I am having a hard time tuning my calls and I am not sure what to do or not to do at this point, so I was going to see if anyone here would be willing to help. The tone I am getting seems too high pitched and not the deep raspy notes I would like to get. Most of the calls I have made are Walnut over Poplar. I thought one sounded "pretty good" until I picked up my old Lynch box and realized I am a good ways off. I feel like my box dimensions are pretty in line with the standard, but I think the walls are what I struggle with. Thanks
Thicker walls make higher pitch thinner walls make lower pitch. You need to taper your walls from thick to thin. Thicker on the screw end thinner on the paddle handle end.
Quote from: Paulmyr on April 24, 2023, 10:42:57 AM
Thicker walls make higher pitch thinner walls make lower pitch. You need to taper your walls from thick to thin. Thicker on the screw end thinner on the paddle handle end.
Thanks a lot. I have read to shoot for 1/8" walls. Should that be my "thick" end or "thinner" end?
I assume if tapering the walls, the variance wouldn't be too drastic? Maybe 1/16"?
Should my walls be the same thickness all the way to the bottom of the call? I have heard that the majority of the sound comes from the top 1/3 of the walls. Not sure if this is true or not.
I will add that I am focusing on one piece boxes and I just make them for myself and if I can ever get one to turn out OK I would give some to friends, but I have no intention of making calls to sell commercially.
I'm no expert call maker just started making boxes last winter. I've only worked with catalpa, walnut and quaking Aspen. From what I can tell rail thickness would be dependent on the type of wood. The quaking Aspen has a much thinner rail front to back compared to the walnut and catalpa which taper down to around and 1/8". The Aspen is extremely soft and I think needs to be thinner to get the same type of vibration as the walnut/catalpa which are harder. I start mine at 1/4" along the whole rail and taper from there till I hopefully find what I'm looking for.
The weight/thickness of your paddle probably plays a role in rail thickness as well.