# Paddle and Box Wood Choice.



## oldhootowl (Apr 16, 2009)

Know there is no hard and fast rule, but curious what
some would think which woods go together best for
box and paddle.

Would like to hear as many as can be thought of.

And don't hear of redwood, butternut, ash or red oak
mentioned much for paddles.  What about those?

And I see red cedar mentioned, how about white cedar or aromatic cedar?


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## badcreek (Apr 16, 2009)

Aromatic cedar makes a great box, as does Alaskan white cedar with a walnut lid.
I have never used butternut for a lid, but it makes a great box. 
Some of my favorite box/lid combos to make:

poplar/walnut
walnut/maple or walnut
butternut /walnut
spanish cedar/brazilian cherry
mahogany/walnut or purpleheart
sasafrass/purpleheart

You can ask 10 call makers about their favorite combo and get 10 different answers.


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## oldhootowl (Apr 16, 2009)

Thanks, I hope to hear from the other 9.
And what about chestnut?


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## Dudley Do-Wrong (Apr 16, 2009)

All depends if you are talking about a short or long box.

I don't make a long box so I depend on what the top of the line call makers use.  The best sounding long box I have tried was a honduran mahogany box with a red cedar paddle.  The cedar is aromatic but without knots (hard to find).  Take a look at what folks like Lamar Williams and Darin Dawkins make, I believe they exclusively use cedar paddles.  If I were to make a long box, I would follow the masters. 

Short boxes, I once again follow the masters and basically use walnut for paddles.  I do use purple heart for cedar short boxes.  For some reason, I don't know why, walnut from Missouri is preferred with a slight bit of creamy color to it.

I believe it was somewhere last year that I was talking to Lamar Williams and he felt that mahogany is the most consistent wood for box calls (short and long).  If you ever go by a table where he is selling calls, the mahogany boxes seem to go quicker than the others.  Without a doubt, mahogany boxes are the best sounding calls I make.

Woods I like:

My top 4
Honduran Mahogany
Cedar
Poplar
Chinaberry

Also:
Holly
Butternut

There are other woods that make good box calls but I have found that I have the most success with these woods.  I use walnut almost exclusively for paddles except I use purple heart for cedar boxes.  Purple heart is difficult to work with.


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## Dudley Do-Wrong (Apr 16, 2009)

oldhootowl said:


> Thanks, I hope to hear from the other 9.
> And what about chestnut?



If I'm not mistaken, until recently American Chestnut was thought to be extinct but supposedly is an excellent wood for box calls.  There are other Chestnut subspecies but I don't believe the wood is as good as the American chestnut for box calls.


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## badcreek (Apr 16, 2009)

oldhootowl said:


> Thanks, I hope to hear from the other 9.
> And what about chestnut?



American Chestnut makes an excellent box. I have some right now that I am making a couple of donation boxes out of. Walnut and chestnut make excellent paddles for a chestnut box. The wood I have is from a W. Va. home built in the 1850's. Almost all chestnut used in boxes is from reclaimed lumber.

I also have to agree with David and others about mahogany. It is probably the most consistent wood to make a box from.


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## gblrklr (Apr 16, 2009)

David Mills said:


> If I'm not mistaken, until recently American Chestnut was thought to be extinct but supposedly is an excellent wood for box calls.  There are other Chestnut subspecies but I don't believe the wood is as good as the American chestnut for box calls.



From what I understand Chestnut can have softer areas in the lumber that makes it more difficult to use.  I have a one or two made from chestnut. 

My favorite paddle call combination is cedar lid and walnut box.  Walnut is usually a more difficult wood to use to make paddle calls, but when it is done right, in my opinion, nothing else can touch it.

For a regular box call, I would probably have to go with mahogany or poplar box and a walnut lid.  Although I have a call or two with maple lids that sound great.


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## Doublethink98 (Apr 16, 2009)

I myself have heard a few American Chestnut boxes from North Florida that sound really great.


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## Dudley Do-Wrong (Apr 16, 2009)

badcreek said:


> The wood I have is from a W. Va. home built in the 1850's.



I've heard of folks finding some in old homes and barns, I've never been so lucky.  It also makes for excellent pots so if you have any 4/4,,,,,,,,,


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