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Communities at Work: Tanning animal hides May 23, 2009
Tanning animal hides is a constant juggling act. From cleaning to drying to salting to many other steps, the tanning process keeps Crazy 3 Tannery owners Greg Zimmerman and Carrie Sweetser busy throughout the day. Zimmerman, who spent years as a carpenter, built all the machines he uses on a daily basis himself, and it's something he takes pride in. That pride carries over into his tanning work at Crazy 3, at 1480 Yampa Ave. The pair works around the clock to turn out a product that Sweetser said she would have in her home.
Greg Zimmerman walks through a room in which hides and pelts are hung to dry. It takes at least 10 days to tan a hide or pelt.
Zimmerman cleans a hide Wednesday using a machine he calls "The Slimer" at Crazy 3 Tannery. Zimmerman built "The Slimer" himself, as well as everything other machine in the tannery. "Everything was built by hand and is done by hand," he said.
Carrie Sweetser shaves an elk hide at Crazy 3 Tannery. The hide must be shaved or thinned because it can be no more than 1/8 of an inch thick for the tan to be absorbed into the hide.
Pelts are hung above vats containing a pickling agent they are soaked in. The pelts later are dripped and then tanned.
