[Clarebelle]

Does anyone have any experience with smoking tanned hides? When I cull my meat rabbits I plan to tan the skins for craft purposes. I have researched how to do it so I know that for a finisher you are meant to smoke the tanned hides to waterproof.

My plan was to buy a chimenea with a narrow ish chimney and tie the hides in a funnel over it so that the smoke travels up to fill the hides.

My trouble is that I'm finding it difficult to get a chimenea for less than £80. It doesnt need to be a big one as obviously rabbits are pretty small and I seem to remember Tesco doing a small chimenea for about £15 a couple of years ago but I dont seem to be able to find a cheap one now, it might just be because its out of season

Anyhoo, does anyone who has experience of smoking hides have any other methods to recommend? I only have my small back garden to do it in and I;d like to avoid digging a hole in it! Would a fire pit work or would the smoke not be concentrated enough to smoke the hides? Thanks all!

[YorkshireLass]

Not heard of this, but does it have to be hot smoke? Lots of bodged together cold smokers out there, along the lines of a bit for the fire and some ducting to e.g. an old fridge or filing cabinet that holds the itemd to be smoked.

[Andrew]

 Not sure where about you are located Clarebelle but I have a chimnea in our garden that we no longer use that you are welcome to have for free, we are 12 miles from Glasgow.

[Clarebelle]

All the guides i've read have used hot smoking so not sure about the cold smoking :/ A lot of guides use a normal campsite with a wooden frame over it and th pelt stretched out on the frame. I'm hoping to find a more practical way of doing it!

Thank you very much Andrew, we are near Birmingham though, so a bit too far!

just looked on ebay for cold smoker and theres a small cylinder one on there that looks like it might work, i think cold smoking would be ok as its not the heat but the smoke that does the magic (apparently!).

[colliewoman]

Get thee to freecycle!


Bung an ad on there, I reckon you will get several offers. They are the garden equivalent of sandwich toasters. Seem like a good idea at the time, then for most people they just take up space

[Clarebelle]

thanks colliewoman! great idea!