making your own calls?
02-15-2003, 06:00 PM
#1
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: mi USA
Posts: 70
making your own calls?
i noticed a post below that listed a link to a company that sells material to make your own friction calls. this sounds like something that i would be interested in doing to pass the last couple winter months by. does anyone have much experience making their own calls?
what combinations produce what sounds?
does the pot make the call or the material(slate, glass etc.)?
how about the strikers?
any insight would be greatly appreciated, along with other sites that sell the components.....thanks squid
what combinations produce what sounds?
does the pot make the call or the material(slate, glass etc.)?
how about the strikers?
any insight would be greatly appreciated, along with other sites that sell the components.....thanks squid
02-16-2003, 05:18 AM
#2
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: west central wi USA
Posts: 2,257
RE: making your own calls?
The material itself makes the sound. The pot or call body amplifies it. You can take a plain piece of slate and make it sound pretty good by just cupping your hand around it. The striker should be mated to the individual call. I' ve made corn cob strikers by sticking a cedar arrow shaft into a corn cob. I try it on the slate, and keep cutting off the shaft until I get the right tone. It has to vibrate just right.
02-16-2003, 08:44 AM
#3
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Salem VA Salem, VA
Posts: 753
RE: making your own calls?
well two sites that sale the componets are...
http://www.customsawing.com
&
http://www.grassycreekcalls.com
There are several other sites that sale componets or kits for box calls. I can' t think of them right now, but one is Peyton Putters.
You can also go to... http://www.customcalls.com He has links for phone numbers and e-mail addys for people who sale componets such as slate, wood and etc. You can also keep your eye on ebay and for the saler Hidden-Hollow. He also sales componets such as pots, slate, strikers, etc.....
As for making them. I just finished three calls. Two Sassafras Slate over Glass and one Walnut slate. The two sassafras calls sound pretty darn good. I just followed the directions from Customsawing.com. I did sand the wood down to what I wanted, by getting rid of the sharp corners and the tool marks and then buffing the wood with fine steel wool to raise the grain. However, the walnut call was a disaster! The wood was beautiful however the pot was too deep for just slate. The sound was nasty!!! I should have put some sort of soundboard inbetween the slate and the pot such as glass or some sort of metal or acrylic. I used Minwax polycrilic spray for a protective finish, using three coats and buffing with steel wool between each.
The stirkers were very easy. I again ordered the ash tops from Custom sawing and some 5/16" dowel rods in black walnut. I sanded the rods and the top and then again steel wooled the top to raise the grain. I then applied a light coat of Minwax " golden oak" on the top to try and match the finished sassafras. I also applied polycrilic on this, three coats. I glued the dowel rod into the predrilled top and let it sit. After it dries you just figure how long you want it approximately and cut the dowel rod. I then went through the process of finding the exact length for each call by finishing the tip and trying to call. I ended up cutting one striker about three times and the other twice to get the desired sound/pitch I wanted.
http://www.customsawing.com
&
http://www.grassycreekcalls.com
There are several other sites that sale componets or kits for box calls. I can' t think of them right now, but one is Peyton Putters.
You can also go to... http://www.customcalls.com He has links for phone numbers and e-mail addys for people who sale componets such as slate, wood and etc. You can also keep your eye on ebay and for the saler Hidden-Hollow. He also sales componets such as pots, slate, strikers, etc.....
As for making them. I just finished three calls. Two Sassafras Slate over Glass and one Walnut slate. The two sassafras calls sound pretty darn good. I just followed the directions from Customsawing.com. I did sand the wood down to what I wanted, by getting rid of the sharp corners and the tool marks and then buffing the wood with fine steel wool to raise the grain. However, the walnut call was a disaster! The wood was beautiful however the pot was too deep for just slate. The sound was nasty!!! I should have put some sort of soundboard inbetween the slate and the pot such as glass or some sort of metal or acrylic. I used Minwax polycrilic spray for a protective finish, using three coats and buffing with steel wool between each.
The stirkers were very easy. I again ordered the ash tops from Custom sawing and some 5/16" dowel rods in black walnut. I sanded the rods and the top and then again steel wooled the top to raise the grain. I then applied a light coat of Minwax " golden oak" on the top to try and match the finished sassafras. I also applied polycrilic on this, three coats. I glued the dowel rod into the predrilled top and let it sit. After it dries you just figure how long you want it approximately and cut the dowel rod. I then went through the process of finding the exact length for each call by finishing the tip and trying to call. I ended up cutting one striker about three times and the other twice to get the desired sound/pitch I wanted.
