# Pot style turkey call questions



## CandCWoodTurning

I just really started into this call turning deal. Made my first call from birdseye maple with slate over glass and really like the sound. Was just looking for more info on what wood types are best for these pot calls if anyone can help me out. Ive also heard that the striker is really the most important but dont really know what to believe.


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## JR Custom Calls

In general, the harder the wood, the louder and more crisp the sound. My two favorites are hedge and stabilized wood.

The surface obviously makes a difference as well. 

As far as strikers, and arguably the pot wood as well, you might as well ask what the best food or drink is. Everyone has their favorite, and different pots okay better with different woods. All around, maple 1 piece or purpleheart dowel with a too matching the pot are my two favorites. I've heard lots of people say laminated wood makes good strikers as well, but never tried.

You can ask this question 10 times and get 15 different answers... As I'm sure you'll get a lot of varying answers here. My best advice is try out quite a few different combos... But wood won't make up for bad measurements inside, or a mis-proportioned striker. Gotta make sure you get those right before you waste a bunch of good wood.

Reactions: Like 2


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## N & N Waterfowl

The denser the wood "usually" you end up with a better tone. As johnathan mentioned hedge is a very good option. Purple Heart is another wood that is very popular for pots and strickers. Most varieties of maple also produce a good sound. The benefit of maple is you can get some nice figured wood for realitively little money and experiment with your design. Wall thickness, pedestal height, number and position of sound holes all have an effect. 

I personally like the look of the burls and spalted woods, so I stabilize those types of woods. 

The playing surface and soundboard combos also play a role. For instance a less dense wood combined with a copper playing surface over a glass soundboard can produce an awesome sounding call. 

Get some blanks and experiment. Most importantly take notes and record how changes effect your tone, and you will be producing a decent sounding call quickly.

Reactions: Like 1 | Thank You! 1


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## CandCWoodTurning

N & N Waterfowl said:


> The denser the wood "usually" you end up with a better tone. As johnathan mentioned hedge is a very good option. Purple Heart is another wood that is very popular for pots and strickers. Most varieties of maple also produce a good sound. The benefit of maple is you can get some nice figured wood for realitively little money and experiment with your design. Wall thickness, pedestal height, number and position of sound holes all have an effect.
> 
> I personally like the look of the burls and spalted woods, so I stabilize those types of woods.
> 
> The playing surface and soundboard combos also play a role. For instance a less dense wood combined with a copper playing surface over a glass soundboard can produce an awesome sounding call.
> 
> Get some blanks and experiment. Most importantly take notes and record how changes effect your tone, and you will be producing a decent sounding call quickly.



Thanks for all the info. I havent gotten into stabilizing yet myself. Do you know of a good place for me to start with some stabilized wood that doesnt cost an arm and a leg?


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## JR Custom Calls

Mel at wood dynamics is great. His pricing is pretty much in line with everyone else, but I'd be this customer service beats them all hands down. You can find him on Facebook or his website. He has a 10lb minimum, so it's best to send a bunch at a time.

If you're just wanting to try some stabilized wood, @bearmanric has some fantastic stabilized BLM burl... I got some from him and it far exceeded my expectations.


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## BrentWin

With a slate friction surface, I would suggest using a purple heart striker.


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## bald9eagle

Cherry, hickory, walnut strikers....these will give you a softer sound. Dymondwood, rosewood, osage strikers....denser and will give you a crisper sound. Dymondwood will give most any call some rasp. My two favorite calls (in my vest) are made of African blackwood. One is copper over glass and the other is aluminum over glass. I love the way the heavy, dense blackwood makes the calls sound. I use a dymondwood striker on both.
Right now I am loving the sound I get from persimmon. I have a lot of persimmon and some that has some nice heartwood. It is fairly dense (not as much as AB) and gives a nice sound. Cocobola also makes a good sounding pot. If you want to keep it domestic go with osage, black walnut, or cherry. All three are easy to get.


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## CandCWoodTurning

I picked up a purpleheart billet today from woodcraft thats 2x2x24. Should get quite a few strikers out of that. Two more questions for everyone thats been kind enough to pitch in here. Would you recommend single piece strikers? Has anyone used Zircote as striker material?


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## CandCWoodTurning

Ok I have a friend that said he has a hook up for walnut, maple and cedar blanks and that it shouldnt be a problem in pot size blanks. Question is what is the average going price for these types of wood in 1x4x4?


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## Alvin63

JR Custom Calls said:


> In general, the harder the wood, the louder and more crisp the sound. My two favorites are hedge and stabilized wood.
> 
> The surface obviously makes a difference as well.
> 
> As far as strikers, and arguably the pot wood as well, you might as well ask what the best food or drink is. Everyone has their favorite, and different pots okay better with different woods. All around, maple 1 piece or purpleheart dowel with a too matching the pot are my two favorites. I've heard lots of people say laminated wood makes good strikers as well, but never tried.
> 
> You can ask this question 10 times and get 15 different answers... As I'm sure you'll get a lot of varying answers here. My best advice is try out quite a few different combos... But wood won't make up for bad measurements inside, or a mis-proportioned striker. Gotta make sure you get those right before you waste a bunch of good wood.


Thank you


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