Not so great calls

[hotspur]

I know that Albert Paul of pauls calls said to put wooden calls on display so the air can get to them , he also said wooden calls should get better with age

[Spitten and drummen]

I know that albet Paul of pauls calls dead to put wooden calls on display so the air can get to them , he also dead wooden calls should get better with age

?? What?

[hotspur]

I know that albet Paul of pauls calls dead to put wooden calls on display so the air can get to them , he also dead wooden calls should get better with age

?? What?

fat fingers and blurry eyes

[perrytrails]

I know that Albert Paul of pauls calls said to put wooden calls on display so the air can get to them , he also said wooden calls should get better with age

Yep. He also said after season, take a dry paper towel and remove all the chalk from the paddle and sides as it will draw and collect moisture.

I'd say that definitely some pots dry out and change sound some what over time. Glue or resins could harden or get weakened overtime also changing sound.

I have noticed a difference in several calls over the years.

And, I've worked in a loud factory for over 30 years so that may be a huge contributor to sound changing for me

[dzsmith]

Wood calls will change with the weather as the wood can and will absorb moisture if not properly sealed. As wood ages it changes the sound of a few of my calls especially those made of a denser wood. Again it could be just my ear as the older I get my hearing has changed.

one of the best box calls I own is a purple heart over mahogany 2 sided box call. It was given to me by a friend and callmaker "he made the call"....the call was left in the woods next to the red river in north texas for 2 years...grant it , it was sealed very well but still...the call was found 2 years later in the leaves by the same tree. it had some dirt and debris in it but was not exposed to direct sunlight. After recovering the call it was stripped, cleaned, tuned, and refinished....it is the best sounding box call I own, and probably one of the best ive ever heard. How a call could have survived that ill never know but it is a killing machine.

[Yoder409]

Wood pot calls can, and some will, mature with age.  Some for the better.

Thats kind of what I was thinking. Really why I made this post. To get others thoughts on that. Thanks

I haven't made any, except for a couple of gifts, in a good many years.  But I used to make wood pot, slate-over-glass calls.  Turned my pots out of, mostly, 15-20 year air dried walnut.  The vast majority of them......... I could tell a few hours after the slate was glued, whether the call was gonna be good or great.........or suck.  About 1 in 20 sucked.  I'd put those ones in a box.  A month...........6 months........a year later.......almost EVERY one of them turned out to be somewhere between good and great.  Go figure.  And one.............took years.  But it ended up being very good. 

[Spitten and drummen]

Wood pot calls can, and some will, mature with age.  Some for the better.

Thats kind of what I was thinking. Really why I made this post. To get others thoughts on that. Thanks

I haven't made any, except for a couple of gifts, in a good many years.  But I used to make wood pot, slate-over-glass calls.  Turned my pots out of, mostly, 15-20 year air dried walnut.  The vast majority of them......... I could tell a few hours after the slate was glued, whether the call was gonna be good or great.........or suck.  About 1 in 20 sucked.  I'd put those ones in a box.  A month...........6 months........a year later.......almost EVERY one of them turned out to be somewhere between good and great.  Go figure.  And one.............took years.  But it ended up being very good.

Appreciate the feedback. It makes sense that some need longer than others to get completely dried. Thank you.

[M,Yingling]

 I  would say its glue curing more then any thing ,,, if the wood was drying out that much the sound board or playing surface is going to pop ,,one of them will give