turkey calls from scrap bow wood

[rmorris]

I collect a lot of scrap wood while making bows and since turkey season is less than 3 weeks away here is what I do with some of my scrap wood .
You will need:
Supplies:
 a piece of wood about 6.5X1.5X1.5" (Body)
a piece  of wood about 9X 1.75X 1/3" (lid)
2 thin scrap wood at least 1.5" tall by 6.5" long (Sound board)
wood glue
a screw
a spring
a template
Tools:
Table saw
Band saw
Drill Press
Belt sander

[rmorris]

First thing you will need to do is make sure your Box is square.
 
You will then need to change the tilt of your table saw blade to about 4-5 Degrees.
 
Then set your fence about 1-1/8" away from the base of the blade and 1-1/4" high.
 
 
Now you will make 2  passed of Body block of wood creating this.
 

[rmorris]

Download the template and use them to trace the pattern on your Block and Lid pieces of wood and  then cut out on the band saw.
 
 
 
 
 
Now go to the sander and clean up any band saw marks.
 

You will now take the small pieces of 1.5" tall by 6" long pieces of wood (in my case 1.5X12") and make it the same thickness as your table saw blade cuts. My table saw blade cuts out a slot about .105" so I then sand down my strip of purple heart to be .105" thick.
 

[rmorris]

You will then use wood glue to glue on the purple heart strips into the table saw blade groves.
 
While the glue sets up take the lid and sand it to a nice rounded shape. I rough shape mine with the belt sander then use an old strip I cut out of an old belt to make everything uniform and remove flat spots.
 
 
 
I find the turkey call makes better sounds if the sanding directions go from back to front opposed to side to side so I do another quick sanding on the belt sander.

[rmorris]

Next you will need to drill a hole in the lid, I do this by measuring the diameter of the screw and then adding about .020" for the drill size.
 
 
I then countersink each side once so the screw sits flush and the other side keep the spring in place.
 
 
I get my springs form used household cleaning spray bottles. I then measure the diameter of the spring and then also use about .020" bigger drill bit and drill down about 1/2". I also drill a small relief hole for the screw.
 
 
 

[rmorris]

By now the box glue should be dry enough and you can now put whatever protective finish you want on the Box  and the top of the lid.
Once the finish is dry you can then work on sanding down the slots to a nice radius . I also do this with the belt sander and I lay the box on its side and try to do them at the same time and also keep the top of the slots parallel with the box.
 
 
You can then assemble you box and give it a try.
 
To adjust the sound use some sand paper and slightly radius the inside part of the sound board
 
 

[rmorris]

I was going to do a video with sound but I could not call in a kid with an Ice cream truck so I better leave that to the pros. If you make one please post pictures I would love to see some different wood combinations. I have in a few used 2 different woods for the soundboards to try and get 2 different sounds.

[Trux Turning]

That's awesome Ralph!! I'll have to put some together  

[Mongo]

Awesome job!  Better get my butt in gear and make one myself.

[Thumper Dunker]

     Looks great.

[Thadbow]

Great post!  I have always wanted to make a matching turkey call out of my leftover bow material.  Thanks Ralph  

[rmorris]

Thanks for the kind words, they are super easy to make and  not a bad use of scrap wood.

[Goshawkin]

Very cool! Nice Work.  

[AkDan]

that definatly is pretty awesome man!   thanks for the pics and great work!

[Lost Creek Bows]

Very cool how thick is the lid when you start 1/2".Thanks Chad

[Stone Knife]

Anyone can see you are a skilled craftsman and meticulous about your work, that is a very nice looking call that you have made. Does it sound as good as it looks? I'll bet it does  

[Roadkill]

You are a craftsman!  Wow

[rmorris]

Chad, the lid is about .330" thick when I start and  the thickest part finishes out to be around .300" . The less wood I have to take off with the sander the quicker it goes. Walnut sand fairly quickly but if I am using a super dense wood such as cocobolo I will actually use the band saw to make a few cuts  on the radius , for less sanding time.

[KentuckyTJ]

Very cool, gonna be a less expensive option for me though to buy one from you. I can't justify the cost of the table saw and band saw!

[Living_waters]

Very Cool Ralph, I haven't made a call like that yet..... but I bet it wont be long lol.Love the way the design allows for the use of contrasting wood.
Just a heads up, which may not be a heads up to some, but I was blown away when a buddy gave me one. Here is a little tool that makes setting blade angles a breeze. It is wonderful if you have to change angles often.
   

Its magnetic, just zero it out on your table then stick it to your blade and crank it until angle reads where you want it.