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Toney I see that some of the tips curves are longer than others does that determine the desgine of the sound board or do you go with what the curve gives you as far as the sound goes.

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if your hand is anything like mine it will give me a good ahndfull, the color looks good too; you know its your judgment that amazes me the most. you just seem to know ahead what someone wants. keep in mind i'm not disappointed in the first call i got from you size finish or anything. i justed wanted another call different color than what i got.

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Your call will finish out at 3.5" long and 1.5" bell. It'll be a loud sucker, but will have the pitch to drive those grey fox in your lap.

I don't know about being psychic on what call a person wants. I think it's simple. Get to know your customer, understand their experience level, calling style, targetted predators, calling terrain, etc.....then design them a call specific to their needs. I've been fortunate (married the right woman) to be able to call in a bunch of states and terrain, so it isn't that tough.

This call will be a good match for your 'ultra high' fox call that I built you. It'll be a raspy cottontail with high pitches and squeals and will be able to lay out a grey fox distress that'll echo the woods.

Ok...break time is over. Back to air channels.

Tony

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Is the the channel under the reed' width and depth determine how much the reed can take before it sticks or is it the lenght of the reed .

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Apparently you don't have one of my cow horn tip calls....they don't 'stick'.

It's the curvature of the toneboard that determines if a reed sticks or performs. Too flat...it'll stick. I've blown alot of open reeds that'll stick at the tip, due to a flat spot at the very tip. Since I spend a majority of my time on the tip of a call with my calling style, that's where I spend a bunch of time tuning, to ensure consistent curvature. Sometimes, tuning and fine sanding of the toneboards takes as long as the entire process of building the calls. But with out it....it's just a pretty piece of horn....not a call.

Ok...back to work!

Tony

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I have a choice of American Idol or Mr T i have made the right choice this too much fun.

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You're making me blush!

Believe me, my wife and 4 kids are watching the Idol Gives Back show without me...and their not real happy about it. I wanted to watch it, but really need to get these calls done.


Ok....Now that all the toneboards are working, it's time to shape the call on the belt sander. I'm going to give them all an ergonomic fit. You'll see a big difference in them. I've been calling in Texas, quite a few times, and got nickel size blood blisters on my lip from calling from sunset to sunrise for 4 to 7 nights straight. I've learned to design a toneboard that fits right in the mouth. It'll make them alot more comfortable, easier to control, and allow you to hold the call in your mouth, hands-free, while getting down on your scope.

Be right back (10 mins) with some more pictures....

Tony

Tony

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Tony
does the thickness between the vertical cut on the front of the tone board and where the barrel (bore) start effect the sound ?

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you haven't missed anything on Idol Tony, Carrie Underwood just got done singing and she was topless, but ya haven't missed much!

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That just ain't nice! Not, like I haven't imagined it a thousand times, though

Tony

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I'm right here guys. I'll need to eat dinner before we start.

What you guys watched, last night, was my mass machining of 13 calls. When going from machine to machine, it works out best to do a batch of them. We got all the rough work out of the way. But...we took a good break point, where we left off. Now comes the part where each call has to have personal attention to it. This where the customization of each call comes into play for it to earn a "TT" mark.

I will select 3 calls to finish tonight. The process will go much slower than last night. They will go from rough state to tuned, bored, sanded, polished, re-tuned, etc... I'll make sure I record plenty of before/during/after sound files, so that you can see what goes into each one. The rest of the batch will get worked on next week, as we are leaving to visit the parents in Illinois for the weekend.

We'll finish the following:

Frshwtr's call - raspy cottontail with high pitched squeals on the tip.
SDCoyotecaller's call - black colored jackrabbit with deep raspy squauls and good volume.
Lungpopper's call - red/white striped cottontail with raspy meduim/high pitch and screaming tip.

PS. 10 of the 13 are custom orders, I should have 3 available if they all make the mark.

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Well here's the 3 calls that we'll try to finish:

Call 1 - Frshwtr's call - raspy cottontail with high pitched squeals on the tip.

Call 2 - SDCoyotecaller's call - black colored jackrabbit with deep raspy squauls and good volume.

Call 3 - Lungpopper's call - red/white striped cottontail with raspy meduim/high pitch and screaming tip.



I took the dremel and cleaned up the toneboard, where the sanding disk can't reach. Note the bottom/left of each toneboard isn't square. That has to do with using a round sanding disk.

Next, I cut band grooves for the castration band with the dremel and cut reed for each call to begin the tuning process. In addition, I dremeled out the air channel better to make a smoother cleaner look and add volume.



Here is the recordings of each. We've got a bunch of work to do on these. Each one of them has a tip that sticks and not in tune with what each customer requests.

Call 1 Sound File

Call 2 Sound File

Call 3 Sound File

Next, I'll take each to an emery board and start sanding them back and forth to get the toneboard where it needs to be.

Be back....

Tony

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I did some fine tuning on the toneboard. Part of building a custom call is getting to know your customer. This call is for Mark (SDCoyoteCaller). I know his calling style and the areas he's calling. He needs a call that's easy to blow, can handle a bunch of air, and has really good volume to reach the timbered draws that he calls to from the South Dakota grassy knolls.

Call 2 Sound Test Drive


Tell me what you think Mark. If you like it, I'll give it the "TT" engraving and start buffing.

Tony

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Tony, you hit the nail on the head as far as what I need in a call.

It sounds awesome!!! Nice and raspy, just the way I like it. It will be the perfect compliment to the super high pitched cottontail cowhorn tip I already have from you. You certainly delivered the goods on this baby. I think it's definately ready for the TT signature. Thanks alot, bud.

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Mark, I try not to get too much lacquer on the toneboard. I retest it once dry. About 50% of the time I have to use the emery board on it and remove the lacquer buildup. I then spray my fingertip and wipe it across the toneboard to lightly seal it. Unsealed horn....smells (and tastes) like sulfur when wet.

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You have no idea (well, maybe YOU do). I've been on a horn streak for the past few months and the smell and dust has pretty much permiated everything in my shop...and garage...and house...and neighborhood...

Man, I love being a Redneck!

Tony

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