Watcha think???

[BigB]

In the spirit of pure honest feedback that has been given lately, what do ya think about these calls.  Please critique so I can get better.  You ain't going to offend me.  If you don't like something, let me know.  I can't get better if nobody says anything.  Thanks a bunch. 

Left to right is blue pearl acrylic, hedge, cocobolo 1, cocobolo 2.  The cocobolo's and the blue acrylic have a clear acrylic toneboard, and the hedge has a delrin.  These toneboards are my own design but I use of one of quackerstacker's jigs to get a rough shape. 2 3/4" shell for reference.



They are seriously loud for those windy days and do great distress, but also do some good younger howls.  They aren't for sale, as I don't consider myself good enough to sell any yet online.  I will try to post a sound file if anybody has some instructions to do that.

And a thanks to Al for the acrylic tutorial.   I got the acrylic smooth as glass because of all of his tips.

[Arkyyoter]

I Think they are very, very good!!!! I like short and smaller calls,  they look comfortable in the hand. Your workmanship looks great as well..... I particularly like the Osage one!

[Lonehowl]

Well, from what I see, I think theyre great looking.

[CypressSlough]

BigB, they are all good looking calls. I like cocabola 2 the best. It has good proportions and clean simple lines. Great job, Brian.

[coyotehunter_1]

They aren't for sale, as I don't consider myself good enough to sell any yet online.

We are often our own worst critics.... I feel you under estimate your craftsmanship. 

[Brad H]

I love that blue pearl. It looks like it has a coat of metlaflake on it. Very neat look.

The only thing I don't care for is the rolled over style on the bell end of the hedge.

Otherwise, no doubt a fantastic start.

Brad

[BigB]

Thanks everybody for the feedback.  It does mean a bunch to me. 

The blue pearl acrylic is some fun stuff.   Working with the acrylic really isn't so bad if you follow Al's tutorial very closely.  It is spot on.  One thing that I did learn with the acrylic is that the sharp corner edges on the outside of my round scraper doesn't get along well with the acrylic.  I rounded them off quite a bit, and it helps out big time.

I think Al is going to get some pearl colored acrylic in soon, so give it a try.  It really isn't that bad.

I was tinkering around a bit more with it this evening.  I like the style of Hawk's calls, so the middle call is my attempt at it.  I am not trying to copy his style, just pay homage to Jerry.    Isn't imitation the oldest form of flattery??

[Todd Rahm]

The calls look fine. In this case it just boils down to which body style the buyer likes.

I have always been partial to the green band too.  On calls of course.  :shck:

On another note, I really likes the looks of those "Blue Pearl" calls.  Are any of them available?

[Bills Custom Calls]

Just my .02 worth

I think I would take the words of these folks to heart.


Bill

[ninthinning]

Good looking calls.  What do you see as the differences between delrin and acrylic?  Working the material, sound, volume etc.?

[Hawks Feather]

BigB,

Hey, I like the style of that center one!     Actually I consider it a compliment that you liked the style enough to give it a try.

Jerry

[quackerstacker]

prices? i like the hedge.

steve

[bigben]

them blue acrylic calls are schweet.   

[BigB]

Todd, 
These were the first 3 blue pearl acrylic out of the chute.  I learned quite a bit on each one.  Let me get a few more turned that pass my own quality inspection, and then I can send one your way.


Nineth,
   A few things that I noticed between the acrylic and delrin:  Delrin is a bit more forgiving than the acrylic when working with it.  A good analogy that I can think of is plastic plates vs grandma's good china.  You have to be a LOT more careful when working with grandma's china than you do with plastic plates.
    For me right now, the acrylic takes quite a bit more time to get a finished product than does the delrin.  You can get away with more brute force with the delrin, but not on the acrylic.  That applies to drill bits, clamping forces, etc.  It also applies to inserting the acrylic into the call body.  The first one I stuck into a call body to tune and when I went to remove it, I twisted it a bit as I pulled it out, and cracked the toneboard.
    Polishing the acrylic takes a bunch more work than the delrin.  The clear acrylic shows every scratch, both inside and out.  Getting them all out takes 5X as much time as the delrin.
    Sound qualities differ a bit more too.  I feel that I can get a bit more of a crisper sound on the acrylic than with the delrin.  I haven't noticed much on volume yet, but I haven't had time to take them to the field yet either.

Working with acrylic will definately tell you where all of your bad habits are.  Acryilic is not forgiving at all.  Here is a pic of what I was describing above about my round scraper.  On the right side of the scraper, that is the corner that will grab into the acrylic and suck the tool into it.  The left side is what I rounded it off to, and had no problems with it at all after that.

[ninthinning]

Very interesting.  Thank you for the thoughtful reply.

[BryanStanley]

Love that pearl blue  never even knew that that color was availible. And the body styles you have created are sweet. Looks like they fit very well into one's hand/ Great job buddy.

Bryan

[THO Game Calls]

Those blue acrylic calls are just very nice indeed.   I like all of them.   Maybe the one on the right the most, but man they are all good work.

One of the things to watch with your scraper is having it "lift" off your tool rest.  It  is easy to do.  You need to concentrate on keeping it flat on the rest.  When they lift up on one side or the other, that is when the edge of your tool will catch the most.   Scares the heck out of ya doesn't it LOL.

With Delrin, you have to be careful too.  If you put a lot of force on it, it will also catch, but unlike acrylic which just shatters, delring grabs your tool and will rip it right out of your had and send it flying.

Since I started turning acrylic, my reaction times have decreased to almost cat like reflexes LOL

Al
THO Game Calls
www.thogamecalls.com

Member - Custom Call Makers & Collectors Guild & Call Makers & Collectors Association of America

[MattS]

Those acrylic calls seem like you are looking into deep space.  They are beutiful.

[cb223]

I really like 1 and 2 in the second picture. That blue is cool and I love the shape. How do they sound?