Making a Duck Call

This week, I will take you into the world of call making.  Below, you will find pictures and descriptions of the steps involved in making the barrel of the call.

The first step is to select and cut the piece of wood that I am going to be turning.  I always try to find pieces that have interesting grain patterns in them.

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Next at the drill press I drill through the blank.  This hole is what the insert will fit into when I am done.

I mount the blank on my lathe...

...And turn it to a cylinder.  At this point, I also go ahead and cut the tenon for the metal band.  After this step, I usually let the blank rest over night.  Wood likes to decompress after being cut.

I cut my own bands using metal pipes.

The bands are pressed and glued on, and again sit over night allowing the glue to dry.

After the glue dries, the bands are pinned on to guarantee that the band never falls off.

The pins are filed smooth.

Finally, I turn the barrel to its final shape.

I sand the call to a smooth finish.

After the call is sanded, I apply the finish.  On this call I am applying cyanoacrylate glue, which is basicallly super glue.  I apply 10-15 coats to provide a hard, durable, glossy finish.

Once the finish is applied, I buff the call to make it shine like glass.  The following image is the finished barrel.

The barrel of the call is done at this point, and is waiting for an insert to complement it.  Next time we will make an insert and toneboard.