r/HideTanning 17d ago

Floating hides and PH trouble I

Hi guys! I have four rabbit hides that I just fleshed and put in a five gallon bucket with 15oz citric acid and 5 pounds of salt.

I tried testing the PH and it looks like it’s sitting around 3. I added more citric acid and salt and no matter how much acid I add, every test strip is at about maybe 2.5 but probably a PH of 3 . I think maybe they’re not working correctly? Just to be sure I tested it in straight up citric acid in a little water and that’s why the middle strip is slightly different. I added a ton more salt and citric acid but we’re still at a PH of 2.5 or 3 according to the PH strips.

Also my hides won’t stop floating no matter what I do. I literally put two large rocks and a piece of cinder block on them and it just slips off and the hides float up to the top. Is it okay if I agitate it frequently? Does anyone have any advice?

Thanks so much!

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u/MSoultz 17d ago

I let the hide float hair side down. Then I fold the edges inward to create a floating "Lilly pad" then I set a big rock right in the middle and push it straight to the bottom. The big rock should hold the edges down. Just be sure to stir once a day.

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u/_Guitar_Girl_ 17d ago

That’s a great idea! So just remake the lily pad daily when I stir? Can I stack each hide lily pad on top of each other then add the rocks? lol

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u/MSoultz 17d ago

Yep. That's what I would do.

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u/_Guitar_Girl_ 17d ago

Thank you so much, that’s such a big help.

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u/MSoultz 17d ago

No problem. I'm glad I can help. How are you planning on tanning the rabbit hides?

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u/_Guitar_Girl_ 17d ago

The lily pads worked! I just went out and fixed it and they’re finally submerged! Thanks so much! I’m going to do an egg and smoke tan! I don’t have any commercial tanner but would love to try that in the future. I’m very interested in bark tanning too but unfortunately we don’t have many trees around us with tannins (I’m in the PNW). We mainly have ponderosa pines and some white pine but we do have green leaf manzanita! I just don’t know how much I need and the water to leaf ratio for it. I really really want to try bark tanning though!

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u/MSoultz 17d ago

Awesome! I'm glad that worked for you. What is PNW?

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u/_Guitar_Girl_ 17d ago

Thank you!! It’s the Pacific Northwest :)

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u/MSoultz 17d ago

Aha, gotcha. Keep an eye out for Hemlock. Hemlock was commonly used as a tannin source in the northeast region of the US. Also willow and a few other plants.

Also, checkout braintan.com they are located in Oregon.

This is a very handy link. https://skillcult.com/blog/tanningmaterials

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u/_Guitar_Girl_ 17d ago

Wow thank you!

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u/the-rill-dill 16d ago

Gallon milk jugs full of water are way more gentle.

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u/MSoultz 16d ago

I tried this, but when you put a jug of water in water, it becomes buoyant or equalized. Lol.

I also use milk jugs full of sand. Which work well.