My first Elk call........

[alscalls]

I made this one for Christmas by request........I do not know what the wood is as it came from a mixed bag at wood craft.
The copper band was easy but the tapered hole for the toneboard and me without a reamer was a pain....but it turned out.









Comments welcome.....

[Al_at_THO Game Calls]

I like the way you tapered the bell on it.

For an easy way of seating the kits without a reamers, see the Crow Call Tutorial   called The Latta Method.  You can turn the kits down to a 1/2" bore and use an O ring fit to seat them.  It is really slick and works like a charm.

Al @ THO

[alscalls]

I have seen that before but I dont have a collet chuck.....But I will have one some day....I used a custom made mandrel that threads directly to the headstock My BIL and I made it on his metal lathe (a 1946 Loagan)  (even turned the threads.)
If we had a milling machine we would just make our own collet chuck and a reamer....
I guess I just like figuring out how to do things the hard way.....cant help it...its interesting to make it yourself.

Still working on the other project I told ya about......   Its kicking my but right now but I will get it.

[VECtor Calls]

A 43/64th's bit allows you to have to do less work getting the hole right.  Al's method is THE right way to do it though, no question about it. 

I'm not sure why someone doesn't come up with something different for these crow and elk guts?!  I mean......who in the world decided they needed to be made tapered like that anyways?!    

   You get a thumbs up from me for seating the mouth piece all the way in the barrel!  That rarely gets done, and a person pays for it in sound quality when its not seated all the way.

Parker

[Al_at_THO Game Calls]

I'm pretty sure the taper on the kits is to form a good tight seal.   With these kits, if the end of he reed kit opens up, the call can lock up or not play at all.  So the taper prevents the bottom of the reed kit from expanding,   The O ring method is better for a number of reasons.

1)  the O rings hold the bottom of the kit together so you dont have any chance of it opening up

2)  sooner or later, a customer is going to force that mouth piece in the barrel so hard it is going to crack the barrel. 

3)  The natural expansion and contraction of the wood can cause the mouth piece to either fall out or get stuck so tight it cracks the barrel.

Jerry Latta of Hawks Feather Custom Calls - a member here - came up with the idea of turning down the inserts to a straight bore.   I really think if you are going to use kits and not make your own mouth pieces, this is the single best thing that ever happened to crow and elk calls.

Al @ THO

[Lonehowl]

Al, that is nice!!

[alscalls]

Thanks fellas.....This one took some time to make.
I been thinking.....If I am gonna turn the mouthpiece down anyway.....I may as well give it a shot and make my own mouthpiece....When I get time I will play around with it.

[gooseforsupper]

Really pretty call...

[alscalls]

Thanks!