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Main Boards => PowWow => Topic started by: J. Holden on July 23, 2021, 03:51:12 PM
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**Full Disclosure, I've never done a build-a-long before**
Tony, aka Huckbuck, was the winning bidder for my offer of a custom deer call during this years St. Judes auction. After the closure of the auction we messaged back and forth and he allowed my full artistic freedom on this call. He mentioned his bow woods and that he liked the antler ring I had displayed on my call. With that information I started ordering pieces of wood, parts and supplies.
Did you know there's a shortage of walnut burl in the United States?! Me either! :dunno: But, the internet can be a beautiful thing. I was able to find a piece of walnut burl and ordered it up. Shipping would take a few weeks as it was coming from MOSCOW! Not kidding, this is the first time I've made a call with international wood! I tried reading the newspaper the wood was wrapped in by my Russian is, well, nonexistent. Regardless, a beautiful piece of wood showed up.
I then ordered some spalted maple. It's not as spalted as I was hoping for but I think the piece will have some good character regardless. After doing some reading about spalted maple I found out it needed to be stabilized. Ugh, another delay. Once the wood arrived I promptly shipped it out to a bowyer who was gracious enough to stabilize it with me. The best part, when he shipped it back it came with my new longbow! :saywhat:
Lastly I needed some decent antler burs for a ring. Again, the inner webs came through for me. I ordered elk antler burs as I wanted enough mass for turning without running into the soft centers. I've attached a few pictures of the materials.
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I've certainly had enough time to ponder the design of this call. I've only worked with stabilized wood once before. I left the pieces whole. This time I'd be trying to combine two pieces and wasn't sure how best to do that. Again, some reading occurred. Initially I wanted to sandwich the antler ring between the two pieces of walnut burl. I think the contrast would've been striking. However, before I started turning and removing wood I couldn't put back on I gave it some deep thought. I opted for three separate ring's. Walnut burl on either end and the antler ring in the middle of the call. So after some new bow shooting and tuning today I got to work. I mean, all work and no play makes me a frustrated man!
First thing I needed to do was true up the face of the antler bur. I have come to appreciate clean glue lines and often wonder how many bows are scrapped because of a gap that was not noticed. I trimmed the one bur on my bandsaw and mounted it in my chuck. I then drilled out the center of the bur and set it aside.
Back to the band saw, I cut the spalted maple and walnut burl into more manageable pieces. I laid everything out and that's when I opted to change the design. I mounted the one piece of spalted maple between centers on the lathe and got to trimming. I turned it down to the inside diameter of the antler. This is usually where I screw things up. The removal of wood can be mesmerizing, almost cathartic. Needless to say I forced myself to concentrate and made a nice tenon for the antler ring to be glued to.
A few dry fits first, a few more turns on the lathe to true things up and it got glued and clamped. It's now sitting in the corner curing and I'll be back at it tomorrow. Stay tuned!
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Very interesting. Waiting for more. :coffee:
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:campfire: :coffee:
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Thanks for bringing us along and for your generous donation!
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I knew Jeremy was a skilled artist as I own one of his turkey calls that is absolutely gorgeous. So when I saw he was donating a deer call for the St. Judes auction I jumped all over it. I had no idea it was going to be this cool though! :notworthy:
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Alright! I was able to get after it first thing this morning before it got too hot around here. I know it's nothing like what others are experiencing, but I find this humidity repulsive. Regardless, I was pleasantly surprised to see the call piece nice and dry. Of course I had some coffee in my favorite mug and some tunes. I figured the blues would go well with todays time in the warm moist garage.
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I was super excited to see how the glue line came out. I must say, I was happy with the results. The one thing that's an unknown when working with organic material is you never know what's under the surface. While I was turning the piece to round I uncovered a crack. A "fix" my father-in-law has used in the past is to fill a crack with thin CA glue (aka super glue). Sometimes if the crack is wider/bigger that CA glue is mixed with sawdust. Well, it didn't quite work today. But as I continued turning the crack became smaller. I'm hoping I'll turn right through it and we'll be good to go. If not, I'll fill with CA glue again prior to sanding. That should do the trick. If I didn't mention it, you'd never know. Regardless, the piece looks amazing and I'm very pleased with the results so far.
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Last night Tony sent me a picture of his bow and the bowyer had stained the maple veneers walnut. So I tried a quick swipe or two of some walnut stain I just happened to have on hand. What do you think Tony? I tried sending a PM but the file was too large :dunno:. I think it looks good and will really look nice once the finish is applied. The antler ring will really pop up against the darker stained maple too, good call Tony! Let me know if you want me to stain it!
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After I turned a tenon on the first piece it was onto the other one. I've made grunt calls with the expandable black tube and with a solid wood piece. They both have a good sound, but, they sound different too. I find the all wood call sounds more "natural" if you will. But I'm not a deer, so, there's that. Anyway, I mounted the second piece of maple and started turning a tenon on that one. This is gonna be a great looking call I think. This wood is fun to work with. Thanks for picking these woods Tony!
