my goal for next year is to be blowing a call that i have made. just wondered if anybody has much experience/advice for someone looking to try turning out a few calls. i'm talking square one, i have used a lathe once and don't own one...yet. so... shifty
That would be awesome! I've never used a lathe myself, and have never thought about making a call, but that would be really fun and rewarding! Kind of like training your retriever vrs having it trained! :thumb:
go to customcalls.com, very helpful bunch and more information and tips than you could ever imagine. Keep me posted, I've turned a few barrels, but never turned an insert. I want to turn calls and carve decoys. Not really ever to sell, just for the pleasure of knowing you are using things you made. I'll continue to buy guns and gear though!
yeah customcalls had some good stuff, interesting to see the step by step in photos. citybuck, did you turn the barrels on a lathe or just by hand? shifty
Dad could make you a stainless steel duck call on the lathe in his shop. Too bad it isn't a wood lathe though. I wonder how the ol steel duck call would sound...hm...
You have seen the Christmas Story movie right??? You'd looking even funnier with that 'Fro sticking out everywhere with a duck call froze to your lips.
Shifty- I turned the barrels on a wood lathe. Wear saftey goggles! Once you get the barrels turned pretty close to size, then use sand paper to finish. Use a rougher grit then slowly step down to a fine grit. I learned by just reading on custom calls. My cousin and I came up with a jig for the insert, but we've yet to test it. He has all the tools and he lives 2 hours away so it is not too often we get to play around in the shop together. I'd start with some cheap wood for practice before you buy the good stuff. Hutproducts.com is another good source of materials. We've turned out of oak, redoak, blackjack, pine, and black walnut. All are really cool, but the sound (important part) comes from the insert.
I had a buddy that actually made a call out of aluminum and it sounded dang good. Maybe hard on the lips though in cold weather.:thumb:
i don't make them, but i take them from terrible to awesome with a file, and alot of time and patience:biggrin: nothing like and olt, no reason for me to want to "make" a call, they already perfected it, i just have to tune it out
