# Best wire fur stretcher?



## El Gato Loco

For you guys who have been handling fur for a while, what's the best brand of wire fur stretcher to buy?


----------



## catcapper

All wire stretchers are pretty much the same except that some have 2 teeth or 3 teeth on the hide tension bars. Wire units tend to pull the shoulders of a fur too wide and there is not much control on the bottom of the hide. If you just want some dry preserved hides to hang around the house thier O.K.--but a fur buyer will spot wire hides and price them accordingly. You can't put up a Nevada style cat on wire. Most of my boards are made out of 3/4" plywood (not OSB). Shape the board for size (S,M,L,XL) and lenght for species. Cut the boards out of the plywood (you can get a lot of boards out of 1 4X8 sheet) then measure 2 1/2" in from the edge the whole way around and cut the center out also. Round over the outer edge of the board and thier good to go.


----------



## On a call

Hey Cat....Does or is wire ok on rats though ? Or...better question, which animals should be wood stretched ???? And which are ok on wire, if any ?


----------



## catcapper

Some trappers that put-up alot of water fur use wire for rats since there is not a high dollar gain on a five dollar fur and most buyers are not going to look at every hide in a large lot (1200 rats). Buyers want a certian width and lenght on the bigger money hides that you can't easily control with wire strecthers. A dollar difference on a rat is not much,but a seventy-five dollar difference on a cat is. Wood is all I use.


----------



## catcapper

Heres a link for board size

http://www.furharvesters.com/pdf/boardzises-dim.pdf


----------



## MGTEXAS

i used to have about 30 wood stretchers and a few wire/metal. I never liked the wire ones much but I have stretched a hundred or so on them anyway (just a estimate). we made them out of 1 by 4 pine, rounded off the front outside corners where they stick into the head area and then tacked a narrow leather 6-8 inches long strap on the head end. the trick is to make the head end the right size so that it fits into the head area without having to pull the heck out of it. the wide end was made with a piece of 1 by 1 bolted to one side and sloted on the other end with a wing nut and a short bolt. the old trappers who made their living on hides in the 60s and 70s all used these and they showed me how to make them. Chris, turn them inside out for a few days until the hide starts to pretty well dry and stiffen. then turn them and let them dry for a while wiht the hair out. the hide buyers want them to basically sound crinckly when they test to see that no fur flies. man, just thinking about this makes me wish that i had taught my kids about this dying skill. another tip that we learned from the old guys was that if the hair had much red in it (light and silvery was always better) that we could make a bit more by soaking the hide overnight, obvioulsy before stretching, in a cup or so of 20 mule team borax mixed in the water. this tended to make them a little better colored, more even and light. truly this is a skill that is being lost in the big scheme of things. I am sure glad that a few young people are still interested. MG


----------



## catcapper

Can't beat good Basswood strechers---I heard the bigger auction houses are going to start using lasers to measure hides and they want them thinner than 3/4". Anyone jump in---I have no info on this.


----------



## On a call

catcapper said:


> Can't beat good Basswood strechers---I heard the bigger auction houses are going to start using lasers to measure hides and they want them thinner than 3/4". Anyone jump in---I have no info on this.


No info but I do have a source for bass wood. We have em growing here . What is the benifit of bass wood ??


----------



## tjc1230

I use both wood and wire streatchers. the key to wire streatchers is to keep them clean. Clean streatchers will not leave any marks. As to prefferance. i like them equally.


----------



## tjc1230

The benifit of bass wood is it's soft and that makes it easy to pin up. just don't forget to use the belly board !! i've seen a few guys show up at the auctions with the fur still on the board LOL


----------



## cooncrazy

i've switched all my strechers to wood except muskrat.the wood seems to give the finished product a better,fuller look.plus it is more uniform look,wood doesn't bend like wire, it don't rust either.


----------



## Helmet_S

Is there any problem with making your stretching boards out of cedar? Also does anyone know about what radius are on the ends of the boards? I have a few sets of paterns that says the width at different distances down the board but nothing that says what the radius is on the end of the stretching boards.


----------



## hassell

Helmet_S said:


> Is there any problem with making your stretching boards out of cedar? Also does anyone know about what radius are on the ends of the boards? I have a few sets of paterns that says the width at different distances down the board but nothing that says what the radius is on the end of the stretching boards.


At the top of the thread I mentioned I had used cedar boards and Cat inserted a link for the measurements you need, hope this helps.


----------



## Helmet_S

Hassel,

Thanks for pointing these things out. I apparently missed where you said you used cedar but I did look at the measurements that Cat inserted. So the cedar question is answered but I still have a question about the stretching boards. The measurements don't mention if there is a proper radius at the nose of the board. I am speaking about the end of the board that would have the mouth of the pelt on it. I am just curious if it matters if the board rounds down to a 1" radius on that end of a 2" radius. it just seems to me that people would be picky about that end but maybe not. I am a Mechanical Designer so I tend to over think things when I build them but the good thing is that I can usually build things right the first time since I have built them a half dozen times on my computer first.

By the way if any of you guys ever need anything designed just shoot me an PM and I will see what I can do for you.

I am thinking that I will draw these boards up in full size paterns and I can post PDF drawings up them so that anyone can take them to a print shop and have them printed. Seems like it would be a nice resource for the lazy or new trapper.


----------



## hassell

Helmet_S said:


> Hassel,
> 
> Thanks for pointing these things out. I apparently missed where you said you used cedar but I did look at the measurements that Cat inserted. So the cedar question is answered but I still have a question about the stretching boards. The measurements don't mention if there is a proper radius at the nose of the board. I am speaking about the end of the board that would have the mouth of the pelt on it. I am just curious if it matters if the board rounds down to a 1" radius on that end of a 2" radius. it just seems to me that people would be picky about that end but maybe not. I am a Mechanical Designer so I tend to over think things when I build them but the good thing is that I can usually build things right the first time since I have built them a half dozen times on my computer first.
> 
> By the way if any of you guys ever need anything designed just shoot me an PM and I will see what I can do for you.
> 
> I am thinking that I will draw these boards up in full size paterns and I can post PDF drawings up them so that anyone can take them to a print shop and have them printed. Seems like it would be a nice resource for the lazy or new trapper.


 My cedar boards were different sizes as per the width and radius from the top 1/3 of the board, basically all the same length, as well as the tapered strip you slide up the belly to the top of the board where you pin the bottom lip to it, if the board is too wide going through the shoulder area it definitely will be too wide for the width of the head, if theirs no feel of a bit of stretching as you insert the belly strip, go to the next size thats a bit wider, hope this helps, 90% of my boards were for pine marten.


----------