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Yep, I love the stain….thank you sir! :clapper:
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After a few dry runs and checking joints to make sure everything is going to be "tight", as my 21 y/o son says, it was time to glue it, clamp it, and wait. I cleaned up all the saw dust and tools and prepped my bench. I've learned from watching the bowyers bench to lay out and tape down some waxed paper first. This makes clean up so much easier. I've also got a box a nitrile gloves handy for glueing and staining. I'm not opposed to getting dirty mind you. Over the years though I've come to get a little paranoid of chemicals sitting on my skin for days. So, gloves it is! They're now all glued, clamped tight, and resting in the corner for another 24 hours. I hope to be back at it tomorrow!
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So glad you like the stain Tony! I'll add that to the project.
-Jeremy :coffee:
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Lookin Saweet :saywhat:
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:campfire:
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Still :campfire: :coffee:
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I’m going to get to work shortly here. Just got done watching church and am making some breakfast for me. Venison breakfast links and some scrambled eggs outta keep me going for awhile today!
-Jeremy :coffee:
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Hey Tony, I sent you a PM. I have a question for you. Text or call if you can! 847-542-0283
Jeremy
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Tony was able to get ahold of me and I'm all cleaned up for the day. The two pieces are sitting in the den drying in a more acclimate environment. Here's the progress we made today!
After my tasty breakfast I went down stairs and got the "shop" all set up. Not having a dedicated area for a work shop lends itself to set up and tear down every day. It can be a hassle but it also forces one to clean up after every project. So in the end it's all good. My wife and I often say "In our next house...". At my next house I'd really like a shop where machines can stay plugged in and ready to go.
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I unclamped the two pieces that had been set over night. Everything looked really good and I was excited to get them cleaned up and roughed into barrel shape. Again, I had my fingers crossed for really clean glue lines. I was not disappointed.
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Once I had everything turned to round I moved to focusing on the drilling of the cylinders. Usually this is one of the first steps. For whatever reason, impatience really, I turned the pieces to round before drilling them out. It wasn't a big deal except that it made the process a little more difficult. Regardless, I stopped and gave it all some thought. Once the wood is removed we all know it can't be put back. I did a couple practice drills on other pieces to confirm inside diameters and such. My bench quickly became cluttered.
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A little tip that I'm sure we've all used for this, that, or the other is tape as a depth gauge. It's a nice simple way to make sure you don't go too far when that's a concern. So, some blue painters tape and voila! I had both pieces bored out and ready to be shaped. I don't have a drill press so I use the lathe as a sort of sideways drill press. In my next house...
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It was then onto the final shaping and sanding of the call pieces. Unless someone has some specific shape they're looking for I generally try to make some nice curvy lines and a sharp point or two. Sometimes there's really no shape at all and it's a gentle slope from one end to the other. This is where one can really be creative and create some neat pieces. One piece also needed to have another tenon turned on it so it could be fitted to the other piece.
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My question earlier for Tony was regarding the lay out of the call. As I started thinking about it I had originally thought the antler ring would be neat in the middle and the two ends the walnut burl. But then I thought "What if he tried blowing on the wrong end in the heat of the moment, when a huge Kansas buck is walking away, and his call makes no sound? And the buck keeps walking never to be seen again? And it was all my fault?!". Well, maybe not the dramatic :biglaugh:. So after texting back and forth we decided to place the antler ring on one end and the two walnut burls after it. That way it should help eliminate confusion in the heat of the moment.
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It was then onto the stain. I applied one coat and let it sit. I then went into the sun and took a picture of it and asked Tony how dark did he want to go. When I apply the final finish it may darken up a little more too. He said one coat looked great and so that was that. After I got the one piece stained I mounted and turned the other piece. I didn't get any pictures of the sanding process. I think we've all sanded wood at some point or another :jumper:. But my process is to sand with the lathe on, turn the lathe off and sand with the grain. This is important especially with darker wood as the sanding lines will show if you don't do the second step. I sand through 180, 220, 320 & 400 grit paper. I probably don't need to do as much sanding but I also believe that the effort produces a beautiful end result. So that's what I do. Here's both pieces sanded and stained.
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Tomorrow I'll apply the final finish. This will take me quite awhile as it is also a laborious process. But again, the results are stunning. Stay tuned and happy Sunday everyone!
-Jeremy :coffee:
P.S. Remember that crack that appeared? She gone! Turned it right away :bigsmyl:
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WOW!!! Jeremy, that's going to be one awesome call.
Looking forward to seeing it when your finished.
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SWEET!!!
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Man!! I can’t wait till November to take it to the woods!! Thanks again Jeremy!
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Well I believe I'm done with Tony's deer grunter. Come along as we wrap this project up!
I again set up the shop. This morning's coffee is in another favorite mug I have. I suppose any mug is a favorite as long as it holds some good black coffee. But this one is special. My dad's family is buried in Dunn County, WI. When we were up there laying his mom to rest, years ago now, we ate at a restaurant near by. Inside they sold some ceramics from a near by artisan. I bought two of his mugs and over the years they've broken. The last being almost a year ago.
