Turtle Shell Friction call
 

Has anyone used a slate call made from a turtle shell?

Found a shell during bow season last year and made a call to try this spring.

RE: Turtle Shell Friction call
 

well never have, but I just saw on Ebay, a slate call made from coconut! Go figure!

RE: Turtle Shell Friction call
 

I havn' t used one either, but plan on making one soon. If your ever on Ebay search for the ebayer WHITTLEHOUSE . He makes some beautiful calls and beautiful turtle shell calls. He usally has an artist paint a gobbler of camo on his turtle shells.

RE: Turtle Shell Friction call
 

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.

RE: Turtle Shell Friction call
 

I just made one with a small palm size turtle shell and glass..I have a slate shell I made yrs ago...but the little glass turle shell I just made really has a good tone.
I had an old slate and glass call I didn' t like and just took the glass out of it and used it..

RE: Turtle Shell Friction call
 

Barefoot, I went to a local store that sells all kinds of stone. The salesman gave me some samples that were 6" x 6" of slate tile. They were about 1/4" thick. That saved me a lot of time. See if you can find one close to you.

RE: Turtle Shell Friction call
 

NOW you tell me!! Anybody wanna buy a slightly used pool table? Needs a little repair-- but it has an extra pocket!:):)

Actually I saw that at Home Depot about a month ago, but I haven' t had a chance to try it out yet. I like starting from scratch-- or as close as I can since there' s no native slate in Mississippi that I know about. And I can' t beat the price! Besides, what am I going to do with that old pool table now? I guess I could break it up and make indoor fountains out of it.

RE: Turtle Shell Friction call
 

I' ve made turtle shell calls and used cedar for the sound board. Haven' t tried slate yet but have a couple shells waiting for it. I stain my shells, too but don' t bother to bleach them first. This alone makes for some pretty good " natural" hues to emerge.

RE: Turtle Shell Friction call
 

Hey Ram96 I know where you can get some real nice strikers to use with that turtle shell:D