I know next to nothing about game calls but I am very fortunate to have Darrel from Gibson Custom Calls as my uncle and will be spending a few weekends learning from him this summer, but until I get up to him I wanted to try what I could, so onto my question.
I bought the p1 jig from pintail and have been trying to make a soundboard (I know I know, not the thing for noobs like me), first from a piece of walnut and now from a piece of Patagonia rosewood. I have been successful so far as they make sounds that are kinda ducky, really more like a duck playing a kazoo and no matter what I do to the reed it just doesnt change the sound much, Ive started sanding the radius of the tone board and that made it very slightly better. Right now I have .014 Mylar and rubberized cork, I have .010 Mylar on the way to try that as well. I think I maybe need to enlarge the exhaust port since it will lock up but I have to blow REALLY hard to do that. Any suggestions on what changes specifically should make? Btw the barrel is a piece of fiddleback maple if that makes a difference
Aaron, first and foremost thank you for your service! Welcome to the forum!
Please take this in the matter in which it is intended. Do you know how to blow a duck call well? It will be extremely hard to make a duck call if you don't know how to operate one. You are essentially building a musical instrument. In comparison, if you don't know the proper methods and mechanics of blowing a clarinet, building one will be an uphill climb.
I have never used a P1 jig so I don't know much about them other than their timber style design. I believe they are a learning tool and not intended to produce a finished product. Someone else who has used one will hopefully chime in. The first-hand help you receive this summer will help the learning curve, but I would encourage you to experiment beforehand. The mistakes you make now will make things more clear when he is showing you the whys. One thing to remember with any hardened jig is that you can file all day long, but sandpaper will ruin the jig.
I would put the expensive woods aside while you are learning. Walnut, hedge and cedar are good woods to use while you are learning and they won't break the bank. I have several calls made from "fancy" blanks on the reject shelf I now wish I had on the stock shelf.
You will notice a difference between the 0.014" and the 0.010" mylar. All mylar has a natural bend from the roll. Place the reed between your finger and thumb and slightly squeeze. You will notice it bows one direction. Turn the reed 180 degrees and squeeze again. It will flex the other way. The bow needs to face down on your toneboard (a smile on the toneboard). I personally make a mark with a sharpie on the "up" side. There is nothing more frustrating than working and reworking a toneboard only to find out the reed is upside down in the beginning of your call making career.
In the beginning, change only one thing at a time on your toneboards. This will allow you to see what affects the sound. As you said, you noticed what happened when you bored out the exhaust. Make minor adjustments when working with the toneboard. Two swipes of the file will change the sound. Once you change one thing, it will change something else on the insert. The old phrase in call making is, "Everything changes everything". Beyond this, KEEP NOTES! I can't emphasize enough how important it is to KEEP NOTES. Your notebook will become your most valuable tool in the shop.
Below is a link to Brian Byer's tutorial. Brian did a fantastic job of explaining the process and how to evaluate your changes. I would recommend following this tutorial while you work on inserts.
http://thogamecallsforums.com/index.php/topic,15814.0.html