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How to Make and Use a Tanning Rack in Stranded Deep

Stranded Deep Tanning Rack
Image Credit: Keith Kay

If you’ve been playing Stranded Deep, you may be wondering what you can do with all of the Rawhides that you have collected. As it turns out, if you make a Tanning Rack you can use it to turn your Rawhides into Leather materials, which can be used to craft better tools. Having tools and weapons is going to be key to surviving the island, so we will show you exactly what to do.

Stranded Deep Tanning Rack

How to Make a Tanning Rack

To make a Tanning Rack in Stranded Deep, you’ll need the following materials:

  • (x2) Lashings
  • (x2) Sticks

Once you have these two items in your inventory, navigate to your crafting menu, and scroll down to the bottom of the list. You should see the option to build a Tanning Rack. 

From there, you can place the rack wherever you’d like on your island and will be able to turn Rawhide into Leather.

How to Get Lashings

If you need extra Lashings, you’ll need to find a Yucca Tree or Palm Sapling around the island and hit it with a tool. Doing so will drop Fibrous Leaves. 

Four Fibrous Leaves can be combined in the crafting menu to make a Lashing.

Lashings can also be found by exploring shipwrecks, survivor remains, and other containers.

How to Get Sticks

Wood sticks can be found lying around the island.

Expert Tip: Wood sticks will not respawn once you’ve collected and made use of them. Travel to a nearby island to gain more wood sticks if you’re running low on the basic resource.

If you can’t find any lying on the ground, you can also get sticks by using a cutting tool to chop up wood logs, using an axe to cut down Ficus Trees and Pine Saplings, or using an axe to chop up Driftwood.

How to Use a Tanning Rack

To use a Tanning Rack in Stranded Deep, you’ll need to be standing in close proximity to the rack and have some Leather in your hand. 

Then, open up your crafting menu, go to tools, and you’ll see the option to craft a piece of leather.

If you’re having issues with the Tanning Rack not working, it’s important to note that you don’t actually interact with it, meaning you’re not going into any kind of menu from the rack. 

Simply stand close to it, and you’ll be able to use it. You’ll notice that if you’re too far away, the Tanning Rack won’t work because it isn’t highlighted in your crafting menu when you try to craft Leather.

How to Get More Rawhides

Stranded Deep Tanning Rack

If you need more Rawhides, you can get them by skinning animals with a Refined Knife. For example, if you kill a shark, you’ll get 3-4 Rawhides, but if you kill a smaller animal you may only get 1-2. 

You’ll want to turn your Rawhides into Leather so that you can craft better items like a Speargun, Refined Spear, and Refined Axe. With these new tools, surviving on the island will be a little bit easier.

Expert Tip: The Great White Shark and the Hog are two animals that will produce the most Rawhides. Other animals will provide lesser amounts upon skinning.

Remember to use a Refined Knife to skin an animal. You only need a few materials to craft the tool. You will need to gather the following items:

  • (x1) Stick
  • (1x) Lashing
  • (1x) Stone Tool

In addition to harvesting Rawhide, skinning animals can also provide you with meat for your cooking necessities.

FAQ:

What’s the Easiest Way to Collect Leather?

Aside from assembling the Tanning Rack, players can also collect Leather on the islands by looking through survivor remains and shipwrecks.

What Happens If the Tanning Rack Does Not Work?

If the Tanning Rack is not working, it’s likely because you are not close enough to it. If it’s still not working, you can try to build a new one and place it in a different spot or reboot the game. 

Can I Move the Tanning Rack?

Once the Tanning Rack has been crafted and established, it cannot be moved. You’ll instead have to deconstruct it, much like with the other crafting stations.

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Written by Andrew Smith