# A few recent duck calls



## shortz1lla (Dec 9, 2013)

I have been making all of my own bands for a few months now, I really like being able to make each band specific to one call and one call only. 
Bocote call and 4 in 1 whistle.



Hedge with Ebony caps and solder inlay.



Padauk sleeved Ebony with solder inlays.



Zebrawood sleeved Black Palm.


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## Lamplight66 (Dec 9, 2013)

*WOW!*

These are awesome!! I really like the Zbra/b-palm. But, they are all gorgeous!! Is the silver bands in each of them all solder?? Thanks for the pics! Don


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## shortz1lla (Dec 9, 2013)

Don,
Of these, the B. Palm/Zebra is my least favorite, but for some reason everyone else seemed to like it... it ended up going to a very excited 13 year old girl who enjoys killing ducks. The thin silver lines are, in fact, solder in the Hedge and Padauk calls, the Zebrawood call has thin aluminum sheet.


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## fitzman163 (Dec 9, 2013)

Very nice work shortz1lla!


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## hanau (Dec 9, 2013)

they all look nice, I like the Hedge/Ebony.

How do you make your bands?


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## Russknan (Dec 9, 2013)

Beautiful! Russ


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## creativewriting (Dec 9, 2013)

Happy, Happy, Happy!


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## shortz1lla (Dec 9, 2013)

hanau said:


> they all look nice, I like the Hedge/Ebony.
> 
> How do you make your bands?



I cut them from 1-1/4" od, 1" id 6061 aluminum, then turn them to shape on my lathe.


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## robutacion (Dec 9, 2013)

Great craftsmanship, shapes and finishes, congrats...!

I have had recently a few enquires/orders from "call" makers that had a common problem and that is, how to treat the wood and finish a duck call that is going to have a lot of use so, what we would call, a "hard working tool".

Their claims were that, they had troubles in moisture sealing the wood inside the call channel/holes to prevent wood from swelling while the exterior finish they used didn't seem to hold well, after some use in swamps/wet conditions.

The natural look or glass finish were discussed with the obvious differences these 2 different finish types will produce and you pics are a perfect example of it, with your fist pic showing well what a natural finish should look like, the same for the gloss finish that I always prefer (my opinion).

My suggestion was, to have all the woods used for these type of "tools" stabilized properly, regardless of what finish they would endup with so, looking at your work I wonder, do you use stabilized woods...???


PS: Those "bands" are really well made..!:wink:
Cheers
George


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## shortz1lla (Dec 9, 2013)

George, 
I do use stabilized woods, but not exclusively. I try to make certain that the moisture content is 9% or less before I make a call from any wood. Because the entire call is handmade, down to cutting my own reeds and cork, I can control every measurement at will (I even use my personally designed jig from sugar maple). The short answer is that the inside of the barrel as well as the toneboard can and should (depending upon who you ask) be treated, depending on the wood. To elaborate: one can control the id of the barrel and the od of the insert, which means one could CA finish the entire interior of the call, should one be so inclined. Oily woods such as Cocobolo actually repel water quite well themselves and do not require a sealant. Personally, I typically use either velvit or teak oil for the inner workings, which have served me quite well, with no issues. Wood expands and contracts with changes in humidity, it is our duty as callmakers to either anticipate this and improvise, or to prevent it as best we can. Acrylics are a pretty obvious solution but, in my humble opinion, wood sounds better and more natural.


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## Chatham PenWorks (Dec 9, 2013)

Beautiful work. I think the hedge and the paduk would look great with a matching el grande fountain, or a kitless with similar black trim treatment.


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## Dan Masshardt (Dec 9, 2013)

Chatham PenWorks said:


> Beautiful work. I think the hedge and the paduk would look great with a matching el grande fountain, or a kitless with similar black trim treatment.



I had never thought about it but a matching pen and call would be a fun idea.


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## shortz1lla (Dec 10, 2013)

I have done Sierras to match both of those, as well as a Chicago in hedge and one in 22.5 cut Zebrawood. I haven't done any high end pen kits at all, as pens in general are sort of a secondary hobby to my callmaking addiction. I am trying to get away from that mentality though, because I do enjoy making pens.

I actually have a full set of everything I make in Hedge with black (either ebony or components). Each pen, a duck call, a buck grunt, 4 in 1 duck whistle, and a woodie squealer.


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## michael j flett (Dec 10, 2013)

Fantastic work well done


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