wondering what is needed to make calls as a hobie some suggestions would help :thanks:
patience for starters
Patience and Knowledge of what your thinking of making is a big help, ask as many questions as you can think of before you even start, will be a gig help to you. Even the kits require some knowledge of what needs to be done to them to make them play right.
Talk about opening a can of worms.......that is a loaded question, because there are more kinds of callers then you can count on your hand and feet combined and each one would more then likely take a certain kind of machine and skill to make. I started with a bandsaw and a lathe, ended up with a hop 40'X32' full of equipment and wood stacked to the ten foot ceilings.
If you are just wanting to get started, then try your hand at a glued up box kit first to get the feel of handing the wood, learn about gluing joints and what type of glue and sanding techniques you would need to make one.
If you are wanting to start making them to sell, then get ready to invest time and money, because the cheaper you start the cheaper you make.....lathes are a great addition, pot calls, tube calls, hooters, trumpets all these and more can be turned, a drill press is a must, at least a bench model, I have two, floor models and a bench model, a belt sander is another important tool you'll need...the list can go on, but it really depends on what it is you are wanting to do....I like the statement....Knowledge of what your thinking of making.....
Money, and lots of it.
What kind of calls are you trying to make all of them are goiing to be different. ???
Patience,sharp tools,money,sharp tools,money,sharp tools,money,sharp tools.
Just to add my 2cemts worth. There are some call makers on here that make pots and strikers and do not use a lathe. That said a llathe is a lot of fun and as a hobby you can't beat it. You can pick up lathes relatively cheap. I love my little Rikon. A bandsaw sure is handy but you can cut wood the old fashion way. So, it really is just determined by how deep you want to get into it or how much money you can spend.
Time, patience, money, materials, tools and imagination....this list can go on and on. Think about what you are really wanting to do and run with it. You'll put some wood in the burn bucket! Anybody that makes calls will attest to that I think.
Take detailed and very accurate measurements of every call you make. I take a piece of glass cut it in half this gives me a steady place for my calipers to rest to take measurements of ped heights and scratch surface heights and bottom depth this has saved me more time than about anything i have tried. And i think you know Time, patience, money Good Luck this stuff is addicting
the main thing is read the post on this web site.this place is a wealth of information.i learn something new everytime im on it.all you need is a open mind.
Quote from: Tackem on February 25, 2012, 07:40:03 PM
Quote from: CallMaker on February 18, 2012, 09:17:41 PM
Time, patience, money, materials, tools and imagination....this list can go on and on. Think about what you are really wanting to do and run with it. You'll put some wood in the burn bucket! Anybody that makes calls will attest to that I think.
Got that right I have turned more firewood than useable calls But One thing is for sure I have learned more by just reading on here so if you are really wanting to learn Take notes and keep them in a Ledger Because Trust me you will need them and these Guys that have posted before me are more than call makers They are Experts and have Years and Years of Firewood behind them But one thing they don't burn and thats their willingness to help and answer your questions it will be Up to you on how you use it
X2 , jus becareful its highly addicting !!! But i cant thank everyone that has help me get started and continues to help me enough !! Jason
A wife who can tolerate the tuning process will help. ;)
Just study your desired design and go for it. Be carefull with the tool use.
Quote from: WaddleWhacker on March 01, 2012, 09:05:02 AM
once i had all the tools i thought i would need and some wood i bought several types of calls and cut them open to see what to do and what not to do...call me crazy but it saved me from butchering up wood
So many things wrong with this statement.
Whether it be closeouts or a DD Adams winning design it doesn't change the ethics of cutting up someone else's design to save you the time of developing your own from scratch. Many of us have spent the time, wasted the wood, and developed our own designs never once thinking to copy someone else's calls.
CW
Thank you C_W.
Too many times the new process of becoming a call maker involves nothing more than making a few post on the Internet, buying some tools and cutting up some calls. A lot different than 10 years ago. :-\
I guess I've contributed to the process, as many have, by putting a picture tutorial on my website a few years ago that showed what goes into a call.
WaddleWhacker, Didn't mean to make it sound like I was singling you out. It's just a proven fact that in today's society instant gratification is more important than other things to many people. If you told a new call maker today that they had to learn it all on their own and maybe make 20, 30 or even 40 pots before they figured it out, most would not attempt it in the first place.
FWIW, the only cut open pot I would recognize is one that I made.
Quote from: WaddleWhacker on March 01, 2012, 09:05:02 AM
i bought several types of calls and cut them open to see what to do and what not to do...Quote from: WaddleWhacker on March 02, 2012, 05:33:11 PM
..only reason i bought and cut up those calls were for the call surface....can you get 5 pieces of aluminum and 4 pieces of slate for 20 bucks...
So did you cut them open to see what to do and what not to do, or did you cut them apart for the surfaces?? ??? ??? ???
To answer your question on if I can get those materials for $20, actually it would cost $20.20 from Brookside today and your talking 8 years ago. I doubt if it was anodized aluminum and slate was right around a buck back then so actually I could have bought twice that amount.....
An old man once told me when stories change a person has either lied about something to start with or is telling a lie to cover what he should not have said. Either way he said to walk away. Good luck!!
CW