# jaw installation HELP



## blowefosho (Jan 29, 2008)

Hey guys got my first coyote and was wanting to do my own rug mount on it. I got on van ***** to order the rug form and was going to buy the natrual jaws series with the open mouth form. Was wondering how hard itll be to install the jaw into the form without much taxidermy experience? Should i just pay the extra $15 and have them install it before they ship it out? Any input would be great!


----------



## speedimager (Nov 2, 2006)

It may be helpful for you to have Van ***** install the jawset. 
It will be a good guide if you want to try and install one at a later date.


----------



## mattynj (Jan 8, 2009)

It's not difficult at all.

-Cut either the lower jaw off or the top of the jaw. (if its a rugshell with wood bottom, you'll have to cut off the top of the form.

-next place the upper jawset on the form and trace the outline with a sharpie.

-repeat for lower jawset.

-dremel out a shallow depression for the jawsets to slip into.

-test fit the jawset.

-if needed, dremel away more of the form.

-I'm never afraid of removing too much foam because it's very easy to resculpt areas using apoxie sculpt. So dont go overboard on carving the form, but if you accidentally go too far...simply rebuild with apoxie sculpt.

-Once satisfied with the positioning, install the jawset with glue. I use Mohr Jaw Juice...but you could use epoxy or another glue of your choice.

-Glue the tongue to the bottom jaw.

-Reassemble the form. I usually use a couple small t-pins or thin wire to hold it in the correct place while epoxy sets up.

-The seam should fit back together nicely, without much gap at all. But a little sanding and critter clay to smooth the transition might be necessary.

*dry fitting is the most critical part. dont glue anything until you're happy with the position.

*I also mist the whole mouth set with a few coats of glossy sealer to give it a wet look. More heavy coats the further back in the mouth to give the look of saliva. but you can do that after you paint.

I'm also relatively new to taxidermy (2 years and working on my 11th project) and self-taught, so there may be other ways, but this has worked for me on two open mouth mounts. One was a red fox lifesize, the other a black bear rug.

If you're uncomfortable, let VanDykes install it, but no harm in trying it yourself. Doubtful you could mess it up...it really is pretty simple.

Good luck.


----------

