cleaning bones , how I do it *pics*

G

grumpy_grinder

Joined
Oct 2, 2015
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I'm sure some of you guys have done this already and this might be old news for others but I thought I would do a tutorial "if that's what you want to call it" about how I clean my bones. I've never made scales or bolsters with bone before but here it goes. I'm excited to see how it goes.I must warn you guys , before I go any further I'm french canadian with an english twist so forgive my grammar and poor spelling.

I'll be using moose bone , 4 tibias of this years september moose.

I skinned and cut the hooves off on the murder scene. Really I should of boiled them earlier so the marrow doesn't stain the bone. But I'll be bleaching them with peroxide.

To start off I throw my bone in a simmering pot with a bit of mild dish detergent (i use palmolive from costco ... you know the silo sized tubs of it) , bring to a boil then reduce heat and leave simmer for about an hour or hour and a half. (caution , for safety reason's ensure you're wife or significant other isn't at home)

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be careful guys , don't leave a pot unsupervised , the bubbles get crazy

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these are the only 2 witnesses at home ... I doubt they'll tell the wife.

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once they're finished boiling , I'll update with cleaning and hopefully degreasing the blanks tomorrow if I don't get called into work. Degreasing the bones is extremely important and i'll tell you guys why later.

stay tuned

cheers


grumpy_grinder
 
once the bone is boiled leave it cool off in the pot and water until it reaches room temperature or what ever temperature you are comfortable handling the bone.

i use a buck knife , and a coat hanger and clean by the sink , it's easier to clean when the bone is wet.

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i cut and scrap the bone with the knife then once its pretty clean i'll rub it with steel whool ( haven't got to that point yet in the picture)

for those of you who are into leather working , these make nice bone folders ... once cleaned up ...

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now I use the coat hanger and tap to clean out the marrow , compressed air works good ... just not into the kitchen unless you're looking for a quick way to a divorce.

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Now that the bones are cleaned up , i'll let them dry until tomorrow where I will saw my blanks and soak them in naphta to get rod of the oil ....

To be continued

cheers

grumpy_grinder
 
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almost all cleaned up , i'll touch up with steel whool and then cut the knuckles off then see what I can get accomplished tomorrow
 
I've never done this. I had an entire cow carcass I could have harvested some bone from a few years ago, but did not.
 
i4Marc said:
Dermestes beetles.
Click to expand...

I dont think dermestid beetles come out in below freezing temperatures ;). I don't Do enough of it to have a colony. my methode probably isn't the best to maintain bone integrity but it seems to work
 
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Here is another way.
Take off the skin and looser flesh. Cut off each end and cut the bone in half end to end. Slow boil in water with



























some TSP - tri sodium phosphate - for say an hour then re slow boil with the TSP again. You will find the bones are super clean. Allow the bones and water to cool before removing the bones. Do not use bleach or similar items. It will cause the bone to soften and crack. Moose bone will look just like mammoth ivory when finished.
Frank
 
Thanks frank , I have 2 more tibia's. TSP eh, I've never heard of that methode before. I use a 50/50 mix of peroxide to whiten the bone. I'll give the TSP methode a try on my next week off.
 
As a taxidermist I'm going to chime in on this.
First never and I mean never boil!
For example let's look at chicken soup. When the bones are boiled they become weak and a little bendable. When they do break they splinter.
So always simmer what I mean is maybe a bubble or two coming up from the bottom of the pot.
It would be best to saw the leg and get out as much marrow first before SIMMERING.
The grease and oils are in the marrow.
A couple teaspoons of DAWN dishwashing fluid will pull more grease out of the bones. Along with about a cup of baking soda.
Than stick the bones in super hot tap water with more DAWN and use compressed air to blow the bone out while under the water.
Rinse the bone and let air dry. If any discolor do the whole process again.
I do skulls this way and never have grease bleed later on.
 
