hey who_else I started making my own strikers this year and have found that to get good sound out of any two-piece strikers including corncobs you have to make sure the wood dowell fits tightly. I sue liquid nails to glue mine and if there are any gaps between the dowell and the cob I take some slivers of wood and insert them in the gaps and cut off the excess. Give this a try, trust me it works. I have also found that by using liquid nails that you can adjust the dowell in and out of the cob while trying it on calls to get the best sound. The liquid nails is stiff enough to hold the dowel in place but still allow you to move it. Another benifit of Liquid nails is that it dries much faster than regular wood glue. I also spray just the wood of my corn cob strikers with a matte spray varnish, and I also plan on staining some of the ones I made with green stain to sort of camo them. Hope this was a help to ya.