wood deer grunt call on the lathe

[tattoo dave]

Ok, so I got a few requests for a build-a-long on my grunt calls. Bear with me here, I've never done a build-a-long. So here goes nothin.

First up, we need to cut 2 blocks of wood for the exhaust and the barrel. The smallest you want is 1.25" square blocks. That doesn't leave you a lot of room to get fancy with shapes on the lathe, so if thats what your after go with a little bigger block. In the pic I have some ambrosia maple for the exhaust and walnut for the barrel.

The exhaust block will be cut to anywhere from 3.5"-4.5" long. This length, along with the length of the barrel will determine your overall length. So it comes down to preference. I like mine to fit in my jeans pocket, so cut the barrel to 3.75" long.

cut the barrel to 3.25" long. You can go longer on this, but don't go shorter. My preference is to have the barrel shorter than the exhaust, just for aesthetics.

Then we need a 5/8th" dowel cut to 2.25" long. And a 1/2"dowel cut to 3 & 5/8th" long.

[tattoo dave]

Up next, we need to drill holes in all of it.

So we need a 5/8th" hole all the way through the exhaust and barrel.

In the 5/8th" dowel cut a 1/2" hole all the way through. That doesn't leave a lot of wood, but that's ok. I drill all these holes on the lathe, especially this one, due to it being easier to center this hole.

In the 1/2" dowel cut a 5/16th" hole, NOT ALL THE WAY THROUGH. You will leave 1/2" not drilled through. This dowel becomes your sound board. The part the reed sits on. The second pic is of the sound board after being drilled and split in half length wise.

The most important parts to any deer call are the sound board and the reed. Any SLIGHT variations in either the sound board construction, or the reed shape and size, will make BIG differences in the sound of the call. That being said you will have to play with this a little on your own to achieve the sounds you desire.

[tattoo dave]

So after the sound board dowel is drilled and split. You will need to make a wedge. This is simply a piece of the 1/2" dowel that fits later into the call to hold everything in place.

You will then need to cut a reed. You can buy precut reeds or cut them yourself from sheets also available on the web. PM me and I can let you know where I get the stuff. You can also simply steel the reed from that now piece of sh!!!t plastic call you bought from the store.   You may have to do some trimming to it though. As stated in the last post, any alterations to the reed or sound board will drastically alter the sound of the call. So trim "slivers", very little at a time in order to make the reed fit on the sound board. If cutting your own reed, start with these dimensions. 1/2" wide, 3.75" long, with one end rounded. The rounded shape will again effect the end sound results, so you will need to play with shapes to achieve the sound you desire.   

The only other piece you will need to purchase is the O-ring. You want a 1/4" rubber o-ring.

 You then have everything you need to piece it together.

If I missed something, or something is confusing just say so. Again this is my first build-a-long.

[tattoo dave]

I forgot, shape your exhaust and barrel on the lathe. The overall shape is completely you preference and does not effect the sound.

I sand and finish those parts on the lathe.

[tattoo dave]

So before you piece everything together, you will need to sand the sound board. The end that did not get drilled through needs to be shaped with a curve facing down i guess, not sure how to explain that. Pic will show you. This is the step that will alter your end sound more than anything. 

If you will someday be making many of these calls, you may want to make a jig, so the shape of the sound board is always the same. I'm not to that point, so I don't have a jig to show you. I still shape them all by sand paper or file, meaning every call sounds a little different. This is the only pic i have of the shaped sound board.

[tattoo dave]

So I broke the walnut barrel while on the lathe. Made a new one from the same ambrosia maple as the exhaust.

Let's put it all together.

Insert the 5/8th" dowel in to the exhaust, leaving .75" remaining outside the exhaust.

Then insert soundboard into the 5/8th" dowel, leaving 1.75" outside the other dowel.

[tattoo dave]

Remember this is a dry fit, so you may have to sand the 5/8th" dowel a little to get the sound board to fit. Moving the soundboard in and out of the dowel will also alter end sound results.

You will then fit reed, wedge and rubber o-ring into it as shown in pics. Again you may have to play with slight adjustments to make it all fit, or achieve the sound you are looking for.

[tattoo dave]

Your reed should overhang the sound board about 1/4". Once you are to this point, the call is in working order, with minor adjustments for the sake of desired sounds.

Slide the barrel over, and test it out.  . If it sounds like you just kicked a dying duck across the yard, make some adjustments to the sound board, maybe more of a curve, or you might have to much of a curve. Also, slight adjustments to the reed, and where the o-ring is placed. That's all up to you.

Good luck, have fun with it, and ask any questions you have. I am new to deer call making, so I'll answer questions the best I can.

Thanks enjoy.

Tattoo Dave

[dueb]

Neat, I'll have to try that sometime. Thanks for the build along! 

[Ozzy]

That's freaking awesome! !!!!!!!!

[tattoo dave]

Thanks fellas!

Tattoo Dave

[lebhuntfish]

Very cool Dave! I'll have to try that. I've always wanted to make one. I don't have a lathe but I guess I could carve it by hand. Patrick

[JoJoDapyro]

Now all I need is a lathe!

[tattoo dave]

Thanks guys.

Patrick, I imagine you could make one from just about anything you could get a 5/8" hole in. I'll be experimenting with some different materials in the future. If I can get one made, I'll share some pics.

Dave

[lebhuntfish]

Cool, thanks Dave! A buddy of mine made one out of some pvc pipe one time. It worked but was kinda crude it took him like 30 min but it didn't last. Patrick