Taximanny said:
As a taxidermist I'm going to chime in on this.
First never and I mean never boil!
For example let's look at chicken soup. When the bones are boiled they become weak and a little bendable. When they do break they splinter.
So always simmer what I mean is maybe a bubble or two coming up from the bottom of the pot.
It would be best to saw the leg and get out as much marrow first before SIMMERING.
The grease and oils are in the marrow.
A couple teaspoons of DAWN dishwashing fluid will pull more grease out of the bones. Along with about a cup of baking soda.
Than stick the bones in super hot tap water with more DAWN and use compressed air to blow the bone out while under the water.
Rinse the bone and let air dry. If any discolor do the whole process again.
I do skulls this way and never have grease bleed later on.
Click to expand...

Interesting , thanks for chiming it. I'll try this methode next to compare.
 
Will add this to the memory banks. Have boiled a few deer skulls for Texas mounts, never really a hard boil just a simmer with some Tide thrown in they come out clean as a pin with no grease, of course I de-brain before I simmer them for about 6 hours.
 
I agree on the not boiling.

I researched and practiced this a bit, some years ago.

Grease is a problem for staining and gluing.

I agree bleach - Chlorine will dissolve the bone into a powdery chalky white dust.

I found a museum article on how they did it.
They just let it rot a bit - in a controlled way; until the flesh and tendons, membranes etc loosened.
They boiled in TSP and finished with Peroxide to whiten.

I tried it.
getting the flesh off by hand was real work.
The TSP I had must have contained Chlorine that was not on the label because that bone is dead soft- scrape it with your thumbnail
It was really disappointing to toss it all after all that work.

Next time I"ll just buy bone

If I had to do it again, I'd let it rot longer, I'd find someone to pull the flesh off, I'd damn sure avoid the TSP
 
That method is called maceration usually done in a bucket with a fish tank heater set at about 85 degrees.
Takes weeks to accomplish good results.
Dawn and baking soda is all you need with the simmer process.

As to whitening that's a different ball game...
This is the method I have used for the last 10 years
After cleaning skull/ bone make a paste of volume 40 and the powder lightener from Sally's beauty supply.
Apply to skull/ bone and put under heat lamp.
The heat activates the chemicals.
Let it set for about 20 min and wash off and let dry.
This will lighteni the bone.
With many applications you can get it whiter and whiter.
I usually do this process three times.
Any more than that and it will be so white it will almost look painted.
This process will also show any grease that you thought you got all out earlier.
In this case start all over.

I have done this numerous times and have had great success.
Now if you mix the mixture to strong you do stand a chance of burning the bone.
You will see minute little cracks in the thinner bone area.
It just takes experience to know and see when to stop.
 
Sorry, guys, but the spirits must be with me on this. I can't say I've done hundreds of moose bones but I have done probably 50 - 60. Most I did for people who got the moose and wanted them on a straight knife. A few I did on folding knives. I used the bone halfs and did not before boiling go to over sized scales. As well I let the water cool down to room temp. before removing the bones to dry. I did not experience the chalking with the TSP but did when I tried the peroxide. I do believe you . Maybe I was just lucky or maybe you did not use moose bones? I just recently gave a cleaned set to a friend. He was told, more than once before he sold the knife that the white ivory looked great but was it legal?
Frank
 
I use the larvae from these little fellows:

http://bugguide.net/images/raw/LZE/LQZ/LZELQZELRZ9L7ZRH0RRH0R9LMRYZ0RHH7ZRH2RQHERYZSRRHERVLYLDZYL9LRZDL7ZCLIZTLMZ.jpg

https://www.google.com/search?q=carrion+beetle&rlz=1C1GGGE_enUS509US509&espv=2&biw=1009&bih=602&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0CAYQ_AUoAWoVChMI8uGPg_OLyQIVSjsmCh1pNAxL#imgrc=5jnk7_mmcQeLdM%3A

They are indiginous here in So. Texas and to attract them, you just have to clean off the skulls/bones of all heavy flesh however you can buy'em here:

http://www.skulltaxidermy.com/kits.html

Yummy! these little fellows leave a skull clean and w/the natural oils and color in tact. They even will eat the hair folicles down next to the antler crown!

bearbig1.jpg


I discovered them by accident; I have the larve/insect naturally in my yard/pasture.

m
 
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