So, I've had several people asking about how I flute my calls. Since I get a lot of ideas from this forum and learn a ton from other people's tutorials, figured it was only fair to share my method.
1. First off, you must have one of the following: 1) Indexing Head Lathe 2) Alisam Engineering Index Kit 3) Collet Indexer
2. Secondly, you will need a router and build some type of sled for it to ride on.
3. Turn your call, lock down the indexer. Make sure your collet chuck and mandrel are extremely tight so the call does not shift on you when you start cutting the flutes.
4. Depending on your design, you may need to shim the sled to make it run on an angle in order to get the desired flute design. You'll see the small piece of wood I have under the left hand side of the sled to make the router match the taper of the call. Once you've shimmed it, clamp the sled to the bed of the lathe.
5. Set the depth of the router and make your first cut.
6. Rotate to the next desired index mark, lock down the indexer, and make the next cut.
7. Repeat Step 6 until you've cut the flutes around the entire call
I didn't use anything spectacular to make the sled with. Basically just some stuff that was sitting around the shop. The only thing I had to buy were the sliding glass door bearings for the router to slide back and forth on.
For your viewing pleasure, here are a few calls that I've made using this method over the past several years.....
Let me know if there is anything that needs to be clarified further.
Bear