So I was going through my pot call collection, and I found three pots that have cracked while sitting in my display cabinet! One has a crack in the side of the pot, but the crystal hasn't broke. However, you can see the glue has been fatigued under the crystal. Second, the bronzed glass surface cracked from one side to the other, and the pot looks like it may have warped. The third cracked the glass and completely down both sides of the pot to the bottom.
Anyone else have this happen?
The air is dry in my house and always kept in the 68-72 degree range. It is heated primarily with a pellet stove that is two rooms away from the cabinet (good 40 feet away). None of the three have ever been hunted either. They went from the mailbox to played inside the house and in the cabinet.
I feel for ya.. Some woods move around a lot from what I learned talking with Lon Trice. What type of woods are they?
I left my vestvin my garage and forgot about it up into late summer. Unloaded the vest and had two cracked bad.
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Cherry, Santos Rosewood, and Redheart. All solid wood pots.
A well known box and trumpet call builder told me he uses a moisture meter on the wood and absolutely will not use it until it is sufficiently dry. Not sure if the same applies to pots but there may be something to it.
Had a crystal crack do it the maple pot warping once. The call maker sent me a new one.
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Quote from: EZ on February 15, 2018, 12:56:04 PM
A well known box and trumpet call builder told me he uses a moisture meter on the wood and absolutely will not use it until it is sufficiently dry. Not sure if the same applies to pots but there may be something to it.
6% is what we shoot for. Anything substantially above that will cause the pot to warp as it dries out.
I've had it happen with a bronzed glass in a redheart pot. It was played twice, went into a beer koozie, and put away in a plastic shelved storage bin with silica packets in the drawer it was in for moisture. No other calls were on top of it. Went to do my usual pull a few out and run them and it was split right down the middle. This was in less then a month after I received it. The maker is a jam-up guy and I sent it back and he replaced it and his explanation is what others have said already. If that wood moved the slightest and it has a crystal or glass surface, it will cause the surface to crack.
That sucks, another reason to like metallic calls. I haven't had any bad luck with any of mine yet thankfully. I bet most of the makers I deal with would make it right though. They are a good bunch of guys
So most likely it is a moisture content issue from the sounds.
I have cracked glass/crystal before (my error), and the maker fixed them. I know they will fix these too.
I was just curious if people have experienced this particular instance is all.
Yes sir!!! It's been a tough winter for calls... I myself had five crack too. Two were aluminum, one was bronzed glass, and the other two were glass.
What do you do if you the call cracks years later and never left your house? Contact the maker still?
Quote from: nsselle on February 15, 2018, 02:18:14 PM
What do you do if you the call cracks years later and never left your house? Contact the maker still?
Probably out of luck Nick. You should probably just send me all of your trumpets for safe keeping down here in sunny Florida. Just sayin....
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Quote from: nsselle on February 15, 2018, 02:18:14 PM
What do you do if you the call cracks years later and never left your house? Contact the maker still?
I would still reach out to them, the worst they are going to say is sorry I cant help you.
At that point I would attempt a repair myself if the pot didn't crack or warp.
This is caused by one of two things.
Wood was a moisture conten higher than 12%
Or
Too much heat generated turning or sanding.
You did nothing wrong. I will be the first to admit I have had this happen to several of my calls. I take pride in my work and I will always stand by it regardless of how much time has passed. When this happens, the pot can't be fixed, it warped. It should be replaced with a new call. A call maker should never be offended if told about this. No matter the call maker, it can happen and they should honor your purchase.
Hope this helps
John
Thanks for that information Mr. Sinclair.