# Christmas Gifts?



## Sea Aggie (Jul 18, 2005)

I am thinking about having some calls made for my hunting friends. Ideally, I'd like six sets of 4 calls. Each set having 1 x mallard hen call, 1 x wood duck call, 1 x speckled-belly call & 1 x snow goose call.

Anyone have any interest in taking on this "commission"? I am happy to work with you on what woods to use and don't need them until Christmas, but if ready sooner I can take `em sooner.


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## Tortuga (May 21, 2004)

Man, SA..that sounds like a WONDERFUL Christmas gift for duck hunters....


Hop on this one, one of you "Caller Turners" or I may be forced to 'expand' my skills... .....(j/k..of course)


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## Sea Aggie (Jul 18, 2005)

I may even want to toss in a "Morwhistle" for fun, but those I could carve by hand, once I know the matching wood...


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## bill (May 21, 2004)

http://www.tailgunnerduckcalls.com/
where I would start


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## Sea Aggie (Jul 18, 2005)

Actually, what I am really looking for is if any of our 2-coolers are looking for a project before I carved them by hand myself. The guys I'm going to give these to already have some nice high-end calls. 

A few years ago I bought 2 dozen sets of bottle stoppers and they were awesome Christmas gifts, so I figured I'd return to the Brain-Trust to see if anyone was working on their turning skills and would like a project.

By the way, Jim (Galvbay), everyone loved them and thanks again.


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## Tortuga (May 21, 2004)

SA...the "tailgunner" link that Bill posted above is our very own "EndTuition"/Richard down here in the woodworking cellar..lol... He's laid a couple of them on me and I'll guarantee they are as nice as you can get...


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## Sea Aggie (Jul 18, 2005)

Aaah, thanks for the point. I'll check them out tonight.


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## Sea Aggie (Jul 18, 2005)

Wow, what beautiful calls he's got on his site. Very nice work. 

Richard, I just shot you an email to your yahoo account...


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## EndTuition (May 24, 2004)

Sea Aggie said:


> Wow, what beautiful calls he's got on his site. Very nice work.
> 
> Richard, I just shot you an email to your yahoo account...


Thanks for the compliments gentelmen! 
I can't check the Yahoo account from the office, sorry, I'll do so as soon as I get home.
I'd love to build these call sets for you! 
I'm good for the duck and goose calls (Just partnered with Sean Mann for Snow Goose guts!) but I have never made a wood duck call. I sure don't mind giving it a try, but I may have to burn up some cheap wood to get it right. Have you thought much about the type of wood you want to use ?


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## Sea Aggie (Jul 18, 2005)

I haven't thought about the wood much, other than using a nice hardwood from the US. What do you like for looks & sound? What do you think has the best tone for each?

For the wood duck call, we can use my Faulk's as a template for you. I bought 7 of them back in the late `80's and I'm down to my last one. I keep giving them to kids because they are easy to use once you learn the air load / pressure. I even make it work to call sandhills, so if you can think about something for sandhills too, I may go for a whole collection series and dole out a different one each season...


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## bill (May 21, 2004)

If I can put in two cents, my choices for Texas woods;

Mesquite of course
Osage Orange-and burned lines looks great
Black Walnut-sweet polish/finish
and can not leave off Pecan-it's the State Tree


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## Sea Aggie (Jul 18, 2005)

I love all three woods. Pecan is hard, but soft enough to work well and still hold up to use. I've got a dining table and 8 chairs made from Pecan that I love. Mesquite is something that is very dense, but I've never heard how the tone is on a call. I would imagine it's close to a cocobolo because they are both very dense, especially if it's from a nice burl.

Black Walnut is beautiful and I've always liked to use it for craft projects, so all three are nice. 

Like I stated earlier, I'm wide open to discuss what would be best, they don't have to be the same wood for each type if the tone is better for each.


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## EndTuition (May 24, 2004)

Once you decide to go custom, you have lots of options !



To me, and I'm just another guy with an opinion here, call sets should be made from the same stock and share a similar shape or style. 



Right now, I'm making about 75% of my calls from Mesquite. It's a great wood for a gift call because it's from Texas. I really like turning it and it has excellent tonal qualities for the barrel. I do often use rock maple for the actual tone board on a mesquite duck call, but not always. Mesquite varies a lot from tree to tree so you have to keep that in mind, but large blocks are available locally to keep the variance to a minimum. I also have quite a bit of varying mesquite in stock that was gifted to me so the price is right.



If you really want to say "TEXAS" with your gifts, go with Texas Ebony. It's very pricey (but sure sends a message!) 3 times harder than red oak, super stable, and you don't have to put a prepared finish on it, you can buff the actual wood to a high gloss that lasts forever. I made a set of TE calls for the local DU and Delta banquets you can see on the web site. They are the black and white looking calls. I would suggest smaller calls if using this wood. 



Osage orange is another "classic" wood of choice and has lots of opportunities for embellishment since it can be burned to produce a contrasting ring of color. I also have quite a bit of this in stock and it's all very similar looking. This is the wood to use if you want that "Old School" look and go with the classis style shape for the calls.



Finally, there is always Cocobolo, the gold standard for custom calls. I have quite a bit in stock, and have access to more. Same as Texas Ebony as far as buffing up a gloss finish but not as pricy.


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## Sea Aggie (Jul 18, 2005)

Where do you do your work? I'd like to come by and see what is available and we can discuss it all together.

Rick
Cypress, Tx


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## bill (May 21, 2004)

Texas Ebony rocks, hands down my favorite not counting burls. I wish I could get my hands on more, so what little I come across is always used for something special for friends


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## EndTuition (May 24, 2004)

I work out of my garage/shop. It's not much to look at, but I have one, or two, of just about everything needed to make duck calls in it. I live in the Pearland/Friendswood area if you want to come by. I don't keep many duck calls around since I pretty much just make them to order, but I have a bunch of wood you can look at !


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## Sea Aggie (Jul 18, 2005)

Sounds like a great plan. I hope to be able to get with you in the next few weeks (since duck season starts soon and I'll be spending my free time hunting)...


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