Turning Trumpets

[larry9988]

When making trumpets do you drill then turn or turn then drill?

[merocustomcalls]

I turn the square blocks to a cylinder shape, drill out the inside, then finish the outside.

[TRKYHTR]

I turn the square blocks to a cylinder shape, drill out the inside, then finish the outside.

Ditto.

TRKYHTR

[C_W]

It would be near impossible to turn then drill. I don't even round mine, just chuck it up, bore it out, switch fixtures and shape the exterior.

CW

[pappy]

I turn the square blocks to a cylinder shape, drill out the inside, then finish the outside.

with my setup, I find it easier to turn the cylinders first. It may be an extra step, but it works well for me and others.

[larry9988]

My hat is off to those of you that make trumpets. I have made about every type of call possible with some degree of success, but these trumpets are giving me fits. I am having a tough time keeping my boring straight. i have bored before and after turning,but my drilling has been inconsistent both ways. I see that each of you drill before turning to trumpet shape, anyone willing to give me some tips on boring. I am not asking for any internal boring dimensions, just help on keeping it straight. PM me if you would rather, but any help would be appreciated.

[Addicted to Gobblin]

Make sure that your chucking a perfectly round piece, it helps a ton!! If you're using a wood lathe make sure your tailstock is perfectly square to your headstock.  I'm no expert trumpet man but I do ok. Brian, Pappy, and some of the other guys may be able to help you more.

[TRKYHTR]

I'll try to explain how I do it. I turn the wood piece round. Then I chuck the wood on the lathe end and use my live center one the end stock until I get it lined up and tight. The I turn my lathe on. Then I release my end stock and move it away. I take my live center out and put in a drill chuck in the tail stock. I put the drill bit in it and scoot it close to the turning wood. I tighten it down and then screw it into the wood. I use brad point bits so there is a started for each drill bit. Once I go as far as I want I turn the lathe off. Take the wood out and turn it around. I start the same way with the live center and once I turn the lathe on I take the end stock off and put the drill chuck in and drill from that end. They meet in somewhere in the middle. A couple of tips are start with your drill bit barely out so you have a good straight short bit to start the hole. Also when you take the end stock off you can see the live center hole. If it starts to move/vibrate a little, turn the lathe off and rechuck the wood up again. You will be able to tell if it is turning true or not. Hope this helps. If you need help with the mouthpiece shoot me a pm and I'll tell you how I do them.

TRKYHTR

[merocustomcalls]

These are all good points and you can read from above how important it is to keep everything concentric.  I often put in my live tail stock and regrip the piece in the chuck as it gets wobbly.  Like Dave said I use small diameter bits but not very deep.  Larger diameter bits can go in further.  I make my trumpets identical to the way Joe describes.  And don't worry about breaking stuff.  I do it all the time.  Some pieces of wood just have naturally occurring weak points or fractures in the grain that you don't find out until its too late.

[larry9988]

Thank you, thank you. Many things I am not doing that are causing some of my problems have been answered here. I very much appreciate the help you guys have given. I will try these tip and see what I come up with. Another question I had was in the responses, that is wood failure. I remember Neil Cost said that only about 30% of the blanks he started with actually made it to the turkey call stage, and I new there must be some failure with trumpets also.

[justturnin]

I have not bored as long as a trumpet but I have drilled some long holes.  Here is what I do.  I start with a round blank, Chuck it tight and then use a center drill like this http://www.harborfreight.com/5-piece-center-drill-countersink-set-with-60-angled-tip-42280.html to start my hole.  This will prevent your bit from walking on the surface when you first give it a go.  Then I would use a sharp 3/16" - 1/4" bit all the way through then drill the finished size.  Always seems to work for me.

[larry9988]

Got some center drills today to make turning mandrels.  Thanks, Larry

[justturnin]

Good luck.  Remember to clear the chips often, pause so the chip can break and dont let it get hot.  If it gets too hot it might crack in a few days.

[JELLYHEAD]

Good luck.  Remember to clear the chips often, pause so the chip can break and dont let it get hot.  If it gets too hot it might crack in a few days.

If it gets too hot it might crack while your still turning, I found out the hard way.