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Article from
 Taxidermy Today, September Issue, 2001
1-800-567-5080 ou <info@fleshing.ca>

Fleshing Machines

Many people have fleshing machines  to reduce there fleshing time.  Unfortunately, many are unsatisfied.  Either it wasn't faster than by hand or the design was impractical.   Some found the following problems with their machine: I heard horror stories, such as these, dozens of times.  There is a better solution.  In this article, I  demystify what fleshing machines are all about: I will use comments made by fleshing machine owners to expose some of these problems and personal experience gained when giving demonstrations at conventions like the World show in Springfield.

Read what satisfied customers have to say:

I learned to flesh with a double handle draw knife. After ten years, I could flesh a deer cape in 75 minutes and I expected to do a few holes. With a good machine, most average taxidermist, can flesh a cape in less than 30 minutes. A professional flesher can do it in less than five. As you can well see, only hobbyists and hard headed taxidermists, stuck to there old ways, will not justify a fleshing machine.

A good 12 inch rotary blade can remove anywhere from nothing to 3, 4, and 5,or more inches at a time with every swipe, depending on the ability of the operator. Simply expose more or less blade by adjusting the guards. As for dept of the shave, push the small blade lip slightly up or down. When your machine is adjusted to the particular skin your working on, simply wrap the skin around both guards, don't try to guess the angle, its positioned to do what you want, trust the guards and flesh. If you present a flat surface with no tensions spots, you can't make a hole. As for the length of a pass, you can shave the distance between your hands, 5, 10, 15, and 20 inches.  I can hear you say "it's to good to be true" or "no way I can do that with my machine".  Why can't you?

Yes, it could be your machine. Some work much better than others. The shape of the guards could be totally off, witch wouldn't permit you to adjust them, the angle of the blade lip, (it should be at 90 degrees), 1/16 to 1/8 length is normal, more than that, you loose much of your control, the speed of the blade, the new QUEBEC LITE is very forgiving yet just as fast as the other 12 inch machines. Speaking of blades, the smaller the diameter, the smaller the width of your shave. If your blade is 10,8,6,4 inches in diameter, the width of your bite will be reduced accordingly, hence, slower. As for detail work, ask any professional flesher, he can be as delicate as needed with his big blade and with proper instructions, you can be shown how to do it.

I received an email, May the 2nd, 2001 from Roger Hutton huttontx@netins.net. He wrote:

"Hi Gerry, I would like to thank you again for your tips on using a fleshing machine, I've used one for over 20 years. I started with a home made job that worked ok (until I compared it to a good machine). I did allot of hit and miss on learning to sharpen and shape the edge to do the job I wanted. I usually got the job done but sometimes it took awhile. I learned more in ten minutes with you than I did the first 10 years I ran a fleshing machine. Your tips will also make it easier for me to train my students the right way to sharpen and shape the blade. I got my QUEBEC LITE set up and running. It looks to be a good training machine for my students, I'm sure they will enjoy working on it. I'm interested in becoming a dealer for your machines. I already have a couple people interested .

Thanks again, Roger"

How many have started with a home made machine? There so simple: a shaft and a blade, motor, pulleys, v belt, a few guards or maybe not. You have spent 2, 3, and 4 hundred dollars, many, many hours of frustration to get, at best, poor results? This person will swear that his machine is as good, or better, than all those expensive ones. It might take him years before he realises that he has lost hundreds of hours in fleshing time and sowing. Some commercially made machines probably compare to a home built also but as a rule, you should get more than your moneys worth. More important than the machine is the teaching aid you receive from your supplier. I can't stress this enough. Your in business to mount animals, that is your talent, get a good machine, learn how to MASTER it as soon as possible and get on with mounting and making money.

For this very reason, we give a one hour video with each machine to make sure you start on the right foot. All the tricks of the trade I learned true the years are demonstrated in this video. If that's not enough, I can be easily reached on my toll free line.

