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Wood types for homemade call

2K views 6 replies 5 participants last post by  marsh water 
#1 ·
I've searched but couldn't find anything. I'd like to try making my own homemade call (hen mallard). Won't be anything fancy or special but just as a fun DIY project. What types of wood work best, preferably something commonly found in the southeast? Also, I've seen people talk about stabilized wood....what exactly does that mean and how does one go about stabilizing wood?
 
#2 ·
In sure there are wood suppliers in here, the internet or hit up eBay. Hedge is a solid place to start, is relatively inexpensive and has good sound. Stabilizing is taking soft or porous wood and injecting a chemical into the d through pressure to make it solid and strong.
 
#3 ·
Curtis of Cactus juice stabilizing compound has a really good tutorial on youtube. I have stabilized punky wood with it and if you have any problems or questions, Curtis will be more than happy to answer them. I made a vacuum unit out of a large pickle jar and a brake pump from harbor freight. Works really well. I have used it on wood I could stick my finger in and it came out hard as a rock. Like I said, go to cactus juice on line and look for it on youtube. Its not fail proof but pretty near it. Curtis has used it to make cactus pen blanks. I use hedge, or bois di' arc wood a lot myself and it turns well and when oiled goes from bright yellow to a honey blonde. Using a piece of old denim or a torch to burn it makes a really great looking dark contrast on the wood. Good luck.
 
#7 ·
Curtis told me how to make the unit I made. I used a harbor freight brake bleeder pump and drilled a hole in a pickle jar lid. took some fittings and hooked them up. I poured the juice in and added the wood. You pump the vacuum up to about 25 or so lbs and let all the bubbles and foam get out. then release the vacuum and let the juice permeate the wood as long as you want. It can only hold so much. I take it out and put it in a toaster oven at about 200 degrees for about 45min. or so wrapped in alum. foil and put in a small alum pan. When you take it out some of the fluid will have gone out and will need to be cleaned off but it will be hard. If the pros use pressure they do it different than Curtis at cactus juice. He pretty much invented the system he uses and a lot of pros use it. Curtis is a great guy and if you call or email him he will do whatever it takes to get you started at that or pouring alumalite blanks either one.
 
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