Strikers-looking for a helpful hint

[4nolz2]

is there an easy way to round off striker tips? some way to chuck something into a drill press or something?

how do you shape your striker tips when doing more than one at a time?

[pappy]

This is a great question, I work the tip of my strikers on the belt sander, holding them at the angle I want the best contact point to be on the pot call. Tackem makes a great point, hand sanding it till you get the sound or proper friction for your pot is a great way to come up with the perfect striker for that pot, this is why you see companies sell their strikers with more of a squared off tip, allowing the customer to sand on it to where it works best for them. If you are making two piece strikers, you could chuck up the shaft in your drill press, and run like 80 grit to round off the tip, then finish it up with 100 grit by hand. To be honest, a perfectly rounded straight or mushroomed tip is gonna be hard to get because you are doing your work by hand, but take the time to test it on the pot.

[4nolz2]

thanks I currently do it by hand by working it on a heavy grit stationary sanding belt then final shape with a coarse sanding sponge.I was just hoping for a shortcut but shoulda known nothing good is easy!

[misfire]

I round mine over on a disc sander, then burnish the tips on glass

[erictski]

I round mine over on a disc sander, then burnish the tips on glass

is it comon practice for most to burnish the tips of the strikers?

Or do most makers leave them rough from the sanding.

[West Augusta]

I use a coarse file then dress it up with sandpaper.

[lightsoutcalls]

I turn the basic shape with a skew gouge on the lathe (strikers turned between centers) just before parting the striker from the waste stock. I use 120 grit sandpaper to finish shape the striker tip.  This generally takes no more than 10-15 short strokes from the center of the striker tip outwards. 

[tackett77]

I rough out the shape on the lathe, then I put a piece of 120 grit in my palm and turn the tip of the striker into the paper.  Your palm conforms to the rough shape of the dowel and lets you evenly sand it as you twist it. Then I use the disc sander if needed.  Only made a dozen or so strikers but it seems to work out.

[misfire]

I round mine over on a disc sander, then burnish the tips on glass

is it comon practice for most to burnish the tips of the strikers?

Or do most makers leave them rough from the sanding.

Not sure if it is common or not. For a long time I just sanded and left alone. Then I tried burnishing a few years back and now thats all I do

[ttcustomcalls]

I actually shape the entire tip of my strikers on the lathe. I turn my strikers with a 4 jaw chuck and a center and when it comes time to finish the last thing i do is part the end at the right length then push the center away and sand the mushroom tip in the lathe so i get a perfect tip and it's really quick. Afterwards i part the other end of the striker and test on a call then adjust the radius of the flare to get the sound I like.