can you guys tell me a good way to make a decent board

Are you referring to a board to dry skinned pelts on or a beam upon which pelts are fleshed?

sorry i mean a fleshing board or beam

I am not certain if there is archive material regarding this topic.

The species of furbearers you intend to use the beam for may be a factor. I have seen some trappers that use two different sizes. One for large animals and a second for smaller.

Now is a good time for someone with measurements handy to contribute.

Surely there are folks out there other than I who have made their own fleshing beams. Don't be afraid to share your experience with Elmer.

Hal

I used a 2X8 for mine (Hal brought up a good point in a previous thread about this that a 2X6 would probably be better). I laid a coon stretcher pattern on top, cut that out, and then sanded it down to where I wanted it. If I were to make another one I would make it narrower, with a bit more of a point. My honest advice is just to buy one at a convention. But if you just like to work with wood, have at it.

I do everything from possums to beaver to bobcats on my beam, but I do have a little bit of problem getting small coons and possums all the way on. I hope this helps.

Making a beam isn't rocket science but a little thought and patience will go a long ways towards ending up with a serviceable product.

Type of wood is not critical but a durable hardwood species such as Ash, Oak or Maple will resists nicks a cuts a bit better.

Shape..The pictured beam is 1.5 X 6 X 60. From the nose to where it is full width is 12".The photo with the knife shows the proper curvature you want to achieve.








Tools..If you really have some time on your hands you could do it with a pocket knife.Shape the nose with a saw,your choice.My choice of non powered tools for shaping the curvature would be a draw knife.If you have one and know how to use it.It will be a 2 hour project total.A hand plane will work but is much slower.Use sandpaper with a sanding block to finish it.60 grit paper is as fine as you want to use.Sand diagonally across the grain.Sand with the grain and you will be there for ever.You only need to shape about 3 feet of the beam.


Take your time and do it right.A well made beam will last you a long time.

thanks for the help fellas

I might add an aggressive wood wrasp or a farriers wrasp works well to achieve a rough concave shape that only needs smoothed up by sanding.

No, no, no! You want a convex surface, not concave. Look at the picture Ric has posted above. See how the curvature of the beam is slightly greater than the curvature of the knife. It's important for your knife to have a reasonable bearing surface, not too little and not too much.

There are lots of ways to go about this, as Ric said. It all depends on what type of tools you have, and your propensity in using them. I recommend a 6 inch wide beam as being the most universal. This will be 5.25 inches if you buy your starter board at the lumberyard. If you do, sort through the 2 X 6 pile until you find one with relatively few knots on one end.

If you have a wire stretcher, that makes a good thing for tracing the nose pattern. From there, I would use a jig saw to cut out the nose. Then you have to shape the curvature of the beam. I'm guessing you don't own a draw knife, so I would opt for a block plane (hand plane) if you have one. I would use a block plane over a wood rasp, but you could do the entire job with a rasp if you are patient. Patience is key here because without power tools, you are going to spend a while at this project.

(P.S. Don't hesitate to sharpen your plane blade if it becomes dull.)

Hal