THO Game Calls Forums
The Art of Handcrafting Custom Game Calls => Handcrafting Custom Duck Calls => Duck & Goose Call Making Tutorials => Topic started by: BigB on May 27, 2013, 05:07:47 PM
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Sometimes you don't have a long enough piece of wood to make an Arkansas style toneboard, or you want to have a toneboard made of a certain type of wood while the exhaust end of the insert is made of a different type of wood. An easy solution is to use a tenon style joint to glue the toneboard into the exhaust end.
There are many different starting points to choose from, but for this example, I am starting with a pen blank for the toneboard piece, and an 1.5" square blank for the exhaust end.
(http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r104/byersba/insert%20tenon/BB4C2111-1C5F-4680-945E-1F7A7A073E39-1898-000003FEA3E07559.jpg)
First thing that I do is take a 5/8" forstner bit, and drill a 1" deep hole into the block. This hole does not go all the way through, just part way.
(http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r104/byersba/insert%20tenon/39F10A72-BC1A-4A86-86A2-A45A856BD4D7-1898-000003FEAA852926.jpg)
Next, I take the pen blank, and turn it round, to 5/8" diameter or slightly undersized to fit in your toneboard jig. I then cut the dowel to length, accounting for how much will be glued into the exhaust end and how much will be exposed to fit into the toneboard jig.
Then, I test fit the two pieces together. You want a fairly tight fit.
(http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r104/byersba/insert%20tenon/9C8A8896-8114-4DD6-9884-E757611465B3-1898-000003FEB10EE607.jpg)
Next, you want to mark the top of the grain on both the exhaust end and the toneboard dowel. It makes a much better cosmetically looking end result when the grain aligns on both pieces. Also, make a pencil mark on the dowel to show when it is fully seated in the block.
(http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r104/byersba/insert%20tenon/7AE62B8B-6DEE-4826-8925-B92F14B90E17-1898-000003FEBADF940A.jpg)
Take the dowel and put it in your collet chuck, and tighten it down securely.
(http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r104/byersba/insert%20tenon/5E90C737-F2CD-4113-8C71-1762B053EA64-1898-000003FEC2776DE7.jpg)
Put some glue in the blind hole in the block, and slide the block onto the dowel. Rotate the block around a couple times to make sure you get good glue coverage. Push the block onto the dowel as far as you can. Make sure to align the pencil marks when done.
(http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r104/byersba/insert%20tenon/5AC0A730-0554-4F48-9AF3-78778A4F5433-1898-000003FECAFCA44D.jpg)
The reason we marked the dowel earlier with the depth of how far it needed to be when fully seated can be seen above. When sliding on the block by hand, it feels like it is fully seated when it is not. Bring the tailstock up to the block, and use the tailstock leverage to slide the block the rest of the way until the block is fully seated. Some glue will spill out of the joint, and that is ok.
(http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r104/byersba/insert%20tenon/5D03EA13-E0B8-45DE-AF8F-A5DBD337BC8D-1898-000003FED353ED25.jpg)
Let the glue cure for what the bottle recommends for drying time.
Then proceed to turn to shape, and finish as normal for a shouldered & o-ring style insert. If doing a friction fit insert, use a 1/2" diameter tenon into the exhaust block rather than 5/8".
Brian
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Hey Brian I use this same technique but I always have a problem with an air pocket that gets caught. Any tricks to get around this. I have drilled a pilot hole before smaller than my normal tone channel diameter. Thanks Kent
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Great tutorial B. This is also a good method to use when you're making the call from a wood that just doesn't make good toneboards....Burls, etc. You can insert a cocobolo, osage, blackwood or acrylic toneboard dowel and get good sound. The dilemma I've always faced is what glue to use to glue the two pieces together. When it is wood to wood I use wood glue, but when it is wood to acrylic I'm always spooked. CA? Epoxy? JB Weld? I usually go at least 1-1/4" into the insert.
Using a bit that drills a flat-bottomed hole is pretty important. Forstner is ideal. If you use a pointed bit you won't get a good mate at the end of the dowel, and a void can appear inside the insert when the tone channel is bored out. Ask me how I know that. :whistling:
Drilling a very small hole (1/8" or so) through the insert helps prevent that pesky air bubble that makes it hard to get the dowel seated all the way.
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Nicely done B!
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Great tutorial B. I do basically the same except after I am finished with the forstner bit I continue the hole completely through the block with my tone channel bit. Prevents the air compression that causes the block/dowell joint to not fully seat. I always use epoxy for these type joints. Never had one separate yet.
Thanks for sharing!
Fred
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I have had to drill mine @ 1/2" 1" deep that way when you cut the lanyard groove it doesn't make that area to thin walled. It works real well on the Acrylester/Delrin Inserts that I do.
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Nice post B.
T
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Well Done B...... :2up:
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Great tutorial BigB. This is also a great way to get more out of your spindle blanks. You can cut some exhausts off then rip four toneboards from one section of the same 1.5" blank. It's more work, but you wouldn't be wasting as much wood, and glue is far cheaper than exotics.
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Bump to be moved to the tutorials.