Fast forward 20+ years and a good friend from the firehouse owns land in Dunn County ironically enough and allows me to hunt it. While up there doing some summer time chores for him I made a run to visit grand mom and grand dad. While I was down there I looked for the restaurant. Unfortunately time took it's tole on a small business and they had closed their doors. But the artisan lived next door! Who Knew! He had a shop with an open door policy. His ceramics were on display with a box to deposit money for said items. People still do that?! I was able to find two mugs matching what I used to have. I snagged them both.
With the barrel and super glue ready I got the other supplies set up...
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After I build up 6 layers of super glue I wet sand it. The micro mesh pads start at 1500 grit and go up to 12000. Since I can't remember which color is which I was smart enough to mark them when I bought them 1-9. I set them in a container and add some water.
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I donn a nitrile glove and get to applying the super glue finish. There's an accelerator spray one could use in between coats but I've found that waiting for the glue to dry on it's own is best. Being thin glue it dries pretty fast. In between coats while I'm waiting I set up my target and take a few shots. I only get about 12-15 yards distance, but it's practice and that's what counts.
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Oh hey! Looky there! That's my new bow! :jumper:
A few coats later and this is what we have. On occasion a high spot develops. This isn't a perfect process as it's applied by hand. But that's alright, we'll polish it out.
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After the 6 layers of super glue, 9 different sanding pads and a few shots with the bow I apply the finishing polish. This is a friction polish that's applied. It really makes the wood pop. I kind of reminds me of when I'd spit shine my boots in Army. And you get that mirror shine on the toes? Any vets out there that can relate?! Hooah! :thumbsup: There's a side by side for reference.
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The next piece needed that tenon fit to the finished piece. This is a great spot to screw up. Trust me, I know :banghead:. So slow and steady, I remove the wood. Test fit, remove more, test fit, remove more. It get's to the point where I'm using sand paper to remove wood as I'm looking for a nice tight fit. O-rings are then added to snug things up. You want an airtight joint here. If any air escapes through here the call will not work. Originally the instructions only called for 1 o-ring. Over time I've added 2 o-rings as a fail safe/over build type of thing. One last side by side picture of the polished and not polished piece. I'm really happy with the fit between the two pieces.
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Lastly I again apply 6 coats of super glue, wet sand through the 9 different mesh pads and apply the friction polish. Put it all together and take a final picture. I usually give the call a couple blows but with the current climate of viruses floating around I'm trusting my handiwork and will have Tony be the first to lay his lips on it :laughing:
I hope you all enjoyed watching the process. It is a labor of love for me. Tony, thanks again for the generous bid for the kids. I pray this call bring's in a bruiser this fall. If it does, please share a picture. I love seeing the successes of others :archer2:
-Jeremy :coffee:
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WOWSER!! :bigsmyl: I Love it! Thanks for the build along.
Now tell us about that new longbow...it's a looker as well.
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Thanks for the kind words Tony. I really hope you enjoy it this fall and it brings many bucks one step closer.
What bow?! Oh, that bow?! Awe shucks, it’s just an Echo longbow from Two Tracks Bow Co. Chuck is another great artisan. Long story short I was looking for a new ASL to gift myself for an anniversary present. I recently celebrated 20 years at the firehouse. I figured I’d buy myself something fun. I had a credit with Chuck and he had that bow almost finished but no one lined up to take it. So I snagged it and saved an agonizing wait. It’s 67” long, a slight string follow, and pulls 44#’s @ 28”. I have some beautiful arrows as well. 60-65 fir shafts and 190 grain points. 615 grain arrows with a healthy 16% foc. I’m so happy with how quiet and fast that bow is. A great combination of the best of both worlds. I had Chuck call the bow “sawbucks” for 20 years. Shedua riser and bamboo cores. Brown glass on the back and belly. I hope to shoot a deer or turkey with it this fall!
-Jeremy :coffee:
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Very cool!!!!
Bisch
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What a great build along, a very special call for sure. :clapper:
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Jeremy ::: AWESOMEEE looking call :thumbsup:
Good luck with your new bow :archer2:
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Thanks for the kind words Duker! I sure am liking my bow. I really hope I connect on a deer this fall too! :archer2:
-Jeremy :coffee:
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Thanks for a great build along. Beautiful work. That call will become an heirloom.
Dave.
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YAWN; HOW BORING. :saywhat:
Just kidding. I have grunt call you made me a few years ago made with Curly Maple. :thumbsup:
Out standing work as usual. :clapper: :clapper: :clapper: :clapper:
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I am completely blown away by people with this sort of ability! Beautiful call, and hope it does great things!
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Call arrived to its new home today! Pretty sure this is going to be a Killer combo.
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:clapper: :clapper: :clapper: amazing work. Beautiful combo.
Bound to be some good mojo there!
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Wow Mr Holden... just wow!
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Beautiful work Jeremy. I may have to get with you for another special piece.
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Thank you all again for the kind words. It was a fun project to say the least and it got my wheels turning for the next auction! Can't wait. That's a great picture Tony, thank you sharing. You've got a great looking set of gear there.
-Jeremy :coffee:
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Incredible!!!
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Wow thats a dandy, amazing work!