I don't know if it will be clear in this picture but I need an idea for covering up the copper wires that hold up the top of these tusks leading into my dining room.

I tried covering them with zebra skin but that did not look right. I also thought about getting some leg irons and chains but that may be too distracting -- any ideas?

Uh...serious?

Somehow I just don't think that anyone (other than you, perhaps) will be 'distracted' by the wires you refer to...

"Um, say Palmer, that's an amazing lion, and look at that buffalo and... HEY WAIT JUST ONE DAMN MINUTE--WHAT'S WITH THE WEIRD WIRES ON THOSE TUSKS, MISTER?"

If but I had those kinds of dillemmas. That said, where are the ducks?!?

Cheers,

KG

Gold chains.

Yukon
Yes, the problem is that they bother me more than they do visitors - most of whom wouldn't know if the tusks came off an elephant or a hippo.

Here is a fuzzy detail.

quote:

That said, where are the ducks?!?

Kamo
The ducks and geese are along the stair that leads to my study. I need some sea ducks and Argentina ducks - something to hope for in the near future.



RM007
Interesting thought. Wonder if the wife would miss her necklace.

have an iron ring made that slips over the tusk about half way down and has a fixed rod and flange that hooks to the wall straight across from the tusk insted of up high like it is now have one of those decorative wrought iron fence guys make it and work on it untill you are in love with it.
plus it will be stronger and less likly to alow any swinging. also could have one of those twisted pieces for the rod or a star or shape of africa in the center of the rod might look cool.

I do agree that no wne but you will notice though.

That's a good looking pup.

Have you looked through any of the Great Hunters Trophy room books for ideas? I only have one volume so that's not much help.

Most of my family is in Missouri and I travel through there some in the summer. I could come and hold them up for you and advise everyone that they come from the world record hippo.

Seriously, I would love to meet you sometime and hear a few hunt stories. The pup needs a biscuit from me too.

Spiderwire fishing line...super strong yet microfiber thin. Or,

epoxy a machine screw in the base and bolt to that room divider\railing, then do away with the wire altogether.

The spiderwire or fishing line is a good idea. You would want the bases to be pretty secure and we can't see how that is arranged. They must be staked in at the base somehow to keep them from sliding?

Really, that's quite the setup you have. I would enjoy seeing other photos.

Some great ideas here - much better than mine.

Yukon, I have an all-thread rod that is epoxied into the nerve cavity then bolted thru the wood framework. Even without the wires its pretty solid but it tended to sag a little so I figure the rod must not be stiff enough. Too late to change it - that epoxy would be hard to get out.

Send me a pm the next time you are going to be in the area.

Maybe braided ele hair?

Is the botten hollow if so you could have made a dowl rod that fits inside the tusk and fasten it to where ever.

Just an idea!!!!

elkfitter,
That would be perfect--unfortunately I don't have anywhere close to enough tail hair to braid to the length required. After we made some bracelets out of it there was not much left.

jro45,
yes, we were thinking along the same lines --that is how I fastened the bottom but the rod is not stiff enough to prevent the whole tusk from saging. If I had used two or three all thread rods space as far apart as possible it probably would have worked. The best solution would be one that did not require any wires or whatever at the top of the tusks.

go and shoot two baboons and have them full mounted then each one can sit next to each tusk holding them up?!

Palmer,

I love the way they are displayed. Your ducks as well.

How about e-mailing Pierre or others and see if they can bring some confiscated snares to DSC, and use those. It might be kinda neat and would be a great conversation piece.

AlexY,
Now thats thinking out of the box. I like it.

SBT,
I will send him an email to investigate the snare idea. It may be the most simple of all.

Use threaded bar and pour fiberglass into the tusk and allow it to set. Drill the platfrom they are resting on and washer and nut on the bottom and you are done. Make sure the rod is perpendicular to the flat part of the tusk so when bolted down the tusks lie end on flat.

Jeff

I think we need to see some more photos.

Palmer, The perfect solution: Go get some more ele hair. What a great room! How about some more pics?

elkfitter,
More ele hair - why couldn't I have thought of that? Moma always said I was dumb and ugly.

Yukon,
Oddly enough I have never taken pictures of the trophies in the house except for those in this thread. You have inspired me to do so and I will. Right now we are re-arranging them because we have a new shipment coming in (leopard, hyena, another gemsbok etc.) from the taxidermist. As soon as they are up I will take the pictures and post them. There are no record breaking animals however there is a representative sample.

