hitt, I didn't grow up "well to do". So, we learned how to fix/modify/redesign most things ourselves, teaching & helping each other. If we needed a tool, we borrowed it. If no one had it, we bought that one, and others would borrow it from then on when they needed it. That worked out very well. I was fortunate enough to be one of those people that the sciences, chemistry, electronics, math ect....all came easy and now have 25+ yrs of micro RC modeling, graduated from DeVry in 1973. So that's been a long time of stuff to collect and "practice" it, gaining the tools over the yrs. Now if you ask me if its a preposition or conjunction......huh??????? Dumb as a rock. lol
The net makes it so easy now. You just do a quick search and the instructions/materials are there and many times a vid on youtube.
I won't let my son kill anything he won't eat unless its a varmint, groundhog or such, doing damage. We cook the meat, clean and salt treat the hide. We clean and dry the skeletons too. We have curved needles made from ribs....things like that. The unusable parts go in or to the creek bank for fish/wild animal food. Nothing goes to waste. I'm not a hard core survivalist/environmentalist or anything like that. I just hate to waste and its fun to make things from it especially when I have all the tools already here.
My kids have always enjoyed doing it and showing their friends.
My wife drew the line at picking up roadkill.
In the early 1900's , ladies "powder puffs" were made from mice hides. lol
They are very soft after treated. The salt shrinks the skin so the hair follicle can't come out and when it dries its very brittle. You just rinse the excess salt away, let it dry again, tap it out on a board with a small leather hammer, and you have a chamois cloth with very soft fur on one side. The kids have made small pouch bags, stitched them together to make many things.
Ok, everyone can quit yawning now............
