I am new to the forum and have been wanting to try making a pot call. Where is the best place to get wood blanks. I have searched on the internet and have not really found anything. I was looking for blanks that are already 3/4" thick. Thank you for your help :help:
You probably should start a little thicker starting out anyway. 1 inch by 4 inch by however long.
Thanks for the help, I have put together several calls from pre-cut pots but have never made a pot from a blank. I will look for 1" wood. Thanks again
If you have any sawmills around the area, they are a great place to start. I usually buy board stock and cut my blanks out. I look for anything at least an inch thick, especially for your first couple, it gives you a little fudging room just in case you make an oops or something.
Sometimes you can find some on Ebay that is already cut to pot call dimensions. Just like these guys said, go with 1"x4"x4". Gives you room to pull out any small defects or faded wood and get to the good stuff. Just make sure that the seller states that it is dry and ready to use. Dont want to buy green blanks. I speak from experience.
Thank all of you for the help. There is a rough cut saw mill pretty close to where I live and I am going to check ebay tonight.
Thanks again for the advice,
I would go with blanks atleast 1 1/4" or an 1". MAKE SURE the blanks you buy are completely dry. A green pot is fire wood. I know from experience. I also like to have my pots 4x4. I cut my blanks 1 1/2x4x4. This gives me enough to work with in case I junk up. My finished pots measure 3 1/4 diameter and 1/4 sides and bottom. Also when I put my soundboard in, I measuer 1/3 away from the side walls of the pot. I glue to soundboards together and make the distance of betweem the striking layer and the sound board, one soundboard thickness away. When cutting away at the pots make sure your tools are good and sharp because heating even a dry pot will warp it if you have dull tools. Also be light on the sanding. When trying to get that torn end grain outta there, dont rush it, just slowly and lightly sand it away until its gone. Patience is definitly a virtue when crafting calls. When you push down hard on your sandpaper against the wood you will get burn lines and may cause the pot to warp. Same goes when applying finish when you are done. If you use a friction finish, do it lightly until you are satisfied with how many coats you want. I speak from experience on all of this. I learned to take my time and not rush things, everytime I rushed anything it came out wrong and off to the woodburner it went. Hope this helps! goodluck with the call making. :smiley-char092:
I get some of my wood at got wood @ turningblanks.net they have some great wood at good prices. however most of there wood is still wet i buy my wood 6 to 8 mounths in advance. they will cut you some board stock that is dry. take a look
gary