Homemade duck calls

[waterdoc]

Does anyone make their own duck calls. I making some just looking for folks doing the same.

[eldorado]

I've made a few....out of about 100 toneboards, only a handful were keepers.

[willowbrake]

Just finished making my second one out of cocobolla. toneboard is a beast of a project.

[deeksdown]

i turn my own calls... willowbrake i hunt in isola, so if you ever want me to come by and help you out on some of your techniques let me know.

[grant_c]

yeah we got more barrels than i can count but only about six decent tone boards :/ I'm fairly new to all this but once I get a tone board that sounds awesome enough to the point that people are offering me 200 hundred bucks for it, is there any way I can get a jig made to the measurements and shape of that particular tone board?

[deeksdown]

you can make your own jigs to start off with out of a very hard wood.. just build a toneboard the once you get it where you like it file the jig down to the toneboard.. just take small strokes off of it and go slow.. once you feel certain you got the jig/toneboard where you want, send it off to get a jig made. webfootcustoms make some excellent jigs but they are expensive.. unless you got a real good machinist available. i had mine made at work for me.

[eldorado]

.....is there any way I can get a jig made to the measurements and shape of that particular tone board?

Get in touch with Wade at Webfoot Custom Calls.

[willowbrake]

cool deeksdown, i have a jig on order and will let you know how it goes. finally got a quack of a handmade toneboard, that was seriously satisfying!

[grant_c]

awesome, thanks fellas, I've got a jig I use now just would be impossible to file it down because its hardened metal, about all it's good for is getting the right shape, then it takes a good hour of sanding, filing, and stressing a little till I get that right sound

[LawDawg]

I make my own. they do alright.

[swamprooter]

I make a longer tongue Arkansas style. I like exotic woods and short drill tone channel to produce a squeaky, skawlky, whiney,bouncing call that "locks" up for most. Always trying to make a call sound like a duck instead of a RichNtone!

[grant_c]

is there any preferable wood yall use for your tone board? We just got one made out of persimon because it was just some scrap we had and it actually sounds awesome. We got some African black wood but don't want to have to toss it if we screw up so for now I'm just experimenting with left over wood and stuff that isn't a loss if I mess it up.

[swamprooter]

I like cocobola,hedge,African blackwood,and cedar! Yes cedar..if you can tune one raspy .....it's money.. Cocobolo is toxic to some on skin contact which you probably know. Walnut is a very servable wood too. I like to line my grain vertical to a horizontal reed. Ligna vita is a favorite too.

[grant_c]

yeah we use a lot of cocobola, but the cedar I've never tried turning! I bet it looks pretty, I'm going to have to try it now. I didn't know cocobola as toxic to some's skin though, hopefully no one will come back saying our call made their lips swell or nothing crazy like that

[donia]

..... I didn't know cocobola as toxic to some's skin though, hopefully no one will come back saying our call made their lips swell or nothing crazy like that

i thought it was more the "turner" in danger of the toxic effects and not the end user, once sealed...but i guess once you wear through the sealant, you're touching wood...

i'm assuming one would quickly know if they were affected by the toxicants?