Rick Dunn, owner of Echo Calls, walks us through the steps of making a duck call. Rick still does stuff old school and it shows in the complete dedication Echo has in making the finest duck calls on the market.
What makes this process so awesome, is seeing the call being truly hand crafted. Not a couple of guys goofing off, piecing together bulk plastic molded parts from who knows where. We don't consider fitting together bulk plastic parts as being hand crafted, even if they do have to be individually tuned, as you see on the popular A&E program which we won't name. Great work Rick!
Echo has some of the NICEST inserts you will ever find! If you are new to call making, I suggest you first getting his insert, it will make your call sound like a champ!
If you have a router table, you can make your own insert jig and cut your inserts with a bottom or double bearing pattern bit. I have a couple jigs I made over a year ago from Dymondwood, a laminated plywood of sorts that is very stable. As long as you're careful, you can get a lot of use from these jigs, but you cannot sand or file on them as it will obviously cut the jig as well as the insert. I find that a good spiral bit leaves an excellent finish that doesnt require sanding anyway.
The longer the barrel the deeper the pitch of the call, the shorter, the higher the pitch of the call. It may just be my backwards way of thinking, but it just feels like a long barrel would be more high of a tone. Amazing at how much u can learn from just hearing the older guys talk, I like how they don’t have to say a whole lot to get the point across, just come out with it and that’s it. Lol. Wisdom, bottom line.
There are several different methods you can use. For the insert, the simplest, lowest cost way is a dead-center in the headstock and a cone shaped live center in the tailstock. You could also use a 4-jaw chuck or collet chuck. For the body, a mandrel is probably best, though you can use the dead and live centers here as well, as long as they are larger in diameter than the hole through the body. If you are only making a few calls, you can turn a wooden mandrel.
The blanks I use are normally 1.5" or 2" square spindle blanks, occassionally 1" square. Most decent woodworking supply shops sell them in various lengths. Woodcraft, rockler, penn state industries, woodturningz, etc. Woodturningz is an excellent supplier that I highly recommend, great prices, fast shipping and superior customer service.
i love my echo my stepdad got me started on them, rick if you read these i want you to know my dad runs a store in beebe and i would love to talk to you one day so if you can get back with me on here and i can go into details!
I turn mine at the highest speed my lathe will reach, apprx. 2500rpm. Most anything 2" diameter or smaller should be turned at 2000rpm or faster, as it will allow you to achieve a superior surface finish with the tool, resulting in less sanding. Sand at 500-1000rpm, sanding with the grain between grits. Personally, I use a spindle gouge or skew, as they cut much cleaner than a scraper. I try to avoid scrapers on spindle work as much as possible, as they tear grain excessively.
I'm having trouble getting a centered hole in my calls. I recently purchased a new lathe. And my drill press sucks. Are your blanks perfect and all squared up? Or doesn't it matter? And is finding center even really recessary? Or should the lathe turn is out center anyways? I guess the drill press workes ok, but im not sure why it wont come out center. Please! Anyones help/ response is highly valued.
He's the owner of Echo, check out his website www.echocalls.com they sell everything you need minus the wood. i'd suggest either amazon or ebay for the wood blanks.
thats going to be among the softest of all your wood choices. Definitely not suitable for an inset, only maybe a barrel, and even then not perfect. Also, I have turned cypress bowls and had them come apart while on the lathe, so be cautious of very soft grain, chippy woods like cypress and sweet gum and hackberry
