mauser06

what is your favorite wood of a stricker for a friction call ou use?? i make my own and have trouble finding good woods and i want to get some in the rafters of the shed to dry before spring so i can have some new ones but just using any logs is a big waste of time to find out the wood squeeks or something when you make them with a pocket knife...takes me around 3+hrs to finish one..it kills me to get that far then it barely makes a sound!...so far ive used cherry(not sure if its really cherry i call it cherry...litttle red berrys with nuts in it..maybe choke cherry..but i used that..)black walnut..my favorite but my source is gone! and maple...the maple didnt work well for me and it was really old like 3 yrs its been down..the cherry was ok but not great...the black walnut was great but i only got a few pieces and i cant get anymore becuase i cant find a tree..a guys i know his unlce had one down on his property and the guy cut it into logs and he used them for strickers and taught me and gave me a few pieces..i have like 4 strickers with it and they are great...and i have 2 apple logs in the rafters since fall...any other suggestions i might commonly find in the woods?? thanx alot...

Tree climber

if you know anyone with a cabinet shop,see if you can get some scrop Mohogany(sp). I made a couple with that and they sound pretty good.

I am not a hunter I am a whitetail population reduction specialest

remember keep your back to the sun, your knife sharp, and your powder dry.

proturkeycaller

Mahogany
Sassafras
cedar
white & red Oak
Butternut
Osage Orange
Pine
Poplar
Purple Heart

The list really goes on and on. Just about any "hardwood" will do.

Contact local wood mills (and cabinet makers as already mentioned) and see if you can have their scraps. (Ask especially about rift sawn 2x2 scraps!) Most will give the stuff away unless they themselves are into making turkey calls etc.

You can also find 1 1/2" x 1 1/2" blocks of several different types of hardwood from places like Lowe's. They would be already kiln dried and surfaced ready for use. They're not too expensive either.

Also check out some of these online places likeCustom Calls Online. They list wood sources and several sell small blanks of wood for turning strikers.

Lastly, consider asking Santa to bring you a wood lathe for Christmas if it isn't too late. A lot of places (such as grizzlyimports.com) sell small "hobby" lathes that aren't much more than a variable speed drill put into a lathe housing. They can sell as low as $40 and they are big enough to turn strikers!

Jeremiah "Pro"

Edited by - proturkeycaller on 12/22/2002 23:13:02

Adrian J Hare

I tend to find that soft wood seems to have better sound and control. Cedar is another that works very well and you find it a little easyer to work with a knife. The Red or White sound the same to me. Tamarack is another wood that will make a nice sounding striker. As Pro has said there are a no# of different woods out that can be used. My personal opinion is I like the soft over hardwood. The hardwood tends to make a higher pitch call...BT

Strut&Rut

First, I tend to stay away from maple---unless you want an extremely large striker or a very high pitch...

I like to try the odd stuff---sumac, locust, dogwood---you get the idea.

Your apple should work well---I've made a few from apple---but I've found their "cousin" will blow the doors off, and is the finest/easiest wood I've ever worked.

Mauser a quick tip: if you're whittling strikers by hand stop splitting logs and just find a branch the appropriate size and work down. Not only is the wood already size-compatible, but the younger growth will allow for a nice resonance within the striker. Secondly, you're almost guaranteed to have heartwood in the center of the striker, everytime.

Therefore, I've found you can actually work strikers from green wood...box calls and friction pots are an entirely different story because you're usually combining multiple components. If your whittling with a knife, you will find it much easier to shape while green. The wood shouldn't "move" much either, due to the size of the striker. I handcarve most of mine with a knife, and actually prefer the wood only slightly aged.

If you can find some branches in the 1-3 inch diameter, dry with the bark ON---it will enlongate dry time but will reduce twisting. I like to dry mine in 2-4 foot lengths, then cut accordingly (I figure about 8 inches for each striker, or about 3 per 2 feet of branch. Within three months a 2 inch branch is about 85% "dry", I'll whittle mine after about 2 weeks.

S&R

mauser06

thanx guys..pro i will check them sites out....and strut&rut..i always thought that brances didnt have heart wood and it wouldnt work...i guess i will have to try that..it sure is a task to split logs and get the heart wood out in good pieces...i have access to a few of the woods mentioned like pine which i always thought was too soft and i remembered a place behind my house is mainly oak trees and there is always trees down because the way the wind comes up through there...im going to have to grab the saw one day and go for a walk..maybe today...also strut...how do you keep the branches from spliting? just plain luck? i found some tree in the woods it had a soft core i could easily hollow out so i made a survival tool type thing with fishing gear on the inside and line wrapped around it..and i brought home 6ft of the stuff and only got 2 out of it..they are only like 8 inches long too..and the caps i made for the ends were some random tree branches i foundi cut to fit and they split too..tooke me months to get some not to split...u heard that the rafters of houses and barns work good at drying..so i put all my wood in my grandmothers shed rafters...i used to camp out up there i know it gets pretty hot...thanx guys...

Strut&Rut

Mauser,

Sorry so long to return, we leave the 'puter off on weekends and holidays.

Heartwood is simply the compressed inner rings of dead wood, whether located within the trunk or at the apical branches.

For drying, the keys are as follows:

1) leave the bark on. This actually retains the moisture---yeah, I know, this is sorta' backwards. But by retaining the moisture, the water must evaporate out the ends of the branch, instead of along the longitudinal axis (the shaft).

2) dry the branches on end. Again, this is not the norm, but this ensures that the water leaves via the ends and not through the length of the wood. I try to cut anywhere from 6 to 12 three foot lengths of branch, tie them together with some twine/wire, then stand out in my shed.

3) dry at a low temperature. You're stock is splitting because your drying your woods at too high a temperature. Your not at kiln temperature, but your warm enough to force water out. Therefore, the water is taking the easiest/fastest route, which is along the length of the wood.

IN summary, leave the bark on, stand on end, and dry at a low or constant temperature. It would be better to dry them out in your garage, wood shed, or basement. They will take longer to dry, but they will dry more consistently, which will decrease warpage, shrinkage and should all but eliminate cracking.

Hope this helps.


S&R

TScottW99

good ol' hickory
rosewood
prurpleheart
ebony
cherry

If your looking for some really exotic woods you can find dowels for sale on the web. Below is one link that carries a good assortment of exotic wood dowels....

http://www3.memlane.com/windsor/doc2.htm

"A vote is like a rifle: its usefulness depends upon the character of the user."

Theodore Roosevelt

http://tscott.fws1.com

ONE NATION UNDER GOD!

mauser06

thanx alot s&r....i will do that and i have a garage thats outside temp so they will do better there than in the shed rafters i gess...tscott...thanx for the info and the site...that sites perfect..how do you order though i cant seem to find it?? they ahve alot of woods id like to use..purple heart..black walnut i love...i can use some hickory...a bunch!! just need to find how to order them! thanx

TScottW99

i've never orderd anything through this company, their in Canada and figured it would be too much. I used to have a place in Az bookmarked but can't find it now. They also carried a lot of exotic wood dowles.

"A vote is like a rifle: its usefulness depends upon the character of the user."

Theodore Roosevelt

http://tscott.fws1.com

ONE NATION UNDER GOD!