Let's talk wood grain.

[Castor River Calls]

In your experience does the wood grain affect the sound in your calls? I have visited with instrument makers who insist that it does.

[HookedonHooks]

I will tell ya the way wood is cut, (i.e. Flat sawn, Rift sawn, Quartersawn) effects the way the wood comes to complete dryness over time. Flat Sawn wood is the least defensible to age and drying, and it's also the most common. Quarter is the most defensible, and rift is a decent middle- positive ground.

I'll also tell ya I don't work wood, so I don't know much, but that's sorta what I've picked up.

[mossyhorn2]

I cut a lot of my own wood and I also make turkey calls. I haven't noticed grain changing the sound that much but there might be small differences in sound. I've noticed more differences from one tree to the next and at times from one board to the next. I'll also say I only make pot calls and box call makers will probably tell you grain is very important since the edge of the wood is responsible for the sound. 

[Castor River Calls]

Good point about the difference in pots vs box call importance.

[mastevt]

I make mostly pot calls.  I can honestly say, in building a call, everything effects the sound of the call.  That said, I think the one variable the effects it the most is hardness and density of the wood.  I believe the harder the wood, the more the sound waves inside are deflected back against the sound board to make it work.  The softer the wood, more of those sound waves are absorbed by the wood.  Like water into a sponge.  So if your building 2 calls out of 2 differant species of wood, each at the opposite ends of the Janka scale, with all variables and dimensions the same, the harder wood will have a much  higher pitch than the softer wood.

[larry9988]

Mr. Neil Cost certainly thought grain orientation was important and I followed his advice. I can't say that ever used wood with the wrong grain to compare to see if it made a difference, I just followed the advice of someone that said he had more than 5000 box calls. He used quarter sawn or rift sawn wood for the lids and he uses rift or flat sawn for the body of the call. He also stressed that finding the way the grain was running in both the lid and body was important. I talked with him and Tom Laska (Lonefeather) many times and they both were convinced that grain orientation was very important. Mr. Neil explained all of this in his first book Making Box Calls in the Gobblers Shop.

[KentuckyHeadhunter]

The grain can absolutely affect the final results. 

[culpeper]

As a box call builder....hands down grain affects the sound quality, tone, pitch, ability to roll-over, etc.  Not only does the orientation affect sound, but the spacing of the growth rings, also this is directly related to the grain, when the tree was cut, how it was dried and where on the tree the particular piece came from.  I believe most call makers, especially box call builders follow the path of Neil Cost and others like him....his knowledge was fundamental and very good advise.  The more you work with wood the more one will appreciate the influence each and every piece has on sound quality.