# 1st year getting serious call making



## DaveHawk (Mar 13, 2016)

Neighbor had a tree removed 2 years ago . Dead maple. I've looked at it everday while in the art studio over the 34 years , I tried to get a sawmill into get it cut up but wasn't hoing to happen. do I told the tree Removal guys to drop as much ofit over the fence as they want. When I came home I have about 7 cords worth stretching onto my driveway and blocking the grage door. I knew this stuff was going to be good but know ifea how good. I tend to get 1 to 3 pieces from a 12"x 8" narly piece.

Reactions: Like 3 | EyeCandy! 8 | Agree 1 | Way Cool 2


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## DaveHawk (Mar 13, 2016)

My biggest question gor call makers ; when you attach the top , what do you think gives you the best sound , 6-8 contact spots of 6000 or full contact glue ring.


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## Chris Geeo (Mar 13, 2016)

oh wow that is some beautiful wood!

Reactions: Like 1


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## manbuckwal (Mar 13, 2016)

Beauty ! @JR Custom Calls @Bigdrowdy1

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## Bigdrowdy1 (Mar 14, 2016)

I like to use a very thin bead of plumbers goop all the way around the top surface area. Its is important to get the sound board and striker surface seated firmly when gluing up. Do not use too much goop as if it compresses out from under the striker surface and makes contact with the tone board it will kill the vibration and make the call dead. Goop remains pliable, so as the wood grows or shrinks it flexes with the wood. Good luck. Nice looking wood and call.

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## JR Custom Calls (Mar 14, 2016)

DaveHawk said:


> My biggest question gor call makers ; when you attach the top , what do you think gives you the best sound , 6-8 contact spots of 6000 or full contact glue ring.


Agreed with Rodney, although I use e-6000 instead of goop. Thin even line that won't squish out

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## Nature Man (Mar 14, 2016)

Awesome looking wood and call. With 7 cords, you can make a whole bunch of calls! Chuck


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## DaveHawk (Mar 14, 2016)

Nature Man said:


> Awesome looking wood and call. With 7 cords, you can make a whole bunch of calls! Chuck


Problem , wife wants to burn it to have her fire in the evening LOL And it burns fast.


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## Nature Man (Mar 14, 2016)

DaveHawk said:


> Problem , wife wants to burn it to have her fire in the evening LOL And it burns fast.


Yikes! With all the woodhoarders on this site, burning is not a good thing to hear about! Chuck


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## DaveHawk (Mar 14, 2016)

Tell me about it. Wife came in the shop yesterday and I showed her what I was making from the wood next to the driveway ,she said that nice but I like a fire also. I might have to buy a couple of cords for her.

Reactions: Agree 1 | Funny 1


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## rocky1 (Mar 14, 2016)

DaveHawk said:


> Tell me about it. Wife came in the shop yesterday and I showed her what I was making from the wood next to the driveway ,she said that nice but I like a fire also. I might have to buy a couple of cords for her.



Save your unusable scraps, and smaller branches that are unusable for the fireplace! Shavings from the turnings work good for firestarter too. Have a bunch of red oak that I pulled out of the firewood pile for same reason...

http://i49.Rule #2/albums/f288/mowdak1/Calls/NCM_0480_W_zpsdjxuhqwz.jpg


As well as some water oak...

http://i49.Rule #2/albums/f288/mowdak1/Calls/NCM_0499_W_zpsakqonnj3.jpg

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## DaveHawk (Mar 19, 2016)

I'm getting better at this. Cut 8 blanks last Sunday from 4 chunks . I'm learning to see the grain, movement of the spalt through the burly twisted Birdseye. I like finding the best cuts more then I do turning. Kind of like looking for fossils in the river bed of stones.

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## DaveHawk (Mar 20, 2016)

rocky1 said:


> Save your unusable scraps, and smaller branches that are unusable for the fireplace! Shavings from the turnings work good for firestarter too. Have a bunch of red oak that I pulled out of the firewood pile for same reason...
> 
> http://i49.Rule #2/albums/f288/mowdak1/Calls/NCM_0480_W_zpsdjxuhqwz.jpg
> 
> ...




I have a few friends who want my sizable scraps for pen blanks. The rest go in a 55 gal drum and taken home for the fire place along with the scraps from the everyday wood use at the shop.


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## DaveHawk (Mar 23, 2016)

Almost finished lot of spalted maple. Put the sound boards on today. Plusmy 1st snakewood, my buddy who's farm I hunt birthday was yesterday so I'll see him saturday when I ride down to help him with his bee's and the go sight in our shotguns. I think he will be surprized.

Reactions: Like 3 | EyeCandy! 8


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## ironman123 (Mar 23, 2016)

Nice looking calls.

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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## AEast (Mar 28, 2016)

Love the look of them. I'll have to put that wood on the short list to try out. Beautiful!

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## Rick Howard (Mar 31, 2016)

Some good looking maple you got there. Finding that much in that kind of condition is really good fortune. It would be ashame if it went up in smoke. You need to work faster than she can burn.

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## DaveHawk (Apr 6, 2016)

Here is a striker, blackwood and spalted Maple

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## greenleecustomcalls (Apr 6, 2016)

Nice looking wood and the calls look great love spalted maple

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## Kevin (Apr 6, 2016)

Missed this thread until now. Awesome calls Dave.

