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 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 ” 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 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.