Suggestion for this forum....

[Footballer]

If possible, it would be nice to have some topics permanently posted at the top of this forum. This will be especially helpful for new call makers.

Suggestions for permanent topics for pot-style calls:

1. Favorite wood combinations with surfaces
2. Favorite wood for strikers on surfaces
3. An overall wood tutorial (ex: this type of wood is higher frequency and better used as a locator call, this type of wood is better for soft calling, etc.)

I think this would save a lot of time and money for new callers so they don't have to experiment with a zillion different types of wood to find the sound they are looking for. Also, its helpful for people  looking to buy a calls who may not know which striker sounds best on what surface, etc.

Just a suggestion!

[MarkJM]

You'll get a different sound out of every wood you use and every surface you use. Strikers are the same. Just have to eperiment with different woods. It takes time to get that perfect call.

[stone road turkey calls]

this is the greatest bunch of guys on this site, they will answer most any question you may have, and help you as best they can. trial an error is part of the fun of making calls. don't search for an answer just ask.

[Old Gobbler]

Thank you for the helpful suggestions -This got me thinking ,  I was thinking of providing for you guys in this area is a Call making FAQ post - I did it with the shotguns , and before with technical help and they have proved to be popular 

If any of you guys have any good detailed tutorials with instructions and pictures -on how to make various styles of turkey calls and your willing to share - I will make a post with links to it ,and shoot me a pm so I know where to find it  - never know it might get some prospective customers interested into your work


Let me know if your game  --Shannon

[Footballer]

I think that would be really helpful. It would be much easier than searching the entire forum! Plus, it would eliminate people asking the same question over and over. I would love a tutorial regarding different woods and the sounds they make.

[lightsoutcalls]

/quote]


First, I think your idea about some general posts being stickied is a good one.

That said, there are so many variables in making a call (be it a pot call or box call or trumpet) that you really can't make sweeping generalizations about wood types.  For example, I may turn a walnut pot call with my design, but the next guy might turn a walnut call with his design and get a completely different sound from the same wood.
All dimensions of a call being the same, the harder the wood generally translates to a higher pitch and more constricted tone. 
As mentioned before, there are just too may variables to tell a guy that one particular wood is going to sound a certain way when the person advising can not control the other variables.  I hope this doesn't come across as a copout or an effort to not share information.  This is why callmakers often advise others to learn from experimentation.  When you take the time, money and effort to use a variety of woods and develop your own pot design (inside and out) you develop a much better appreciation for the tonal qualities of woods.  You develop a better understanding of how all of the other variables effect the sound of the call in the design that you build.  Guidelines are good, but experience is the best teacher. 
If you are looking for a starting place, walnut and cherry have long been industry standards for making pot calls.  They make a good starting place and are woods that are widely available at a decent price.  Even with walnut and cherry, though, you will find a variety of densities and grain structure that will effect the sound of the call. 

[Footballer]

/quote]


First, I think your idea about some general posts being stickied is a good one.

That said, there are so many variables in making a call (be it a pot call or box call or trumpet) that you really can't make sweeping generalizations about wood types.  For example, I may turn a walnut pot call with my design, but the next guy might turn a walnut call with his design and get a completely different sound from the same wood.
All dimensions of a call being the same, the harder the wood generally translates to a higher pitch and more constricted tone. 
As mentioned before, there are just too may variables to tell a guy that one particular wood is going to sound a certain way when the person advising can not control the other variables.  I hope this doesn't come across as a copout or an effort to not share information.  This is why callmakers often advise others to learn from experimentation.  When you take the time, money and effort to use a variety of woods and develop your own pot design (inside and out) you develop a much better appreciation for the tonal qualities of woods.  You develop a better understanding of how all of the other variables effect the sound of the call in the design that you build.  Guidelines are good, but experience is the best teacher. 
If you are looking for a starting place, walnut and cherry have long been industry standards for making pot calls.  They make a good starting place and are woods that are widely available at a decent price.  Even with walnut and cherry, though, you will find a variety of densities and grain structure that will effect the sound of the call. 

I see your point and I think this would make a great disclaimer for such a topic. However, I feel there can be some generalizations that can be made about certain wood that would at least point people in the right direction. I think it would be helpful if the established call makers listed their favorite woods for each surface. There is no doubt there would be some discrepancy, but it would at least be a good starting point for a new call maker.

There must be some generalizations that can be made about certain wood. Lightsout- I noticed you use more exotic woods for your aluminum calls, is this b/c you get more volume, rasp, etc.? How can one increase the volume, rasp, etc. with their calls?

Also, going off what you said about walnut and cherry, why would a variety of densities and grain structure result in different sounds?

Even if the tutorial is relatively broad, I think it would be helpful to have an "All about wood" forum where people can ask questions about wood. Over time, I think such a forum would grow into a very helpful resource. Just my thoughts!

[Footballer]

Thank you for the helpful suggestions -This got me thinking ,  I was thinking of providing for you guys in this area is a Call making FAQ post - I did it with the shotguns , and before with technical help and they have proved to be popular 

If any of you guys have any good detailed tutorials with instructions and pictures -on how to make various styles of turkey calls and your willing to share - I will make a post with links to it ,and shoot me a pm so I know where to find it  - never know it might get some prospective customers interested into your work


Let me know if your game  --Shannon

I think a FAQ section is a great idea. This type of info isn't readily available on any site without having to perform searches.

[WillowRidgeCalls]

Also, going off what you said about walnut and cherry, why would a variety of densities and grain structure result in different sounds?


Lets see if I can explain this easy?
If you took a piece of glass and put a drop of water on it, and tilted it, the water would just run off it in a nice straight line. But if there was a crack in it the water would get to that crack and follow it. Sound does the same thing in woods. It vibrates through the pores until it gets to a change in the grain, then it follows the grain. So a call that has straight grain won't sound the same as a call that has a figured grain, because the sound doesn't travel through the wood the same, and why dence woods are useally higher pitched then a softer wood. The tighter the grain, the less the sound vibrates as it goes through the wood. It has nothing to do with the design of the call, it's all in the grain of the wood. A tight grain dence wood will have a more raspy sound to it, because as the sound vibrates though the wood it vibrates all of the wood, so if there is a lot of room for it to vibrate in the grain it shakes the wood less and gives you a less raspy sound to it, the rasp is the sound of the wood vibrating. With a softer less dence wood, the vibrations are eaten up in the wood before they can vibrate the wood.
Hope that helps a little?

[lightsoutcalls]

It has nothing to do with the design of the call, it's all in the grain of the wood.

Please don't think I'm just trying to argue, but I have to disagree with this statement.  A fellow recently brought a call to me made by someone not on this forum.  The pot sounded horrible and would not even produce a decent purr or cluck.  The pot was made of maple that did not have colored spalting, but was obviously cut after the tree had been dead for some time.  The pot had a bottom thickness that was very thin.  The pedestal was too shallow.  The soundboard was made of slate.  The sides of the call were too thin.  The sound holes were too large and too many.  All of these observations could be made by looking at the call and through the soundholes.  I feel quite sure that I could have made a better sounding call from the same block of wood.  The differences would have been in the design elements mentioned.  That said, the design of the call has much to do with the sound of the call.

My apologies if I just completely missed the point of your response.