Two things I must mention - First, I'm a husband, and father of two active kids. Second, I have a career that pays the bills. I have to put those two things first. I build calls in my 'spare' time, generally after everyone in my family has gone to sleep. My shop is on the opposite end of the house so I can work without disturbing them.
My basic call starts at $100 (single straight grain wood with a brass band). I offer options that add to that.
Finishes -
- Standard oil/wax finish - no charge. Best for hunting
- Poly finish - Price depends on the wood. Also a great hunting call finish.
- High Gloss Piano Finish (CA Finish) - $15 charge. I don't suggest this for hunting calls.
Bands -
- Shaped Brass Band - no charge. This is the same band I've been putting on my calls for 25+ years. All brass bands are pinned in 3 places to ensure they will not come off.
- Aluminum Anodized bands - Price depends on the band. Available as special request. Alu bands are installed with an industrial adhesive, and I suggest that these are installed only on acrylic calls.
Materials -
- Straight grain woods - Bois D'arc, Walnut, etc no charge
- Burl Woods - email to discuss pricing and availability
- Exotic Woods - email to discuss pricing and availability ** Please note, due to a severe allergy I've developed over 20+ years of making calls, I can no longer turn Cocobolo or Bocote.
- Stabilized woods - email to discuss pricing and availability. Stabilized woods are wonderful woods to use in a call due to their 'stable' nature. They don't absorb moisture readily and they can be quite beautiful.
- Hybrid blank woods - email to discuss pricing and availability. Hybrid woods are a mixture of Stabilized woods and poured acrylics. They can be very beautiful.
- Acrylic - $25 charge. I keep a few colors in stock, and my distributor is very close, so many options are available. Acrylic is a great option due to its beauty and resilience.
- Swirl/Special Acrylics - email to discuss pricing and availability. Just like the acrylics mentioned above, but can be very beautiful, mixing various colors in different patterns.
Construction Options -
Single Reed Construction - No charge - I don't make double reeds at this point (and never have).
Standard O-Ring Construction - No charge
Burnt Accent Rings - No charge. Looks best on light color woods
Endpiece or Barrel Caps - $5 either end, or $10 for both.
Orbits (Brass ring between main construction wood and cap)- $5
Stippling - $10 This is a random texturing of the surface of the call, both decorative and functional. There are only certain materials this is appropriate on.
What is the leadtime for all of this?
The answer is - It depends! A simple straight grain call with no options is much quicker to build than one with lots of options, so its that easy. The important thing is that I will communicate with you during the process. Finally, I won't take any money until the call is ready to ship - simple as that!
Duck calls make great presents for the hunter in your family, and you know you want one yourself. Get away from the mass produced stuff that you find in a catalog and order a hand made call, made buy a guy in Tennessee with an Arkansas hunting heritage. Email me and we'll get the process started.
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