Call making

[MarkJM]

Hey guys, I see some calls with wood burned lines in them the whole way around. How do you go about doing this? do you just touch it lightly with a wood burner while its turning? anyinfo would be appriciated!

[Cut*N*Run]

I mark with a parting tool where I want the lines and then take a long strip of wire and lay it across where the marks are and let it burn in. The trick is keeping the amount of burn consistent with the lines so that they are all the same width and depth. Watch that wire too- it can heat up fast.

[TurkeyPotpie]

Yes, it is done on the lathe at a good speed.

They are sometimes called rookie rings by some call builders.

I always thought that the wire was heated first but a maker told me its the friction that does the burning and the wire heats up quick!

the lines really add a nice touch sometimes.

I like them.

[MarkJM]

thanks guys i appriciate it

[Gobblerstopper]

Piano wire works great.  Do not wrap the wire around your fingers.  It's a good way to get hurt.  You can wrap both ends of the wire around a short piece of dowel and hold the dowel.

[handcannon]

I use steel fishing leaders that you can pick up at any sporting goods dealer. They are pre made with eyes on both ends. Different thicknesses for different size burns. If they are plastic coated, strip it off with a pocket knife. Either make you some wooden handles with some eye hooks to hold onto the wire or just do like me and run two screwdrivers through the loops and put it into the groove you cut. Wont take too long and it will start heating and burning. Make sure after you do all your final sanding that you run the wire back into the groove once again to clean out any sawdust from the burn groove before applying your finish coat.

[M,Yingling]

Piano wire works great.  Do not wrap the wire around your fingers.  It's a good way to get hurt.  You can wrap both ends of the wire around a short piece of dowel and hold the dowel.

[misfire]

I use guitar strings. Since I have three guitars, there is never a shortage of wire. Just crank up the speed on the lather, then let the string do its job. I too use a parting tool to start the wire, then I tie the string to 2 wooden handles and pull the wire into the v-cut

[smurf]

If you are lucky to have a friend like Pappy to turn you on to ivory.  He gave me a small piece for burning in and it never gets hot.

[lightsoutcalls]

I use the tip of a skew gouge to score the wood where I want to burn lines.  I then use 2 different guitar strings to burn 2 different sized lines. 

[bornagain64]

You can use the back of sand paper to get some burn lines.
They are not really lines more like shades or tones of burn. You just fold the sandpaper the thickness of the burn and wrap it around the wood, with the lathe running.
You have to be careful because it does smolder and you can start a fire or burn yourself.