| ABOUT BONE BUILDING |
Skeleton articulation, or bone building as I call it, is the process of converting a
dead animal into a skeleton and then assembling that skeleton into a, hopefully,
anatomically correct posture. The process consists of converting the whole
animal to clean bones which can be done using many different methods, ranging
from letting the carcass rot above ground to soaking the bones in nasty
chemicals. Each method has its advantages, disadvantages, and proponents
who will strongly favor one method over another. For school use, some methods
work much better than others.
After the flesh is removed, the bones often need to be further prepared by
degreasing and bleaching. This gives the bones a long term, clean, white look as
opposed to being, greasy, and dirty looking as some prepared skeletons look
after a bit of time.
Then the bones are assembled--or articulated. This process is much like
assembling a full-scale model with bones being fastened to other bones by
various means including glues, pins, wires and steel rods. Usually the skeletons
are solidly fastened together but options can include skeletons that are made to
bend at the joints or skeletons that come apart so they can go back into a box
after assembly.
The methods of cleaning and articulation can vary greatly depending on the size,
maturity, and species of the animal, the end result desired, and the purpose of
the project. Is this going to be a classroom project good for a grade or a museum
quality mount good for 100 years? The difference being how much care gets put
into preparing the skeleton and how securely the bones are fastened together.
dead animal into a skeleton and then assembling that skeleton into a, hopefully,
anatomically correct posture. The process consists of converting the whole
animal to clean bones which can be done using many different methods, ranging
from letting the carcass rot above ground to soaking the bones in nasty
chemicals. Each method has its advantages, disadvantages, and proponents
who will strongly favor one method over another. For school use, some methods
work much better than others.
After the flesh is removed, the bones often need to be further prepared by
degreasing and bleaching. This gives the bones a long term, clean, white look as
opposed to being, greasy, and dirty looking as some prepared skeletons look
after a bit of time.
Then the bones are assembled--or articulated. This process is much like
assembling a full-scale model with bones being fastened to other bones by
various means including glues, pins, wires and steel rods. Usually the skeletons
are solidly fastened together but options can include skeletons that are made to
bend at the joints or skeletons that come apart so they can go back into a box
after assembly.
The methods of cleaning and articulation can vary greatly depending on the size,
maturity, and species of the animal, the end result desired, and the purpose of
the project. Is this going to be a classroom project good for a grade or a museum
quality mount good for 100 years? The difference being how much care gets put
into preparing the skeleton and how securely the bones are fastened together.
| URL: http://www.theboneman.com Boneman Last Update: September 1, 2009 copyright 2005 by Lee Post illustrations by Lee post |
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| ABOUT BONE BUILDING |
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