plain cold water; fresh or salted skins for 24 hours, and air dried skins for at least 48 hours. Then scrape off all the fat with a dull instrument, such as a putty knife or sharp piece of hard wood. Then wash thoroughly, with cold water, both sides of the skin.
Second:—Use, for every 30 pounds of skins, a 2-pound package of Tanaline and 4 pounds of salt. Dissolve 2 pounds of Tanaline and 4 pounds of salt in 5 to 6 gallons of cold water, and when thoroughly dissolved, place the skins into it. Have sufficient water so that all the skins are entirely covered. Tan small, thin skins in this solution for 24 hours. Goat, sheep, calf and dog skins should be allowed to tan from two to three days, according to their thickness. Cattle or horse skins, or skins of a similar nature, require one week in this solution to properly tan them. During the tanning process remove the skins and replace them in the same solution twice a day, so that the solution gets over all parts of the skins uniformly. After tanning, drain off all the solution that can easily be drained off, and spread the skins out with the flesh side up, away from the sun.
Third:—Make a heavy flour paste; thin enough to spread easily. Now cover the entire flesh side of the skin with a thin layer (about one-eighth inch) of this paste. Let the skins and flour paste dry for two to four days, according to the weather. The paste will absorb the moisture out of the skins and soften them.
Fourth:—When the skins become dry, work them so that the paste is shaken off. If the skins have been allowed to dry too long, they will be too hard to work, and they should be softened by sprinkling some dampened sawdust over the skins and leaving it on them over night. The skins should next be softened and worked by pulling them over the edge of a table or box, until soft and pliable.