The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1894-05-08
OF Interest to Farmers.
HOW TO TAN LEATHER-DESc RIPTIoN
OF How THE WORK MAY BE
CHEAPLY DONE AT
HOME
Abbeville Press and Banner.

HOME.
Abbeville Press and Banner.
Ninety Six, S. c., April %, 1894.
Enclosed you will find O bit of alum
tanned leather. The process of pre-
pairing 1t is sometimes called glove tan
ming, from the fact that small skins are
tanned this way for glove making.
Some persons, who have seen some of
the leather prepared by Mr.. j. Rhodes,
who Is living on my place, have asked
me for a description, in detail, of the
way it is done. L have thought it
might prove interesting if not profita-
BILE to the farmer readers of the Press
and Banner, to learn of a better way
OF disposing Of their beef hides and
sheep n goat skins than selling them
at two cents and buying from the mer-
chants their necessary supply of leather
at 40 or so cents per pound.
Another reason for sending this to
you for publication is hat there was u
man IN the town of N~inety-Six last
week trying to sell the rights to use
this or a very similar process at So
each. There is nothing new in it. 1t
is rather ancient for q patent. With
this preface l will give in as few words
as is consistent with being understood
the details of the process by which the
leather was tanned from which the
piece enclosed was cut. All q farmer
needs to make a lanyard is q kerosene
barrel sawed in two tubs. Locate the
yard under shelter, out of rain and
sunshine. Begin with the skin as soon
as taken from the animal. 1t is more
easily worked, but If you start off with
u dry hide soak in water for about three
days or until thoroughly soft and plia-
bic, remove all the bits of flesh and fat
from it and put into lime or strong
ashes and water sufficient to cover.
AS soon as the hair becomes loose in
about two days, remove it all. I use q
common farm hoe to scrape the hair
off with, return the hide to the ashes
or lime and soak it two to four days
longer to swell the hide, this loosens
up the texture so it will readily take
in the tanning substance. Next you
want to get rid Of the lime or caustic
potash left in the hide; to do this, soak
1T in the other one-half barrel in clean
water, which keep up for four to six
days changing the water every day, or
tie it to a weight and throw it in the
branch.
If you expect to carry the leather
you will do better to keep it out of the
sand of the branch. The hide is now
ready for the tanning vat which is the
SooiSSo oi" T. DuEU. OSc tllUH
and common salt, alum one part, salt
two parts by weight.
For calf, sheep or goat skin, one
pound alum with two pounds of salt:
for the hide of q beef weighing so
pounds to the quarter it will take 5
pounds alum with 10 pounds Of salt:
spread the hide out flesh side up, sprin-
kle the ~pulvcriZcd mixture of alum
and salt on it, fold orroll itup with the
alum or salt inside, place in the vat
with heavy weight on it, without wa
ter, let it stand for six hours and if the
hide is no covered by fine solution com
ing out of the hide and water till it
does, take it out every two days, fold it
a different way and return to the vat.
a small skin should remain in tan four
to six days, u hide from one week to
three weeks, according to size.
When the leather is taken out of
tan, comes the working part of the
job. If you want soft pliable leather,
elbow grease is essantial just here.
Begin as soon as it comes out dripping
wet to beat with heavy sticks or frail
it over the top of a stump for Is or 20
minutes and repeat three or four times
u day until it is ready for use. Do you
ask what sort of oil? Don't use any
vegetable oil, castor, linseed, olive, nor
cotton seed. Bcef-foot oil is excellent,
homemade lard Il nm afraid YOU
haven't got it) mixed with kerosense
Is good. How to curry the leather |
do not know, but you will find a way to
get the rough off or you may know
some n skilled that way. Brother
Farmer, try this; you can with a box
OF copper rivets and bn IRIS make all
your pillow and wagon harness at home
tina will, with care, last as we'll as
store-bought ones made of leather at
40 or so cents por pound.
In dressing shoep skins with the
wool on, of course, you do not soak in
lime or ashes but carefully remove all
the G and fat, and wash thoroughly
with soap and water, then sprinkle on
one pound each Of alum and salt pull
verified, fold together accurately, the
flesh sides and leave it so for three days.
DO mo- weight it or cover it with water,
nor beat it with sticks but rub often
until dry, to keep it soft and supple.
IF you don't succeed try again"
w. l.. ANDERSON.