OldGobbler

OG Gear Store
Sum Toy
Dave Smith
Wood Haven
North Mountain Gear
North Mountain Gear
turkeys for tomorrow

News:

only use regular PayPal to provide purchase protection

Main Menu

how to get started in making calls??

Started by luked, April 26, 2013, 12:40:40 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

luked

this is something that has always interested me. how or what is the best way to get started in making calls

lightsoutcalls

Do some searches on this forum about callmaking.  There should be lots of good threads about pot calls, box calls, etc.  When you get to the point that you have some general ideas about the how-to's and equipment needed, feel free to ask more specific questions.

Lots of folks here should be glad to help with information.  It's just a good idea to do some of the groundwork by doing some searches to get some basic ideas about the desired information.

Be forewarned, callmaking is addictive and you can tie up lots of time and money in the process.
Lights Out custom calls - what they're dying to hear!


outdoors

 :agreed: IM IN THE PROCESS IN DOING THIS . WHERE IS THE BEST PLACE , PRICES TOO GET PLAYING AND SOUND BOARDS . 
I GOT SOME WOOD , GOOD AND CHEEP , CHEEP TO PRACTICE ON , GOOD WOOD BECAUSE THE PRICES ARE ON THE RISE .  THANKS
IM SHURE THERES MORE QUESTION
BEST GLUE TO USE
BEST POLYURETHANE TO USE
BEST SOUNDING WOOD
CUT THE WOOD TOO SIZE BEFORE CUTTING  3 1/2 , 3 1/4 , 3 , 2 2/5
?????????
LAST AND THE MOST KEPT SECRET , THE INSIDE MEASUREMENT .... AT LEAST A STARTING POINT  :gobble:
Sun Shine State { Osceola }
http://m.myfwc.com/media/4132227/turkeyhuntnoquota.jpg

noisy box call that seems to sound like a flock of juvenile hens pecking their way through a wheat field

lightsoutcalls

I buy all of my glass from Stumpy here on OG.
I buy my slate from Penn Big Bed Slate.
I buy my aluminum from Grassy Creek. 

Google Penn Big Bed and Grassy Creek for email and websites.

I use only Goop plumbers glue for my soundboards and surfaces.  Any gluing up of wood to wood I use Titebond III. Polyeurethane glues have a foam buildup on the glue joints that requires cleanup, and it's just messier to use. 

You can search here on OG for people's favorite wood for calls.  Walnut and cherry have long been standards for pot calls and will make good sounding calls. 

Pot call sizes and dimensions are generally determined by the size of the call surface used.  You can pretty much figure adding 1/2"-3/4" to the size of your surface to get your rough blank size.  I generally cut my blanks to rough size on a power miter saw, then cut to round on a bandsaw before mounting them on the lathe. 

I use a piece of the surface material for the specific call I'm turning to mark the top side of my blank while mounted on the lathe.  The only measuring device I use to turn the inside of my pots is my parting tool (lathe tool I use to remove the waste wood from the inside of the pot and shape the internals) and a doubled piece of soundboard material as a gauge to determine the height of my pedestal.  To make your pedestal gauge, take 2 pieces of your soundboard material and glue them together face to face with super glue. To use this gauge, you place it on your pedestal when you think you are close to the right height and slide it towards one outside edge of the inside of the pot.  As a general rule of thumb, your pedestal height should be about 2 soundboard thicknesses shorter than the ledge that holds your surface material.

Again, do some google searches and searches here on OG to get more basic ideas.

I had never used a lathe before trying to turn calls.  I learned from trial and error and God's help.  I probably went through about 120 pot blanks before I hit on the combination that I liked the sound and feel of.  Figure that at around $2 per pot blank and about 1-2 hours per pot in the early days. 

Write down your measurements and any changes you make as you go.  Write your observations about the sound of the call.  Make mental note of how your tools react to different woods.  Learning from your own experiences will be much more valuable than just reading step by step instructions.  Doing this will help you learn what small changes can make in the sound of your calls.  It will also help you learn what changes you can make to achieve a bit different sound.  It's amazing the change that adding or removing 1/16" thickness from a single dimension of a call pot can make in the sound.
Lights Out custom calls - what they're dying to hear!


Scpossum


DirtNapCalls

I started out with a drill press with hole saws to cut blank. Then I use a router to clean out the inside. It has worked for me and saved me from dropping $600-700 for a lathe. This site also has lots of good information and surprised how willing people here will share there info.