Meanwhile, this is all I have:



This is an aerial. The house is that T shaped object in the center of the picture just over the Citabria wheel cover. It sits on a little over a 5 acre plot on Table Rock Lake. In addition to the house there is another building hidden in the trees that is my loading room and general hangout.



This is the exterior. I call it a contemporary rustic style. One of my neighbors asked me if I was drunk when I designed it.



This is the only other photo I have on file. It is the reading area in my bedroom. (wife says I snore too loud to be in her bedroom). Anyway it has good north light.

Thanks for asking and I will fill this in later.

I am looking forward to seeing more photos. What a nice place. At first I thought...Lake of the Ozarks? That's where I grew up but your water looks too clean to be from there.

Anytime a man says he has a seperate building for him to hang out in...you know he's done something right. Good for you.

Palmer's Hideout

Horton's Brass Trim

My first thought was also to use elephant hair bracelets, as their appearance is great and they are adjustable. With the brass trim you might employ the ele-hair bracelets and transition to the brass trim works to get over to the posts for a single brass screw mount or loop.
Another thought would be use just use the brass trim for the entire job. (all sorts of types here) It's very easy too work with and concentric twisting is quite doable using blade-type channellocks and/or a small vice with protective jaw inserts. The results are rather exotic looking and quite strong enough, considering your excellent bottom mounting arrangement. Good looks, no worries.

Thanks for the link to his hideout. I wasn't aware of that. I like it very much!

I, too, would consider making brass collars and attaching them to the supports with brass rods. Instead of concealing the top supports, make them a design feature

Thanks Nick and Bryan,

I am going to order some of that and see what it looks like. It seems just right.

Now for a couple baboons and some more ele hair - just in case.

Why not come down the tusk to where it is closer to the post and put on a brass, gold etc... band and secure it there. This will give it strength an forever remove the wires at the top. And also you might fill the nerve cavity with some sort of resin and run a bolt up through the wooden base into the cavity. Then you will have 2 forms of security.

Any Joy Allen?

Nick,

Making progress. I bought the Horton 6261A brass and some brass rods. I found a craftsman at our local theme park that just got laid off for the winter and he will be coming next week to get his measurements.

I can already tell that this is going to work and will post another picture when he gets it done.

Thanks for suggesting the source of the brass. I still might need a couple stuffed monkeys though - maybe this September that will get arranged.

Sounds as though you've found the right man for the project! Sometimes that's half the battle. I was reminded of your post the other day when I stumbled upon these:

Massai Dog Collars

More Massai Collars

American Made

I like this one - leather instead of metal touching the ivory



or



I'd still look at the chains to hold the collar - something like this:

Hmm - you fellas have a point there. I may have to order those collars and compare them.

Seems you'll never get done paying for those tusks, eh Allen?

Allen,

How about using something to hold them much lower - where they are closer to that side panel.

I think that might be less distracting too.

quote:

Originally posted by Saeed:
Allen,

How about using something to hold them much lower - where they are closer to that side panel.

Excellent suggestion Saeed - I will do that. Thanks

Allen,
It sounds like you may already have a plan, but I had good luck putting mine through a table.



You could take from this method and run a piece of wood across near the top of the passageway with holes custom fit for the top portions of the tusks to protrude through. Or mount a board on each side that each individual tusk can pass through.

I'm no woodworker but I just used solid foam to make a template of the irregular shape of each tusk at the diameter and angle I wanted it to pass through the wood and even tapered each hole like the tusk at that point. Then I copied that hole from the template into the wood, starting with a jig saw and ending with a die grinder.

It holds them very solidly. I don't know how much of a blackmarket there is for tusks but I would think if the tusks are tightly fitted in solid (tapered fit) mountings it will make them less attractive to thieves.

Hope that helps,
Kyler

Palmer

I really like the exterior look and design of your house- keep drinkin!

We have ours on wooden bases - some were made from old railroad sleepers.

Im stunned!

You guys have amazing trophy rooms. It gives me a lot of pleasure to watch your pictures. Thanks a lot.

By the way: -i would try to bolt down the tusks from the base to get a more clean look.

Happy new year from the far north!

odin