The Art of Handcrafting Custom Game Calls > Turkey Call Making Tutorials

How I make Scratch box calls

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Prairie Game Calls:
Frist thing I do is select a nice piece of wood. Pictured is a piece of air dried Cherry. Direction of the grain has not been a issue for me so you can try it running length ways or up and down short ways and see what works best for you. I like to use pieces 7/8" - 1" thick 4" long and 2" wide you can choose what ever size you like it is not a issue.

Prairie Game Calls:
Next I drill the centers out with a 1/2" mortise bit but you may use a forstner bit then clean the sides up with a sharp wood chisel. I drill the box off of center keeping one side 3/16" thick and the other about 3/8" thick on a 1" block.

Prairie Game Calls:
Next thing I do is cut one side down/off leaving one lip approx 3/8" high.

Prairie Game Calls:
Next I take a small piece of thin wood 1/8" thick and sand a half moon slot into one side using my belt sander. Then glue this piece to the top on the box leaving the lip protrude above the thin piece you just glued. Be sure to clamp it using 3 clamps but not over tight. Don't press all the glue out of the joint.

Prairie Game Calls:
Once your box is dried take it to your belt sander and start sanding the sides and ends smooth. Start to shape the box the way you want it to look. When you get it close to finish sanding thats when I start to tune the call. I select several types of wood for my strikers and have them ready to play the call on them. Choose a shape you want for your striker and then tune your box to play your striker. Thickness, length, width and type of wood affects the sound of the call. I make several strikers the same size but different woods and then sand my box until I hit the sound I want then you fine tune it by sanding the lip some rounding it off and you can also drill a hole in the center of the sound board side with a forstner bit and that will change the sound too. Thicker sound board side higher pitched - thinner sound board side lower pitched sound so go slow and check it often.
 

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