Here are a few excerpts from Bob Blaschke's article foxranch@hotmail.com on this very subject printed in Breakthrough's last issue: "list of other techniques and tools used for fleshing: two-handed fleshing knife, scissors, scalpel, skife knives, motorised wire wheels, power washers and of course those handheld mini fleshers. Others, simply pay to have it done." "You need to sit down and determine the real cost of buying a full size (12 inch) flesher. Better yet, you need to figure the cost of NOT buying one" "I decided to look into the new QUEBEC LITE. I called Gerry on his toll free number for information. Before hanging up I had purchased one. My decision was based on three things: name recognition, price and most importantly, Gerry came across as honestly being concerned with my needs, I felt he would be there to help me whenever I needed it"

PRICE has been the cause for many mistakes in the choice of a machine. A beginning taxidermist, just out of school is usually very enthused but on a limited budget. He is attracted to the least expensive models. Unfortunately he realises to late that with his $150.00 machine he needs a $500.00 compressor, as if that wasn't enough, after hours of practice and frustration, he can flesh faster and with better results using his old faithful $20.00 draw knife. Some are tempted to go all out and purchase the most expensive one convinced he's getting a machine for a life time. As we shall see further, still others aim for the middle of the road. My suggestion is that price is a very poor indicator. Have you ever considered what the fleshing costs are to the average taxidermist? Suppose he does an average of one hundred capes a year and spends one hour per cape. If he operates his shop for thirty years, he can expect to flesh for 100 X 1 X 30 = 3,000 hrs. If he gives himself an average of $10.00 an hour, this means that his fleshing is worth approximately $30,000.00. If a good machine can save him thirty minutes per cape , he just saved $15,000.00 . Understand why prices are irrelevant.

You should analyse your particular needs, now and for the future. Yes a good machine is made for a life time. If your intentions are to eventually become a full time taxidermist or if you are thinking of starting a tannery in the future you wouldn't choose the same machine. It's also very important to consider what your getting with your machine. Is the motor included or not? What size is it? Does it come with an adapter to set it up? Has the wiring been done? Does it come with an adjustable table? Can it be put on your own bench if its solid enough and at the right height? What guarantee do you have? What's the quality of the instructions you get with it? How easy can you reach the manufacturer for technical help? Answers to these questions will help you much more than price. Don't forget to ask around, contact taxidermy schools, the taxidermy magazines, check the taxidermy net. You get the picture.

As you can see, there is much more to fleshing machines than price. Let's look at the most common problems faced by a new operator.

Building confidence is probably the main one. Most are afraid of that weaning blade. Relax, this is the safest blade in your shop. It can only make surface skin cuts. It's much safer than your hand knife. Plus you have guards that tells you were the blade is and were not to go. Keep left hand on left side and right hand on right side, this way you can't cut yourself. Never practice on a customers skin to start. Use the back end of a deer. Try different settings with the guards, roll up or down the blade lip ever so slightly and realise what's happening. Try making holes, yes making holes, this way you will learn what not to do. Practice holding the skin properly (flat surface, no wrinkles, no tension spots and mostly don't use strength, think, be gentle, let the blade and motor do the work). Feel what the blade is doing, don't muscle it. The preparation of the skin is also important. Some prefer to flesh the skin by hand when it's still fresh then they salt it. Many others salt first then flesh and simpler yet, salt and pickle. It's the easiest and fastest way. Add a half pound of alum per ten gallons of water if you fear hair slippage. If you insist on fleshing raw, a rotary blade can do it, as good or faster than by hand, it just needs some getting used to.

Soar back is a very common complaint. Unfortunately many manufacturers and teachers don't know better and encouraged there customers to set there machine to low. If you must bend to operate your machine, your back will soon get soar. Bring your table up to your elbow height, it will feel awkward at the beginning, yes you can't see as well but you don't need to see if you know what your machine is going to do. You should look at what is to be done and place your hands accordingly.

Here is a comment from: Leanna Nelson, Trail's End Taxidermy, scardeer@cornernet.com She wrote: Six years ago, fresh out of taxidermy school, I purchased a Dakota lll because it was a middle of the road price. Now, when I compare it to other machines, it's to loud, rust is a problem, I get back pains and lastly it's a major problem to adjust it. I never learnt to sharpen it. In the beginning I was quite fearful to use it because I made to many holes, I even cut myself. After years of trial and error, I can shave now, face and all, with no big problems... usually.

