First Slate

[jscrapmetal]

Just put together my first slate over glass and need some help. It seems that the call is mono tone if that makes sense it has no roll over. What should I try next. Pot is a precut bubinga from brookside just trying this out before I get to deep into this. Thanks for the help.

[TRKYHTR]

What did you use to glue in the soundboard and surface?

[jscrapmetal]

Plumbers goop.

[stone road turkey calls]

There is a 99.9% chance there's nothing wrong with the slate or the sound board, so lets ask some questions.

Did you install a sound board?
When you glued the slate and sound board, did you glue all the way around the pedestal and ledge?
Did you weight down the sound board and slate when glued? the glue will move or rise if not held in place while drying.
Did you make sure no glue from the surface ledge was touching the sound board? this will kill a call, ( like touching a ringing bell ) i like to take a toothpick and go around the surface ledge and sound board to clear any possible connection, then set the slate.
Did you check for the correct clearance between the slate and sound board?
When you purchase a pre made call kit you should check the pot to see if it is square, ( the slate when laid in place does not rock on the ledge ) or has any cracks, these could be cut green and warp as they dry. also they are unfinished wood, dry and humid days will affect them as they sit waiting to be sold.

Gary

[lightsoutcalls]

Gary made some good point there.

Something I do before I put my soundboard and surface in a call is true up the pedestal for the soundboard and the shelf for the surface.  I turn a round sounding block from "junk" wood that I wouldn't use for a call pot.  I turn one block small enough to fit inside the diameter of the surface shelf so I can sand the pedestal.  The other block I turn large enough to sand the surface shelf, but leave maybe 1/16" play, as some surface material may be a hair larger or smaller than other material.  I generally true these surfaces up on the lathe, but it can also be done off the lathe.  Holding the pot in one hand and the sanding block in the other, I twist them in opposite directions several times, being sure that I am getting at least 180 degrees rotation.  This will true up the gluing surfaces if they are a bit out of square. 

I hope the explanation makes sense.

I have learned one other trick learned over the past year (after making calls for about 9 years).  I glue my soundboard in and give it about a 1/4 twist each direction to get the glue even (have always done that).  Osage orange is the only wood that I have consistently experienced the sound board material "lifting" with air bubbles.  On osage, I weigh the soundboard down for about 30 minutes before pulling the weight and gluing in the surface.  Now to my most recent finding...
I run each call immediately after gluing in the surface.  Rotate the surface material after gluing by pressing down with your thumbs on opposite sides of the call surface and shifting them in opposite directions.  I find that after a couple of short twists (maybe 1/4" each direction) the glue will seat and the surface will be much harder to rotate.  Run the call with the intended striker at this point.  If you don't get a roll over or have a "dead" sound, immediately remove the surface.  Leaving the previously applied glue on the bottom of the surface and the shelf, apply another bead of glue on the shelf, just like you did the first time.  Put the surface back in and follow the same steps of seating the surface, then run the call again.  I find this takes care of the breakover and dead sound issue most of the time.
  As recently as a couple of years ago, those "dead" calls would have been launched across the room in frustration.  I still occasionally find a piece of a call pot laying here and there when I move wood or equipment to clean. 

[WillowRidgeCalls]

Those pre-cut pots are a rough cut pot, that takes a lot more than just hand sanding(smoothing) to get them to sound decent, most need to be thined down quite a bit. Down to about an 1/8" thick, instead of a 1/4" thick. If you didn't file any groves in the pedestal and left it a full circle to glue too, it will give your call a flat soft sounding call with very little charactor in the sound, because your soundboard is glued down to tight, you won't get much of a change in tone on the roll over. If your call has a high pitch with very little break over, then your soundboard may be to high, if it has a deep tone hollow sound than it may be too low?
Some times you just get a bad piece of slate that won't play right no matter what you do to it, try sanding it with a 100 grit paper to see if thining the slate will help?
If your playing it with a heavy topped striker, that will kill the sound of it also, you won't get much break over out of it.

[jscrapmetal]

Thanks for all the help guys I appreciate it a lot. I have done almost everything y'all have mentioned except for cutting grooves in the pedestal I left it as it was. The call is not far off it has a great cluck and purr but not good enough for me.