I'm chasing ideas on how to mount skulls / antlers to a backing board so they can be hung on the wall. I don't have room for full head mounts so I only have a small piece of skull and the antlers / horns (European style). I've tried filling the cavity with fibreglass resin and then use a set of 1/4" screws stuck in the resin to mount a set. This worked ok for about 5 hours until the skull pulled away from the resin and fell off the board :(. Thank god they bounce when hitting tiles. I'd like to do it in such a way that any screws / bolts are hidden from view if possible. Anyone out there able to help?

Geo

Try http://www.taxidermy.net. I'm sure you find something there.

How about drilling small holes and slip wire threw the holes and then threw holes in the wood and then twist the wire tight. Just a quick idea. Or epoxy bolt heads to the skull cap(inside) and then have the bolts pass threw the wood and tighen nuts.

my taxidermist uses bondo to fill the void in the skull

That bondo sure as heck ain't gonna let loose of any screws, or the skull. Just make sure you got lots of ventilation when you stir it up, I've been remoding an XP stock with bondo and it is some powerful stuff.

The guy that does my skull mounts uses a board and then an angle board off that then brills a hole in the second board and installs a dowel then he just hangs the deer or bear head on the dowel so when it needs dusted or cleaned he just lifts it off.I think he shows it on his web site.
http://www.skullpreparation.com

A lot of skulls will have oils impregnated through the bone. Some people use ammonia to clean the and/or hydrogen peroxide to bleach it (keep antlers clear). Haven't tried it myself as yet, but have read a number of articles on it.

ps mate, have you looked at the Qld Uni video on using dermastid beetles to strip out a pig skeleton?

Sorry mate, Qld Museum not Qld Uni

http://www.qm.qld.gov.au/features/snakes/preparing/video.asp

Hey Hunter, I've seen those bugs on an eposide of that "Dirtiest Jobs" show. Hungry little suckers, but very effective. The couple of deer heads that I have, have been boiled out and then cleaned off with bleach. With the feral goat skulls we used to just put them on a meat ant nest or hang them on a fence for a long time and let nature do all the work.

Rod, am I right in assuming that Bondo is some sort of body filler used to repair car panels?

Yes.....and heed the warning of it's odor!! Powerful stuuf. The wife really loves me when I mix it in my workshop for gunstock work. The tiniest little bit can smell up the entire house!!

yep, what Dan said. I would also avoid the rooms in which they keep those beetles, my taxidermist showed me his when he was cleaning my badger skull and that was an odor I won't forget. I think that was the closest I've ever come to tossing my cookies from a smell. I'm not sure what he uses but he also covers the skulls with some type of laquer after the cleaning and bleaching process.

I would like to see them go to work on a skull, but I guess I'll have to use a little vick's under the nose. I saw a speeded up video of them eating the meat of a pig. I'll see if I can find it and post it here. oops disregard it's a few posts up. Gotta watch the meds I'm on. LOL

Thank's for the ideas, I'll see if I can track down an Aussie version of Bondo and give it a go.

I have one done european style. I tied a rawhide lace from horn to horn about 1.5 feet long and hang it from the wall using the rawhide as kind of picture hangar wire.
If you look close in the pic, you will see the rawhide lace between the horns going back.

Nice picture! Did you make the bow?

Cool idea.

No, I did not make the bow. I am not that talented, OR patient.