Call makers, how many?

[ferocious calls]

How many calls do you make at a time?
Many say one at a time.
Being a production oriented craftsman I find it difficult to just make one at a time when needing a bunch of the same. How do you work them?

[MarkJM]

I make one at a time. If I have orders for the same style of pot I make them in a line and tell each customer how long it is going to be. I dont like to make in bulk. Takes the name out of "Custom" calls IMO if you make them in bulk.

[ferocious calls]

If a bunch of calls are made for a show/sale, even if made one at a time but, not for a specific individual, they are not considered custom?

Looked up the definition of custom: made for an individual 
So technically if calls are made even one at a time but, not for a specific person, the definition says not custom. Custom seems to be a loaded word.
The custom part of my calls I guess is the artwork and personalization, cause I'll be darned if I can see myself only making one at a time when making in batches is so much more productive. IMO and shop.

I guess some makers make 100 calls a year and some 1,000+. Different strokes for different folks makes for good discussion.

[lightsoutcalls]

   Every call that goes out of my shop came IN the door in the form of a board.  I plane every board. I mark every call with a template for the outside diameter and soundhole pattern. I drill every pilot hole, cut every blank out on the bandsaw, mount every blank on my lathe, turn every call on my lathe without the use of patterns or duplicating devices, sand every pot, drill out every sound hole, sign every pot, apply finish to every pot, assemble every pot, sound test every pot, package every pot and drop every package off at the post office myself.
   Right now, every call that I am turning is for an order placed.  I don't have time right now to even turn any to put on ebay.  Some are going to individuals and are personalized with the individual's name, some have turkey tracks printed on at their request, some have nicknames or birthdates, Bible verses or personal sayings.  Others are for orders going to be sold through Midwest Turkey Call Supply (sold over 80 calls to them so far this spring).  Regardless of whose name is on the package when it goes out, every process from opening a cardboard wrapped bundle of lumber or package of slate to wrapping the call/s and addressing the package was done by me.  The quality of every call I make is such that I would hunt with it myself, or it doesn't go out the door.  Customers, whether they buy direct from me or through Midwest can be assured that I will back the calls I sell - satisfaction guaranteed. 
    That said, I turned 12 pots Tuesday evening, finished the calls and turned strikers for them on Wednesday evening for Midwest. Every call in the box that went to the post office on Thursday morning was custom made by me.   I have about 14 pot blanks on my bench right now that will be turned tomorrow for individual orders and will be shipped by Tuesday.  Some of those will have "custom made for _____ _____", 2 will have names and a row of turkey tracks around the side of the pot...  Each of those calls will be turned the same way and with the same care as the ones I will turn the following week for Midwest again. 
     You have to decide whether you are going to make 10 calls a year, 100 calls a year or 1,000 calls a year.  Unless you set the number yourself (I won't make over 50 calls a year - for example) much of that will be decided by demand and the amount of time you have to devote to making calls.  As demand increases, you have to decide why you are building calls.  If you are building them solely because you enjoy turning calls, you likely won't find yourself making as many calls as the person that is willing to admit they are making calls to help pay the bills.  I love the relationships made through building a call for an individual, but I also recognize that God has given me skills and talents that allow me to make money to help provide for my family as well as pay for hunting related items that I otherwise would not be able to afford. 
     After 8 years and over 2,000 pot calls, I still peform every process involved in each call, just as I did 8 years ago when I started.  I can turn a call and a striker much quicker now than I could then.  I get many more orders now than I did then.  My dedication to making the best call I can is the same now as it was then. 
    If someone chooses to think that I don't build custom calls because I turn 15 calls on a Saturday, sand, sign and finish them on Sunday, then pacakge them and send them to individuals or a re-seller on Monday ...  we simply have a difference of opinion about the word custom. 

[ferocious calls]

X2 well said. I like batches of 20-40 at a time.  Can make these in the time it would take me to make 8-12 one at a time. This I believe uses less electricity as well, due to serge each time the saw, dust collection and edge sander are started.

[merocustomcalls]

For pot calls I make anywhere from 4 to 10 at a time.  For trumpets I make at most 3 in a day.  Today for example I made two trumpets.  I made the trumpets after talking to the recipients earlier this morning.  I made both barrels at the same time, then reconfigured my lathe to make mouthpieces for each.  For all the calls I make, if I wouldn't hunt with them myself, I wouldn't take money for them. 