LEARNING TO SHARPEN is the one major problem I have consistently found when giving demonstrations or seminars. First the sharpening tool used. Never force or grind your blade lip. If you are using a four inch nail, your blade lip will be ruined in no time. Sandpaper or worst, a grinding stone, should never be used. The more delicate the sharpeners and the more delicate the operator uses them, the longer life you will get out of your blade lip. Remember , a slight push upwards or downwards is all you need. Half a degree is all it takes. Your blade works as a chisel cuts into wood, turned one way it wants to penetrate more and more, turned the other way, it wants to come out of the wood. Your blade lip reacts the same. If it's taking to thick a bite, tone it down half a degree and if it's to gentle, bring it up slightly. Make sure the sharpener is pointing towards you or away from you. This way you gently sway the lip in the direction you want it. Remember your blade is turning 15 to 25 revolutions a second, don't hold the sharpener on the edge of the lip for more than a fraction of a second.

USING THE GUARDS improperly is also a major one. If you are a professional flesher with 20 years experience, I can understand you prefer to work on a full blade but for the average taxidermist (and probably many fleshers) your guards should be you friends. When used properly, the quantity and quality of your work could be increased considerably. They determine how close the skin can get to your blade. ( of course the skin can't get any closer to you than the guards will allow them to) Bending the skin over both guards helps you in many ways. The guards bend the skin in the right shape to be presented to the blade. They also act as an anchor so the skin couldn't be pulled in by the blade. They will push the wrinkles out as the skin is pulled across, finally because the skin is always presented at the same angle it becomes easy to adjust accordingly and your blade will always do what it's adjusted to do. Simple, no?

I GET RIDGES once an a wile, what the heck does this and how to get rid of them? My friend, Bruce Rithel, answered this question in Breakthrough's last issue and gave good suggestions. If I may add, the way the blade is touched, when sharpening, is often the reason. I was probably the one that insisted the most about how important it was to be gentle, delicate, feel the blade lip. Imagine your sharpening your hunting knife on a heavy grit stone for five minutes on the same side. You would develop a burr on the other side. The right way is to alternate, once or twice on one side and then the other. The smoother the stone, the less grinding you will do. It's more of a toning action. The same applies to your blade lip. A new blade is razor sharp, keep it that way. If you use a heavy gage steel sharpener, you will grind into your lip. Number 16 gage spring wire is all you need. The second mistake, (a very popular one) is to hold the sharpener on the lip for to long. If your blade turns at 25 turns a second, holding it for two seconds is like fifty passes on the same side. It stands to reason that you would push a burr on the other side. Use your ears and listen to the nose change pitch, that's when the toner is touching the outer edge of the lip. Don't leave it there more than a quarter of a second and alternate. As Bruce says, don't ever try to push, up or down, in a single try. Influence it gradually, for instance, up half a degree then down a quarter of a degree and repeat. This way you will bring the lip up gradually. Got the picture? If not, here is an easy test to feel the burr. Simply touch the blade with your thumb nail (wile the blade is stopped of course) and feel if your lip is smooth or rough. You will have your answer.

MY MACHINE WON'T FLESH ! This problem occurs constantly and if you don't do the right thing your in for problems, even big ones. It could be clogged up with white stuff. If so you will feel the blade wanting to pull it in. Simply clean it with the sharpeners. You might of pushed it down more than horizontal by two, tree, four or more degrees. Half a degree past horizontal is all you need. Apply the technique I just explained, up half a degree down a forth, etc. Again, a simple trick to check the angle of your blade lip. Stop the blade, use two fingers and drag them across horizontally. If you can't feel the blade bighting slightly in your skin, this means that it was pushed to far downwards with your right hand sharpener. It's the chisel effect, it wants to come out of the skin. People send us blades to be grinded, believe it or not, 99% of them still had enough lip to flesh hundreds of skins. If only they had known this trick. The mistake is to bend the blade down inwards 5,10,15 degrees. If you feel you must use extra pressure to get your blade to bite, it's getting the sickness. Do the two finger test and bring that lip back up progressively. Isn't it easy when you know how to solve a problem?

May I end this article with a few comments I received from satisfied customers. My aim isn't to bad mouth a competitor but to let everyone know that different machines are made for different things. Many of you readers will surely agree that if you had known then what you know now you would have acted differently. This article wants to set the records strait. If your machine can't do what it was supposed to do, or if you were badly advised, you should be able to get your money back. I met hundreds of people who had very bad experiences or worse they thought they had a good machine but when they compared, it was a different ball game. Have you not found it peculiar that I am the only one that has always brought pickled deer skins to shows and gave demonstrations to all who wanted one and even encouraged people to come and try our machines giving them pointers and discussing different ways of doing things. Why havened the other manufacturers done so? Could it be to there disadvantage to be compared? I let you be the judge.

