# friction call material?



## Gruntin & Cuttin (Feb 26, 2011)

If u buy custom friction calls, what type of wood do you like for it to be made of and what kinda surface? I use store bought friction calls and would like to try some custom jobs this year. Thanks


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## Dupree (Feb 26, 2011)

My favorite slate is a slate over glass in a cedar pot. Walnut and cedar seem to make good pots no matter what the calling surface and sound board may be made of. They arent as pretty on the eye, but the turkey isnt going to be looking at the call.


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## M Sharpe (Feb 26, 2011)

4x4powerstrokesd said:


> My favorite slate is a slate over glass in a cedar pot. Walnut and cedar seem to make good pots no matter what the calling surface and sound board may be made of. They arent as pretty on the eye, but the turkey isnt going to be looking at the call.



I like crystal playing surface, but I have to agree with 4x4powerstrokesd about the pot.


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## Stu (Feb 27, 2011)

My favorite wood is Bubinga or Padauk with a slate top and a crystal sound board. More important is who is making the call.


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## M Sharpe (Feb 27, 2011)

Stu said:


> My favorite wood is Bubinga or Padauk with a slate top and a crystal sound board. More important is who is making the call.



very good point!!!!!!!!!


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## Dudley Do-Wrong (Feb 27, 2011)

A lot has to do with your experience and abilities.  If someone has minimal experience, I push them towards a slate.  The slate is easier to condition and easier to run (IMO).

You can get glass and crystal either preconditioned (bead blasted) or slick.  The slick or unconditioned requires condotioning prior to using (duh).  I prefer to condition my own glass, if done correctly it just sounds better and is not difficult to play.

Aluminum can also come bead blasted or unconditioned, I sell nothing but anodized aluminum.  You can run an unconditioned aluminum call though it takes a little work.

I primarily use 2 woods making pots, cherry and walnut.  I use cherry for glass and crystal, and walnut for slate and aluminum.  I do this for a few reasons.  Both wods are easy to get, easy to turn, and have fantastic tonal qualities.  By using only 2 woods that have very similar properties, I do not have to really do anything different in making pots, the woods are very consistent.  I used to use many exotics and many of them make great calls, but the tonal qualities of these woods are no better than what one can get with many of our domestic woods.  I'm not trying to make "pretty", I'm trying to make calls for the hunter.

A newer surface has appeared on the market, ceramic.  I have tried a few and I am not impressed with the sound.  I have recently bought some but have not made any calls from it.  I've got some ideas, may try mahogany with it along with some dimensional experiments.

Hope this doesn't appear to be an advertisement, just trying to provide a different perspective to the man's question.

Also, let me add that a lot has to do with what kind of striker one uses and how he/she uses it.

My preference is a glass over glass in a cherry pot using a hickory 2 piece striker.


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## PAUL J (Feb 27, 2011)

david, do you prefer making two piece strikers over a one piece?i have made quite a few of both, but the two piece strikers were always a crap shoot for me, some sounded ok, some sounded like a duck. i have had significantly better luck with a solid one piece hickory striker, it seems to make the sound carry farther out to me, i have tried making two piece with 3/8 and 5/16 dowel rods but they don't seem much different.


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## boparks (Feb 27, 2011)

If it were all about a call looking good....you could just hold it up and let the turkey see it and he would come a runnin...



I'll defer to DM on the technical aspects as he's the call maker.

I do have a couple slates that I believe that are in cedar pots with cedar sounding boards that sound pretty good with the right striker... I believe the striker is the 3rd properly matched combination needed


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## Dudley Do-Wrong (Feb 27, 2011)

PAUL J said:


> david, do you prefer making two piece strikers over a one piece?i have made quite a few of both, but the two piece strikers were always a crap shoot for me, some sounded ok, some sounded like a duck. i have had significantly better luck with a solid one piece hickory striker, it seems to make the sound carry farther out to me, i have tried making two piece with 3/8 and 5/16 dowel rods but they don't seem much different.


I can pick up nearly any 2 piece hickory striker and easily run calls.  I turn strikers as well out of numerous woods but the hickory seems to be a wood that works well on most call surfaces (IMO).  I also really like a laminated (dymondwood) striker.


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## PAUL J (Feb 27, 2011)

judging by your pictures, man you must have the best lookin calls in town! congrats! you have taken some great birds!


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## boparks (Feb 27, 2011)

PAUL J said:


> judging by your pictures, man you must have the best lookin calls in town! congrats! you have taken some great birds!



Not sure if you mean't me with this..but...thanks if so and yes...trick  is to :

use your tallest decoy stakes and mount all your best looking calls on the top with the wood decorative side out...all the way around you...kind of like a blind.....any turkey that sees and likes how they look will come right  on in


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## M Sharpe (Feb 27, 2011)

boparks said:


> Not sure if you mean't me with this..but...thanks if so and yes...trick  is to :
> 
> use your tallest decoy stakes and mount all your best looking calls on the top with the wood decorative side out...all the way around you...kind of like a blind.....any turkey that sees and likes how they look will come right  on in



So that was you hunting Beechwood Swamp a couple years ago. I thought that was Emues watching their clutch of eggs.


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## boparks (Feb 27, 2011)

M Sharpe said:


> So that was you hunting Beechwood Swamp a couple years ago. I thought that was Emues watching their clutch of eggs.



Guilty as charged


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