[a-j calls]

I make one at a time. If I have orders for the same style of pot I make them in a line and tell each customer how long it is going to be. I dont like to make in bulk. Takes the name out of "Custom" calls IMO if you make them in bulk.

Amen.

[triune]

As a box call maker, I make them after they are ordered.  If they are a sawn and glued style box, I have done up to three at a time.  When they are a hewned call then they are one at a time.

[lightsoutcalls]

Maybe I'm missing something here... 

From Merriam Webster:
   cus·tom–made
adj \?k?s-t?(m)-?m?d\
Definition of CUSTOM-MADE
: made to individual specifications <custom–made clothing>

   I'm not seeing anything there that says that each individual item must be carried through to full completion before beginning another item ordered by an individual in order to be considered custom-made. 
   I presently have 9 orders for calls placed by individuals over the past week to 10 days.  I spoke to each customer on the phone or via multiple emails to help them decide what surface, what wood, special requests for personalizations (names, artwork, wood-burning, etc.) they wanted on the calls.  We discussed strikers that would sound best with the call, or would produce a pitch/tone they preferred. 
   Come next Saturday morning, they will be stacked by surface material - slate, glass, copper or aluminum.  They will have the pilot holes drilled, will be cut to rough/found on the bandsaw, belt sanded on the side that goes against the faceplate and then turned - one right after the next through each stage of completion.  In other words, I will drill pilot holes in 9 calls one after the other.  I will cut to rough/round one right after the other.  I will sand the surface one right after the other.  I will turn them one right after the other... and so on until they are individually boxed up and taken to the post office.
    After building over 2,000 pot calls in the past 8 years, I have found this to be the most time efficient way to turn calls to fill the orders of customers that want one of my calls.  Am I to think, then, that because I don't complete one call and have it in a box before I select the wood for the next call that I no longer make custom calls?  Dang, what a disappointment... 

[smurf]

I don't make 2 dozen calls a year but LightsOut is right.  It doesn't matter if you make one each week or 500 if the call is the work of your hands and mind it is custom irregardless of how many.  I don't believe you could get a "production", meaning manufactured by machine without personal input, call quality of Lights Out's calls.  You can do production work and still be custom.  If you make 2 strikers or 2 pots technically you are doing production work. 

[VanHelden Game Calls]

If you make each call to your own high standards and take the time to tune each call and/or match the best striker it is custom.  Not custom to the seller but to the callmaker.  Now if a person should want the call then great but its still custom because the callmaker made the call specifically for a particular sound and took the time to tune/build the call for it.

We get to hung up over terms that mean absolutely nothing.  I could care less who the call was made for as long as it is made with great care to talk the best turkey it can.

[lightsoutcalls]

   Sorry if my last post sounded snotty.  It was tinged with a bit of sarcasm. I know the time, money and effort I have put into making my calls over the years.  I know that in order to build calls for others, I have given up a lot of time that I would have spent hunting myself. 
   That said, I have also had contact with many folks that I would otherwise never have had the chance to meet or talk with that share the passion of turkey hunting and enjoying God's creation.  It is a great feeling to get a photo back from a successful hunt using calls that I made.  Many of these hunts are in places I may never get to hunt, so in a small way, it is like I was a part of the hunt. 
   I won't lose any sleep over whether I should refer to my calls as "custom" or not.  I know that with God's help, my hands crafted each call through each step of the process  to turn out the best sounding call I can make.  I can rest assured that I have made every effort to provide the best customer service I can possibly provide. 
   I know there are many folks that are more "artistic" in their callmaking, and I commend those folks and admire the beauty of their work.  Finding your niche in building calls is very satisfying. 

[VanHelden Game Calls]

I got a great lesson over the weekend.  I don't care how, who, or with, or how many calls you make.  

As long as it speaks great turkey is all it matters. Every step of the process is an adventure and takes a special talent.  

You combine great calls and great people you create something special.

If you need a title or category to set yourself apart you need to keep pushing yourself.

[Old Gobbler]

One at a time --

[stone road turkey calls]

Wendell, you may have 10 or 20 calls in the process of being built at any one time, but you can only put your hands on one at a time to compleat it. that being said I would say that each of your calls are custom hand made one at a time.

Gary