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## Kevin (Apr 6, 2016)

rocky1 said:


> Save your unusable scraps, and smaller branches that are unusable for the fireplace! Shavings from the turnings work good for firestarter too. Have a bunch of red oak that I pulled out of the firewood pile for same reason...
> 
> http://i49.Rule #2/albums/f288/mowdak1/Calls/NCM_0480_W_zpsdjxuhqwz.jpg
> 
> ...



Never seen any red oak that looked like that second picture. At least on my fone it looks like what I would trrm quilted burl. Got any you want to trade I'm you huckleberry.


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## rocky1 (Apr 6, 2016)

Honestly not sure what that is in the second picture Kevin, it's oak but not Red Oak; that was the spalted stuff. The red oak came down in the backyard in a little twister that crossed the yard last June. Watched the top of the pines going round and round in circles in the front yard as I closed the shop doors, and I stepped out just in time to watch that one fall 75 feet behind the shop. Picture doesn't do it justice, 33" at the stump.





The piece in the second picture was out of a big dead tree in the field, been standing there dead for I don't know how many years (_I'd guess 2 or more decades, I've only been here 7 years_). I've been told it's a Live Oak... (_Southern Live Oak - __Quercus Virginiana_). Honestly don't know... aside from the fact that it does appear to be oak. It's hard as a rock! And, tough on saw blades, and turning tools.

The piece pictured was a piece of crotch about 12 - 14 inches long. I was splitting for firewood, and when that rolled out I set that piece aside. I have half of that crotch left in the barn, and I have pretty much the whole tree, (_probably 30' of trunk, 24" - 28" diameter_), but unfortunately, it is all in pretty tough shape having stood out there in the field in the weather for God knows how long. I simply got tired of wearing my chain saw out trying to cut the damn thing. I honestly don't recall if there's anymore crotch in that tree or not, I'd have to go look.

Tried cutting call stock out of it, and I managed to save maybe 9 inches of it - turned to 1 1/2" diameter - that wasn't split or cracked somewhere. Have one more blank 3 inches long that has a nasty crack and about 1/2" - 5/8" is going to fly off one side of it if I try to turn it without stabilizing.

Tried to stabilize the 3 pieces that were relatively clean and clear of cracks in Cactus Juice, but this stuff refuses to soak anything up. Knowing it was dense, I left it in my vacuum chamber for 4 weeks, pulled vacuum on it I don't know how many times. And, there wasn't a teaspoon full of Cactus Juice cooked out on any of the blanks. Looked to be about enough that it ran off the outside and puddled up honestly. 

The only way I can see to work it would be to stabilize with alumalite. Even that is probably iffy, it's really nasty about getting into it a little turning, and it starts to tick, and hidden cracks open up, just before pieces go flying across the shop. 

I really don't think you want it; but in the event you may, this is what I have left if you really want to play with it. If I square the top off it would fit a Large Flat Rate with room for several peanuts. 












 

Turned one call out of the little stock I attempted to stabilize thus far, and there simply was no penetration of stabilizing resin. It was all on the outside. Likewise the stock wasn't bad, but honestly it wasn't nearly as figured as I thought it would be either. This particular piece was dense enough it sank like a rock in the cactus juice, bubbled a little first time I pulled vacuum, after that it never bubbled. Looked like it was going to be special before I turned it, but there simply wasn't a lot character there. While finishing it, I got a little bead of CA built up inside the neck of the call, and when I turned it on my mandrel to finish the barrel of the call, it cracked the moment I began to tighten the mandrel. It's now in my call collection.

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## Kevin (Apr 6, 2016)

Rocky based on your description and the pictures I am almost certain that you're correct in calling it live oak. I'm interested I'll get with you on it in a day or two thanks for the offer.


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## rocky1 (Apr 7, 2016)

I'll check the tree out and see if there's anymore crotch left on it Kevin. There's a couple smaller trees out there, but I don't think there's anything big enough to do much with, for crotch on those. Might get a call out of it at best. They're maybe 3 - 6" diameter at the crotch; I've never paid much attention to them, they aren't going anywhere. All of them had been burned after dropping the bark. Wife's ex wasn't much into cleaning anything up; if anyone burned the field it would have been her dad. He passed away in 2000, after battling cancer for several years. Therefore, I'd guess the trunks were burnt prior to '97, and this one looked like it may have been burnt more than once, several years apart. No telling how long it's been standing out there.

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## David Van Asperen (Apr 7, 2016)

Awesome looking wood and fantastic calls

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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## rocky1 (Apr 7, 2016)

Checked the tree in the field Kevin, and there's no other crotch on it. Few knots where limbs used to be but nothing that would look to yield anything of this nature. One of the smaller ones had fallen previously and I piled it with the larger one. The other, the sapwood is still slowly rotting out of the fork on it. May find something interesting in the stump, but that's pretty questionable, from the looks of it.


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## dbroswoods (Apr 8, 2016)

Great looking calls!!!!

The wood is simply amazing

Mark

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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## DaveHawk (Apr 17, 2016)

Next up is a piece ive been looking at to figure the best cut. This is one ofthe best I've cut .

Reactions: EyeCandy! 1


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## bigdoc (May 5, 2016)

Beautiful calls.

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