One company specifies in its publicity "Made in U.S. of A." When we all know that their guards are made by cheep labour in China. Many people want to by locally or at least in there country. That is very normal. When you buy a QUEBEC here is a breakdown of the parts and materials that are produced in the U.S. : the blade, the motor, the metal for the legs, the plastic for the casing, the V belt, the virgin cassettes, the shipper : U.P.S., customs broker for export papers and probably some nuts and bolts. We live in a new age were sharing markets is the rule, not the exception. Best quality, best price and most of all service is the guiding line. Twenty five years of satisfied customers says it all.

You all have seen, in the past years, publicity statements like: "the first hand held, power driven flesher that ABSOLUTELY works", or "the safest and most USER- FRIENDLY fleshing machines on the market", or "sold to more taxidermists and tanneries WORLD WIDE than any other machine on the market" Unfortunately to many taxidermists have believed such statements and regret it now. Beware, before you buy, check the product.
Victor Burk <burktv@earthlink.net> "I bought a Dakota lV, it works ok, but it's only good for small skins. I did manage to shave a deer cape with it last year but it took forever. I'm really not satisfied with my unit and I wish I had a QUEBEC LITE . The comments I read on the taxidermy.net have all been favourable. We live and learn I guess."

Kent Palazzo Rack's and Fin's Taxidermy racksnfinstax@hotmail.com I recently bought a QUEBEC LITE to replace an other make that I wasn't satisfied with. What a difference! It works great! Thanks Gerry for a very affordable, quiet and user friendly machine.

Todd Buchanan, Buck's Pro Mount Taxidermy trigger@indy.net I just wanted to let anyone know that I just got a QUEBEC LITE . I had a whole back half of a deer to test it on. To give you an idea of how well it did, I had a mini flesher before and to do this kind of work would have taken me around an hour and it wouldn't have been very thin. With the LITE I shaved the whole back half of the deer in about ten minutes. I am definitely satisfied with the ease and speed of this machine. So, if any of you have been thinking of getting one, go ahead, take my word for it. GET ONE.
Jason Smith jaketax@afo.net "I LIKE MY QUEBEC LITE!" I received mine last week and I can already shave all but the eyes and nose in 15 min. I highly recommend it.

Bruce Rittel rittel@ici.net Last but not least, here is what Bruce had to say: Never fleshed or shaven before on a machine? Afraid of them? You tried one but it was a disaster? If so, the new QUEBEC LITE may be the machine for you! It's a good "trainer" or "for a taxidermy shop." Reasonably priced and easy to use. No distracting nose and a slower speed make it ideal for the beginner or small shop operator. Once you have had some experience and gained some self-confidence, you can move on to the faster machines easily.

My aim in this article was to show you what fleshing machines are all about, and what should you expect from a machine when you decide to buy one. Don't let the price be your only guide. For those who have machines, I hope my explanations have helped you solve some of your problems. If this article wasn't enough and you want more, telephone me at 1-800-567-5080.
 

Here is what I would like to add:

                                           Press Release   Nov. 1st, 2001

The Quebec Fleshing Machines Co.  is working on a new video using the Quebec Lite. It will be a first quality, more descriptive and more details on the tricks of the trade with special attention on problem solving.

For you that have experienced working on the Quebec Lite or to all other machine operators , if you have any suggestions on what you would like to see specifically in this video, your input is more than welcome.

It will be available in the first half of 2002.  A copy of this video will be included with every machine after it's release.  It will sell for $30.00 For those who have purchased a Quebec Lite in the past, and would like a copy, it will be available to them for half price.

We are firm believers that a machine is only as good as it's
operator. For this reason , we shall try to make this product as clear , simple and to the point as possible. It will probably be the best way for any operator to understand what is the proper way to use and get the most out of his machine what ever the make. Once you have looked at this video, you will be in a position to know if the problem is with your inability or if it's your machine. Witch ever, it will easily justify it's price.

Gerard Tessier
Québec Fleshing Machine
1-800-567-5080 OR <info@fleshing.ca>.