I' ve made a couple of them in the last year or 2. I had one made in time to use it last season. Worked several birds off of it and they seemed to really like the tone of it. I got responses off of it that they wouldn' t reply to on my other calls.

I found a fellow with a broken pool table and got the slate from it. It' s usually 1" thick. I cut a circle out of my slate with a tile jig and a drill press. (You can get one at Home Depot or Lowes or the like.) Then I split that with a stone cutting blade on my table saw. The secret is to cut just a little ways in ALL around the edge and work TOWARD THE MIDDLE from all around the perimeter. If you try to cut straight through, you will crack off the last 1/2 to 3/4 inch just about every time. Then I sand it down using a combination belt sander to the thickness I want. If you' re careful, you can get 3 slates from each circle cut. If possible, do your cutting outside and stand upwind of the slate. Keep a spray bottle of water nearby and don' t be afraid to use it, but be careful not to get the electric motors wet and watch for rust on your machines! There will be LOTS of dust! It kinda depends on the conformation of the base of the shell whether I attach the slate to the rear and middle or just to 4 points at the middle. (You' ll understand what I mean as you make a few of them). I try to attach it to the back when I can. It makes it less likely to hang up when getting it out of your pocket. It gets some really different tones on different on different areas of the surface.

As far as preparing the shell itself, I bleach it ral well and let it dry thoroughly, then I stain it with wood stain. You have to put it on pretty heavy and every shell stains differently. Also I use up to 3 different colors, usually finishing with a red mahogany to get the hues I like. Then after I let that dry a couple of days, I will seal it with a spray-on polyurethane coat or 2. I use a semi-gloss because I don' t want it to shine.

They are VERY responsive to different strikers and give very good sounds. They make a good conversation piece too.

Hope you enjoy yours as much as I enjoy mine. The only problem I have is the lack of starting material.