Author Topic: Another hole qustion  (Read 1657 times)

Offline hctoler

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Another hole qustion
« on: July 23, 2014, 07:51:13 PM »
So, I've been working with yellow heart and had good luck on the first two. The third is totally dead sounding. Almost as if it has no sound board. The difference in the third one is i made the center hole larger, the same size as the I.D of the pedestal. I took it apart and everything is fine internally and the measurements are spot on with the other two and all 3 have glass SB and bead blasted crystal playing surface.  So would changing the size of the center hole make that big of a difference? I know some of the calls i made with heavier woods (coco Osage) do well with a large center hole.

Offline VECtor Calls

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Re: Another hole qustion
« Reply #1 on: July 23, 2014, 08:32:47 PM »
Yes, the center hole can matter that much. Opening the center hole allows for less resonation inside the pot.

Are you positive the sound board was not touching your side wall when the glue dried?  That is the only thing that could have missed you overlooked.

Everything matters on a pot call!  It is a very small instrument!

It sounds like you may have your perfect yellowheart recipe in the other pots.

Keep us updated on your other thoughts on this. It is always interesting for us to learn from each others' trials.
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Offline hctoler

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Re: Another hole qustion
« Reply #2 on: July 23, 2014, 09:34:37 PM »
Ok. Thanks. Im positive the sounboard wasn't touching anywhere. I let it setup completely before i glued the playing surface in. Verified when i took the call apart. No glue oozed down to soundboard either. I used toothpics to keep the playing surface spaced off the sidewall. And gave the goop 48 hrs cure time. IMHO with my design, the. Light weight woods dont like a bigger center hole. Ill keep experimeting and report my findings.

Offline VECtor Calls

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Re: Another hole qustion
« Reply #3 on: July 23, 2014, 10:51:46 PM »
You are doing the right thing.

Now....you know that big center hole call is 'junk'. BUT....chuck it up and try to come up with a way to see if it WILL work another way. Don't just throw it away.
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Offline dogcatcher

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Re: Another hole qustion
« Reply #4 on: July 24, 2014, 11:53:47 PM »
While you have this one already apart, you have time to play with the size of the center hole.  Make a plug to fill the hole, with a lip on it, sort of like a very short bolt with a round head.   Not sure on the size you drilled it, but let's say you drilled it an inch wide.  First glue the call back together, drill the plug with a size smaller than your regular size, then fill the hole.  Test the sound, TAKE NOTES, then pull the plug out and drill a size larger and do the play it again.   Try this for over and over and take notes on how the hole affects the sound.  Then when you have what you think is the best, make another plug with out the round handle and with the correct sized hole to glue in place.

This isn't a perfect test method, because a solid piece of wood glued in the hole and a plug that is not glued in will not be the same, but it will be better than trashing it and never knowing the "What ifs I had changed the size of the hole".   You can do the same thing with all of the holes, but it sounds like you are very close to the sound you want, so save the other holes for later testing. 

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Offline hctoler

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Re: Another hole qustion
« Reply #5 on: July 29, 2014, 08:35:48 PM »
I did something pretty close. I didn't have anymore yellow heart, so I made a plug from an old cherry striker and pressed and glued it in. Drilled my normal 3/8" hole in the plug and after I let the glue sit overnight I tried again and it sounds on par with the other two except it has a slightly deeper pitch to it. It's kind of awkward looking, but now I know! It will go on the shelf I call,  "The Island Of Misfit Toys"
« Last Edit: July 29, 2014, 08:40:18 PM by hctoler »