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I have had 2 people contact me and ask me questions about how I go about making a call.  For a rookie that makes me feel pretty good.  Being the redneck hillbilly I am, trying to do with not enough tools, and questionable skills  /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif   I thought I would share how I go about doing it.   I know it isnt the best method, but making do with what I have its how I get thru life.   /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smiliesmack.gif


Making a call is much like making a wood fishing lure,  kinda round, and hole down the middle.   /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif  I have made a lot of fishing lures so a call wasnt to much of a leap.  /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused1.gif


One of my biggest problem is getting the hole down the middle of the call.   With my prehistoric lathe, I have no tools to do this with on the lathe.


First starting with a block of wood I mark centers on each end and use an 1/8 inch drill bit to make a very shallow hole on each end.


 


Then I have to set up my drill press.  I take a piece of scrap wood and drive a nail thru it with about  an 1/8 of an inch of the nail sticking up, and clamp it in the drill press with the nail directly under the drill bit.  I use a longer drill bit to make sure it is located where it needs to be.  I have to drill the hole prior to lathing or I would never be able to drill a hole after lathing and keep it in the center.   /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif


 


Then I swap out the longer drill bit and put in a shorter drill bit that still allows me to get my piece of wood under the drill bit.    I set the piece of wood on the nail, with the nail in the shallow hole I drilled earlier I know my drill bit is headed down the middle of the wood.   I drill both ends of the wood, the length of throw on my drill press, which isnt much.  /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smiliesmack.gif


 


I now have a hole into each end of the wood that should be on the same axis assuming I had the the drill press set up correct.   These holes work as a guide for my long drill bit to guide it  thru the center of the wood.   When I hand drill the balance of the hole I should hit one hole from the other in the middle of the wood if I did everything correct.


 


Now I put the piece of wood on the lathe and put the points on the lathe ends in the drilled hole, so I am spinning on my pre-drilled hole.    I lathe up the desired shape.


 


Next comes my next big problem of removing the wood from the center of the call with a lathe with no attachments or accessories to make this easy.   /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smiliesmack.gif   I take a short shallow cut from each end of the piece of wood with a lathe tool so I have a mark I need to hand ream the wood to later.   The next pic shows the cut at a funny angle trying to mark the inner edge of the call where I will ream to.


 


Then I sand the outside of the call on the lathe


 


For some reason I like a rounded hole for the lanyard to attach to the call with.   I dont have a lathe tool to accomplish this, so I use a rasp.   /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shocked.gif


 


Now I take the piece of wood off the lathe and cut the ends off where the lathe grabbed onto the wood.   I run a 9/32 drill bit down the 1/8th  inch hole to hold the reed sleeve from each end till it meets in the middle.   The drill bit will follow the predrilled hole.


 


Then I take the biggest drill bit I have which is 1/2 inch and I go about an inch in on the mouthpiece, and quite a ways in on the other end, leaving about an inch or so of 9/32 hole down the middle where the reed holder will be located.   I mark the drill bit with tape so I know where to quit drilling from the bell end.


 


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