Tanning rattlesnake skin

[jsuth]

A friend just killed a massive rattlesnake that made it into their workshop. I offered to make a belt for them but have no idea how to prepare it.

it has been skinned and is currently drying flat. What do I need to do to prepare it for belt making? Tan it? How? Descale it? How? Seal it? With what? Anything else?

[bladegrinder]

There’s some recipes on the internet, one is a mix of glycerin and alcohol. Glycerin can be bought in any drugstore, I used this method a couple times and they came out nice. Another is antifreeze, DON’T use that, I did once and it ruined the skin. There’s also commercial tanning fluids you can buy. I think Tandy sells small bottles, it’s called Reptan.