Not the typical striker question

[Crawdad]

Ever thought about Persimmon? I really like it.

[Rick Howard]

Yes sir.  It is on the list.  I got an email from Dowels on demand last night that my order was received!  Persimmon is in that order. 

[Truefire]

I turn my own Zebrawood dowels and they do quite well...I've been impressed with them on some slates

[Rick Howard]

A update.  If anyone is still reading my dribble lol.   

I have been experimenting, a lot, with length, weight, and balance.  Seems that small variations make pretty big differences, relatively speaking.  I think I have been barking up the wrong tree (as mentioned already). 

A similar match to purple heart in density, grain, and hardness is black locust.  Messing with the dimensions I can get black locust and purple heart to play close enough for me.  I am sure there are others that will fit the bill.  As I keep saying.  I am going to keep trying everything I can get my hands on, cause I like to, but I think I have found what I set out for. 
 
I believe I am going to resolve to the use of exotics.  At very least for striker dowels.  There are too many fun choices to leave them out. 
   

[Truefire]

Awesome Rick..thanks for sharing.  Furthermore, thanks for all of your time you are putting into this.  Really neat discoveries.   

Black Locust playing like Purpleheart is great news in more ways than one.  I like the fact there is a source, which is not as in dire straits, as the over exploited Purpleheart species is.  Great news! 

Wonder why it plays like the Purpleheart?  Seems to have something to do with the type of oil content these two trees possess, perhaps.  Understanding that oil composition to be different, the oil must have some bearing none-the-less.  Seemingly all of the other before-mentioned species may or may not, (not 100% certain) contain these types of oils.  Wondering if that is the underlying function?

[Rick Howard]

I bet oil has something to do with things.  I have not considered oil much.  I would guess it has a bearing on clogging also.  I'm not sure how I would be able to determine that though.  Not that I have really determined anything here lol.  Just musing out loud and applying the suggestions or others. 

To make sure I was clear,  I am not saying the Purple Heart and black locust are the same.  They are similar enough for me.  Generally, I like a little heavier topper on the Blsck locust with a slightly shorter overall length.  This seems to work very similar to Purple Heart for me.  I think the "human factor" might be different for others.  I did my best at holding the striker in different positions and with different grip strength.  Although doing This was difficult to know if the differences were from me using a striker in a less comfortable maner or actually differences in the materials lol. 

  After turkey season I will have more time for tinkering again.  Right now I am focusing on turkey hunting and making calls for friends and myself. 

[Truefire]

Yeah, my bet is on the oil composition.  . 

"Heavier topper on Black Locust with shorter overall length"  - plays very similar.  I might have to try that. 

Thanks for musing out loud.  I have enjoyed it.

[VECtor Calls]

This topic is almost a year old now. Anything new to bring to the table?  I had some marblewood blanks cut into striker head blanks I turned this last week. Stuff turned and sanded like magic, but MAN is it heavy!  Really have to neck it down small so it doesn't make the striker head TOO heavy and deaden the call setup!

[Rick Howard]

I have not been able to devote much time to calls in about 8 months.  At the end of June we decide to move. July I remodeled our kitchen and bathroom and a few other repairs to our house in Buffalo.  Sold the house in August.  September we moved to our cottage, north of syracuse, and started remodeling that entirely.  In October I had a shop for a few days but then had to reconfigure.  Good news is... House is nearing complete and I got my shop back tlast weekend!  Most of my wood and some of my tools are still in storage.  Making a trip to storage this weeknd to see if I can reclaim some. 

I am excited to get back at it. 

[VECtor Calls]

That housing change sounds really exciting to me Rick!  I hope to make a similar move some day to get out on a back 40 somewhere that I can watch over a valley from my shop window.

[Rick Howard]

It is very exciting.  It has been a life long dream of mine to live here.  My great grandfather built this place in the 20's.  My grandparents remodeled it in the 60's.  My old man remodeled it in the 80's.  Now it's my turn I suppose :)  It's been a lot of work and still have a decent amount of work to do once the weather warms up.  But it's all worth it. 

Hope you get yours soon. 

[VECtor Calls]

That sure sounds great.  You're going to make me go look at property listings again.

[Greg Sefton]

I turn my own Zebrawood dowels and they do quite well...I've been impressed with them on some slates

I'm just starting into this and still in mostly research stage.  As a lifelong wood fanatic, I am interested in this thread.  Persimmon should be a good one as a member of the ebony family.  One I didn't see in this thread that I plan to try is live oak. The hardest domestic wood, with the exception of lignumvitae :).  About twice the hardness & density of most domestic hardwoods and a cell structure that doesn't absorb moisture.  That's why it was a  favored ship building wood (USS Constitution was made with live oak).  I cut a couple thou board feet of it some years back when I had a  sawmill.  Also plan to try red eucalyptus.  Anyone  ever try these woods on strikers? (or call bodies)
I appreciate all the great info & helpful, friendly advice here!

Greg
http://classicsportingguns.com/

[VECtor Calls]

Oak is not used much in call making. I don't know why, I suppose just because it is a 'plain' wood that is a little tougher to not tear out, and a little tougher to sand.....for what you get in the end as a final product.

Using oak as a striker, the open end cells of oak wood can easily gum up, filling with residue off the striking surface. That is the only reason I can think to not use it often.

I say go for it, and see what you think.

My update to this thread, I used marblewood for my heads of my two peice strikers this year, with a purpleheart peg, and they turned out great.

[jcz]

I used a red oak on a few pots earlier in my turning days. And a couple duck calls. The wood was free and I was just starting out. I thought they turned out good. But once I moved on to other woods I realized the amount of sanding it took to get it smooth was way more than other more desirable woods.