The principles involved in carving skulls apply equally to carving leg bones, except in this work there is much to be done with the draw-shave and spoke-shave. Of course they require to be wired together at the joints, with two wires at each joint, so that the space between them may be channelled out with a gouge to receive the leg iron.
Sewing up Holes in Skins.—After thoroughly cleaning a skin, take a glover's three-cornered needle of the proper size, and a waxed thread from a ball of strong linen thread, or "gilling twine," and sew up all the holes that are to be found in the skin. It requires some little ingenuity sometimes to know just how to trim the edges of a hole so that it can be sewed up without puckering the skin, but a little experimenting will soon reveal the way.
If you have to sew up a cut which has no hair to cover it, sew tightly with a curve-pointed needle, starting the stitches on the inside well back from the edge, and sewing only three-quarters of the way through the skin. Draw the edges tightly together. When the sewing is finished, place a flat bar of iron or wood underneath the seam, and hammer it with a hammer all the way along. This will flatten the ridge formed by the sewing, and will render the seam almost invisible.
In order to do fine work, a taxidermist must be quite expert in the use of the needle and thread. In sewing up skins there are two points to be aimed at, viz.:
2. To sew so neatly that the seam will be as nearly invisible as possible.
For general work one must also have common round needles, and No. 30 thread for very fine sewing, as, for instance, torn eye corners or lips, and holes in the face where the skin is very thin and there is little hair, or none at all; three-cornered glover's needles, Nos. 00, 1, 2, 3; and three sizes of strong linen sewing twine. In the beginning of your work acquire the habit of being particular about the size of the needle and thread you use upon a skin, and never let them be larger than necessary. When special strength is needed, double the thread and wax it with beeswax to prevent its rotting. Always sew with the ball stitch, e.g., from the inside of the skin to the outside, every stitch. It is often convenient to use a curved needle, and this can be made by heating a glover's needle to a red heat in the flame of a spirit lamp and curving it while hot.
How to Make Long Needles.—In making manikins, and also for other purposes, it is necessary to have a set of needles varying in length from six to eighteen inches, or even longer. You can buy needles up to ten inches in length from anyone who keeps upholsterers' supplies, but the longer ones you must make for yourself. To do this, take a piece of No. 12 or 13 steel wire and grind one end to a point. For the eye, heat the other end red hot, flatten it with the hammer, then heat it again, lay it on a bar of lead, and with a brad-awl and hammer punch an eye in it while hot.
Neck Irons in Mounting Mammals.—Never allow a neck iron to come through the top of the skull, through the forehead, or through the face anywhere. The neck iron, which must support the entire weight of the head and neck, should pass through the back of the skull and into the nasal cavity. Let the iron extend some inches beyond the end of the nose until the neck is made, and the head placed in position, for not until then can you tell what length the neck iron should be. When the head is well-nigh finished, take a small hack-saw and saw off the neck iron close up to the nasal cavity, so far from the end of the nose that by no possible chance can the animal shrink so much in drying that the end of the iron will protrude through one of the nostrils and into view.