Looking for an old chest freezer

[518BowSlayer]

Just gonna throw this out there. Trying to find an old chest freezer to use for doing euro mounts. Would actually prefer one that doesn't work because it's going to be left outside and not plugged in. Gonna try cleaning bones using a technique called warm water maceration instead of boiling and pressure washing like I've been doing 

[mowin]

1 minute ago, 518BowSlayer said:

Just gonna throw this out there. Trying to find an old chest freezer to use for doing euro mounts. Would actually prefer one that doesn't work because it's going to be left outside and not plugged in. Gonna try cleaning bones using a technique called warm water maceration instead of boiling and pressure washing like I've been doing 

I gotta ask... How bad is that going to stink? 

[518BowSlayer]

Horrendous! Hoping that the freezer would keep the critters out

[PraiseDiana]

Put that thing down wind 

[mowin]

5 hours ago, 518BowSlayer said:

Horrendous! Hoping that the freezer would keep the critters out

Good lord, your poor neighbors...

[cervidchasers]

5 hours ago, 518BowSlayer said:

Horrendous! Hoping that the freezer would keep the critters out

I have just used giant buckets with a tarp on top..
just make sure no neighbors..lol

[dbHunterNY]

i've tried that route and it stinks real bad. also tried the burying them in dirt. best way is electric large capacity turkey cooker. propane burner turkey fryer with a pot just don't work as well. either way it's a PITA.

[JohnPlav]

That does sounds incredibly smelly.  Have you looked into beetles?  

[518BowSlayer]

Yea I would be putting each skull in a bucket with an aquarium heater in each one. The freezer would be to help keep them insulated, keep the smell down (at least a little) and keep critters out. I've been researching this for a while and it's supposed to be the easiest and best way to clean bone. Boiling actually damages bone and makes degreasing harder. And pressure washing destroys all the nose detail. Plus it's a pain and sometimes impossible to pressure wash in cold weather. Beetles are good option but also smell pretty bad and need to be taken care of all year. I've been doing the boiling and pressure washer method for a few years now and it's kind of a pain. I could just build an insulated container for them but figured an old freezer would be better 

[Wolc123]

What psi pressure washer are you using ?  I think mine is 3500 psi. I have not noticed damage to bone structure, and I do not boil first.  I just skin the head, then blow out all the soft tissue with the pressure washer.  The whole process takes about 45 minutes (15 minutes to skin with a sharp knife and 30 minutes to pressure wash.  
 

I usually do leave them out in my barn, for a month or so after pressure washing, just in case I miss a little internal soft tissue in the sinus cavities, etc.  

 

Here is one a neighbor kid did for me using the boil method.  His mom still gives him crap about the mess and smell it made and that was over 10 years ago.  

 

Here is the last one I did “raw” with my pressure washer, and a few others that I did the same way.  The best thing about that was no smell or mess to clean up.  The birds and other vermin usually have every last piece of soft tissue cleaned up from the concrete pad by the following morning.  

 
The “raw” method seems to have all the advantages over the boil method: No smell, no cleanup, no “yellowish” discoloration of the bone.  I also prefer the natural bone color,over bleached white or camo dipped, etc.  

 

I usually do the lower jaw also, but could probably shave 5 minutes or so off the time if I didn’t.  That last one even held onto the 16 ga slugger that killed him, which I used to make the antler ornament.  
 

[Chromeslayer]

1 hour ago, 518BowSlayer said:

Yea I would be putting each skull in a bucket with an aquarium heater in each one. The freezer would be to help keep them insulated, keep the smell down (at least a little) and keep critters out. I've been researching this for a while and it's supposed to be the easiest and best way to clean bone. Boiling actually damages bone and makes degreasing harder. And pressure washing destroys all the nose detail. Plus it's a pain and sometimes impossible to pressure wash in cold weather. Beetles are good option but also smell pretty bad and need to be taken care of all year. I've been doing the boiling and pressure washer method for a few years now and it's kind of a pain. I could just build an insulated container for them but figured an old freezer would be better 

Maceration is by far the best way to clean skulls.. theres zero skull prep needed minus skinning it and no bone damage... i have skulls done by boiling, beetles and maceration and they all look the best.. beetles would be my second fav.. i dont even bother with boiling anymore and def no powerwashers ever touch any heads that i do

[mowin]

@518BowSlayer

I'm going to be at a property not far from you Friday the 8th.  There is two chest freezers there. I know one works because I lifted the lid. The other who knows.  You'll probably get one for free. 

[518BowSlayer]

1 hour ago, Wolc123 said:

What psi pressure washer are you using ?  I think mine is 3500 psi. I have not noticed damage to bone structure, and I do not boil first.  I just skin the head, then blow out all the soft tissue with the pressure washer.  The whole process takes about 45 minutes (15 minutes to skin with a sharp knife and 30 minutes to pressure wash.  
 

I usually do leave them out in my barn, for a month or so after pressure washing, just in case I miss a little internal soft tissue in the sinus cavities, etc.  

 

Here is one a neighbor kid did for me using the boil method.  His mom still gives him crap about the mess and smell it made and that was over 10 years ago.  

 

Here is the last one I did “raw” with my pressure washer, and a few others that I did the same way.  The best thing about that was no smell or mess to clean up.  The birds and other vermin usually have every last piece of soft tissue cleaned up from the concrete pad by the following morning.  

 
The “raw” method seems to have all the advantages over the boil method: No smell, no cleanup, no “yellowish” discoloration of the bone.  I also prefer the natural bone color,over bleached white or camo dipped, etc.  

 

I usually do the lower jaw also, but could probably shave 5 minutes or so off the time if I didn’t.  That last one even held onto the 16 ga slugger that killed him, which I used to make the antler ornament.  
 

Yea I use a 3500 psi too... I think. It works fine for your own personal mounts but I'm trying to do this professionally so I need them perfectly clean for customers. I too prefer the natural skull color but almost all customers want them bleached. Deer skulls aren't very greasy but other critters are like bears, coyotes and furbearers so the pressure washer won't do a professional job. Maceration seems like the way to go for me personally 

[518BowSlayer]

12 minutes ago, mowin said:

@518BowSlayer

I'm going to be at a property not far from you Friday the 8th.  There is two chest freezers there. I know one works because I lifted the lid. The other who knows.  You'll probably get one for free. 

Heck yea brother! Let me know! 

[mowin]

Just now, 518BowSlayer said:

Heck yea brother! Let me know! 

Its just down the road from the school in Brunswick.