Wood Grain on a Box Call

[SinGin]

At the end of a box call where the screw is attached, is it better to have the grain running left to right, or is it better to have it running top to bottom?

[Spring Creek Calls]

You'll want the grain running left to right on the end of the call.

[WillowRidgeCalls]

Left and Right, as flat as you can find, and tight grained makes the best sounding calls.

[SinGin]

Well great, another one for the burn pile. Thanks guys I really appreciate the info

[TRKYHTR]

Left to right on the box. Top to bottom on the lid.

TRKYHTR

[SinGin]

Already tried the left to right on the box and this one sounds better, now I'll try the top to bottom for the lids. Thanks again. Sam

[culpeper]

Sam,

It can really be done either way, L to R or R to L, depends on which side you want the old hen and the young hen, or jenny.  For me I find it best if I have the grain running at a slight diagonal and if you think of a watch, I like it best if the grain is oriented at 10:00/4:00, but can be done and done well with less angle and with more angle.  For the lid, here again as Joe says top to bottom is really what they call 1/4 sawn wood and it can be vertical or it also works very well with a slight angle, say 65 to 75 degrees to the right or to the left.  This will depend on the grain angle in your box and how much against the grain friction you want for the old or young hen.

Keep experienting and trying different options and take notes so you can recall what worked and what didn't and why.  But always have fun!  We'll look forward to your posts.

[SinGin]

Well finished one up, left to right box and already had a top to bottom lid. The two together do sound alot better than what I have made in the past. With help from you all I might have finally figured the whole box call making thing out, or not. Thanks Sam

[WillowRidgeCalls]

Now before you shape your lids, run a cotton ball up n down the board on the bottom side. That will tell you which way the grain is running in that board and which end to put your screw on. Do the same on your box before you hewn it out, so you know which is the head end and which is the tail end. Your call will play so much easier if your playing grain Against grain, it will chuck and purr so much easier.

[SinGin]

So how do I decide which end to use for the box and paddle with the cotton ball?I have run a  cotton ball against it and noticed it grabs more going one direction, so where do I go from there? Thanks Sam

[WillowRidgeCalls]

As you run the cotton ball one way it will grab a lot more than the other way. That tells you which way the grain is running through that piece of wood, it will grab a lot more going against the grain. I usally put the screw on the smooth direction end of the wood, so when you close that lid it's fighting against the grain. On the box wood it's opposite, you run the grain forward on the box, meaning the tail end of the call is the smooth direction.
Lid...
A ---> B..When you run a cotton ball down the wood from A to B, it's smooth, when you run it from B to A it grabs, so your screw end is A.
Box
It's the opposite, B would be the screw end of the box.

If your running grain against grain, your call will play so much easier and you'll get a nice chatter in your purrs instead of a squeelly whine.

[SinGin]

That makes perfect sense now. Thanks for clearing that up for me. Sam