I have a set of caribou antlers that i would like to mount but the skull plate has broken in half, any ideas??

Question

I ordered the rack still attached to the skull plate but the skull plate was intact when i ordered it. i guess the mail carriers were pretty rough with the box and when i received the rack, the skull plate was broke in half. it is a pretty clean break and fits back together but i'm not sure if there is a way to get the skull plate to stay together.

Answer 1

I had a trophy mule deer rack that broke the same way. I tried every glue available and they all failed, I tried fiberglass, it won't stick to the bone and failed, I tried plumbers tape with screws, it failed, I could not get anything to work. After several years of them sitting around gathering dust, I finally cut the horns off flush at the skull plate, then I drilled a hole up the horns from the base approximately 2 inches deep and threaded in a piece of allthread 3/8" in diameter with course threads. Then I bought a muled deer skull blank from a local taxadermist, drilled it and threaded the antlers onto the blank, I ruined the first blank by not drilling it at the right angle, bought another one and did it right the second time. Then I took it over to my taxadermist and he used part of a mule deer cape he had to cover it and finish it off. It looks fantastic now. I also took a much smaller set of horns that I had recovered that had been shed, drilled them the same way, but those I mounted on a wooden shield that I cut out, then placed an old piece of tanned buckskin over that, cut to match the shape of, but slightly smaller than the shield. Turned out pretty well if I do say so myself.

Answer 2

Use metal Mending plates made by Stanley tool company and hold the halves together with the plates and some small machine screws. Plates and screws are available at any Home Depot or Lowe's Home center or ANY hardware store.
The plates can be mounted on the inside of the skull plate to bridge the gap and hold the two halves together.You could then cover the exposed part of the skull plate with a colored felt or leather piece cut to size to fit as a cover up. I did this myself on a 5 X 5 Elk rack and it worked great........

Answer 3

My father had the exact thing happen with his being shipped from Alaska. It was a gift from an Alaskan for my dad saving his airplane during a forest fire a few years back.
I assume it broke the same ways his did, where the skull plates join together. He just used glue along the edges, held them together until it dried. Now that i think about it i cant remember the exact glue he used, but we have done similar work with deer and elk skulls and used different types of glue with good results. Also on several skulls we glued the peices together, then in the hollow part on the inside used plaster to fill the cavity to give more strength...I hope you are able to get it fixed. Good luck.

Answer 4

You will more than likely not have any sings or symptoms from eating mold unless you have an allergy. If you have an allergy you could break out in hives, throat and tongue could swell up blocking airways or just in general feel itchy. If you are having any of the above you should call you Doctor. But the idea of it is a bit revolting. I'm sure if you ask around you can "beg a few dollars off someone rather than chance being ill??"

Answer 5

JD has a good suggestion
also you could cut a piece of 1/4 plywood to fit the back of the skull and pre drill the bone and use coarse thread screws to hold it together just don't screw them in to hard or they will strip have done this and worked fine for me

Answer 6

Any taxidermist can make these repairs for you at a minimal cost. If you want to make the repairs yourself, I'd just get a fiberglass patch kit that is intended to patch auto bodies and boat hulls. Wally World (Wal-Mart) has them in the automotive dept. Put the fiberglass patch on the inside of the skull and it will never show.

Answer 7

Sorry to hear that. Shippers should be more careful. Try to file a complaint and see what they will do for you.

For the antlers, just take it to a taxidermist. They'll be able to fix it up just fine.

Answer 8

File a claim with the shipper. You may be able to get a refund if it was insured.

Otherwise, take it to a local taxidermist. They probably have a way to repair it, maybe so that it doesn't even show that it broke.

Answer 9

Take it to a taxidermist first and get an estimate (written) from him and then file claim with the shipper. That way you will get what it costs to repair instead of what the shipper figures it is worth.
Sarge

Answer 10

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