Rut ‘n’ Strut Game Calls
How I turn a Pot Call
Select wood that you want to use to turn
Pot Calls out of, Rip it 4” wide and then
Crosscut into 4” X 4” Call Blanks.
Mark Call Blank from corner to corner with
Pencil and straight edge to find center. Dog ear
corners with a Table Saw or Band Saw.
Mount Call Blank to Face Plate with small
wood screws. This is a Back View.
Call Blank mounted to Face Plate. Front
View.
Mount Face Plate to Lathe Head Stock.
Mount Tool Rest in Tool Rest Holder and secure
it as close as possible to Call Blank. Rotate Call
Blank by hand to insure there is no interference.
Start Lathe and begin rounding out Call Blank
using ½” and 1” Gouge and Skew Chisels.
Use ½” and 1” Skew to clean up and finish
rounding Call Blank.
At this point your Call Blank should look similar
to this. Notice the slight taper to side of Call
Blank.
Use a Steel Rule and Pen or a Skew Chisel held
on its edge to mark the Pot Depth on the Side of
the Pot Call Blank.
Use a Steel Rule and Pen or a Skew Chisel (held
on it edge as shown) to mark the Pot Depth on
the Pot Call Blank.
If you are adding an Inlay to the side of the call,
use a Parting Tool to cut the groove for the Inlay.
Stop Lathe. Fit and cut Inlay Strip to size. Apply
glue, Install Inlay Band and secure until Glue is
dry.
Use a 1/2” or 3/8” gouge to cut a finger groove
into the side of the call.
Stop Lathe. Move Tool Rest to the Face of Call.
Use 1” Gouge and/or 1” Skew to clean up Face
of Call Blank and remove excess stock to Line
from previous step.
Use a 3/8” Gouge and 1/2” Skew to rough out
the inside of the Pedestal and Outer Call Cavity.
Use a ½” and/or 1” Skew to cut the Calling
Surface Lip and to clean up the roughed out
Inside of the Pedestal and the Outer Call Cavity.
Inside of Call is now finished and ready to be
sealed.
Round over Outer Top Edge of Pot Call
with 1” Skew Chisel.
Round over the Inner Top Edge of Pot with
1” Skew Chisel.
Once Call Pot is completely turned, Sand
the Call completely. Start with 150 Grit and
progress through 600-1000 Grit.
Apply Sealer to Inside of Call Pot.
Apply Sealer to Outside of Call Pot.
Burnish Sealer into Call Pot.
Apply Initial Finish Coat to Call Pot.
Burnish Initial Finish Coat into Call Pot.
Top, Inside and Side of Call Pot are
finished and ready to take to Drill Press.
Drill out 4 Mounting Holes first, then drill
4 additional holes in between the first 4.
Drill the Center Hole. Go halfway through
and then turn the Pot over and finish
drilling the hole.
Measure the distance between one set of
Jaws on my 4 Jaw Independent Chuck
using Calipers.
Measure distance between the Opposite set
of Jaws with Calipers. The difference
between the two readings should be no
more that .001-.002” between Jaw Sets.
Mount the Call Blank in Chuck and Secure
using Chuck Key.
Mount the Chuck to the Lathe.
Mount the Tool Rest to the Lathe. Rotate
Call Blank by hand to insure there is no
interference.
Start the Lathe and use a 1” Skew to
Chamfer the Outside Bottom edge of Call
Pot.
Use 1” Skew in a Scraping motion to clean
up the bottom of the Call Pot.
Bottom of Call Pot after it is cleaned up
with Skew Chisel.
Remove Tool Rest and Begin Sanding Call
Pot Bottom. Start with 150 and progress
through 600-1000 Grit.
Apply Sealer to Call Pot Bottom and then
Burnish it in.
Apply Initial Finish Coat.
Burnish Initial Finish Coat into Call Pot.
Finished Call Pot. Ready to remove from
Chuck and take to Bench to Glue in Sound
Board and Calling Surface.