Hello my name is Tyson LaVerdiere and I am very interested in making predator calls out of wood.  I am brand new to call making but have a ton of experience working with wood.  I really need to know the tools I need and the places to buy high quality supplies.  I really want to do the wood work and buy the tone boards and different size and shaped reeds at first until I get used to the process (I am looking to buy the "guts" of the Calls).  From there I would like to start making my own tone boards and reeds after I have a better understanding of how everything works together.  My real interest is creating beautiful wooden calls that fit my Predator Hunting Needs.  I know how I want my calls to sound and I want the ability to adjust the sound by tuning them.  I do not fully understand the process yet and am studying it intensely right now. 
I am very happy to have found this site and I am hoping that you very experienced call makers can help me out.  I would love to know where I can get great tone boards and great reeds along with all of the necessary inner workings of the calls.  I would like both the tone boards and reeds that I order to come in small shipments and I would like to have the opportunity to pick the sizes and shapes of them for each order.  My Goal is to have the reeds and tone boards interchangeable so that I can create the exact sounds that I want when combined with the wood that I will be working with.
Let me explain what kind of calls that I want to make so that everyone can help me best.  I will be making Open Reed Calls for personal use.  I am very picky and I like the satisfaction of a job well done.  This does not mean that I will stop buying Custom Made Calls for my Personal Collection but it does mean that I am ready to start making some custom calls of my own.
A little about myself:  I am Crazy about Predator Hunting and Hand Calling!  I am the Founder and President of COYOTE INC which is a National Predator Hunting and Trapping Club.  COYOTE INC is in it's infantile stages right now but we are building a strong member base fast.  Our Goal is to educate predator enthusiasts how to be more successful at predator hunting and trapping by teaching them through hands on experience the tactics needed specific to their geographic location.  I am a hard worker and would love to make my own predator calls.  I hope that you great call makers can point me in the right direction!
Thanks in Advance!
Tyson LaVerdiere

Hello Tyson, welcome. Your the Tyson from BTO right?

Like the rest of us that started out in your position, just start buying stuff and trying different things to see what makes it work and not work.    


Brian

Hi Tyson,

Glad to have you hear and glad to hear that you are interested in making good sounding calls.  There are several places that sell supplies and some are mentioned in other posts on this board.  What i have observed over the years has been that if I use Brand X items and someone else likes Brand Y then there are some instances where one of us will decide that the other person doesn't really know what they are doing.  I have several places that I buy from and are happy both with the service and the quality of the material that I get from them.  I also have had some that I no longer use.  I think BigB gave some pretty good advice when he said "just start buying stuff and trying different things to see what makes it work".   I think the comparison to firearm reloading can be made when a person uses the "exact" load that was in the reloading book and doesn't get the same accuracy.       Get some parts and see what you like.

Jerry

Tyson,

Some call makers, and in fact all call makers at one point (did), make their own toneboards.

It's a very satisfying process, for most of us that are doing it. It's actually my favorite part.

And I'm able to suit the needs and expectations of those I am building calls for, better, by doing so. Different callers like different things, in sound, size, and the "drive" required (force, pressure, air flow rate, etc), in a mouthpiece.
By gaining an understanding of what production (and even customs with manufactured toneboards) they like, and dislike, I can tailor the toneboard to fit, and function for them, more perfectly... I too am kind of a perfectionist, when it comes to the things I make, and  want to make them what they want, not what I (or someone else selling parts) want them to want.

Now you, and many others, might think I am not an advocate of using pre-made toneboards/mouthpieces, but that's not the case.
I said many years ago, after I fitted a P.S. Olt duck call body to my brother's CritR Call, changing an otherwise great call into a completely different "animal"..."somebody needs to produce extensions for popular calls".

But here's what I believe too  (and I hope I am not hurting anyone' feelings, by saying this, but...), if you are buying toneboards or mouthpieces, (it's my opinion, and only my opinion, in making the followng statement) that's all you are doing, is building "extensions"...
And you sound like the kind of guy that wants to be, and is capable of, building your own stuff.

To a large degree, wood is wood at least in regard to characteristics of making sound (drivability).
The way a call sounds is more about the mechanical nature of how a call works, and understanding how to manipulate that.
The reed oscilates, slapping against the toneboard, and that's the sound we hear... many factors affect the "frequency" of the oscilations and the strength or volume of that "slapping", including air pressure, toneboard length and curvature (depth), reed stiffness and shape/width, air channel size and flow rate.

I suggest you take one of each type of call, a closed reed and an open reed, and work on building and understanding of how different things change the sound produced.
All Predator Calls sells a pack of reed materials (or at least did... I don't see it?), from Major Bodikker the originator of the CritR Call, and while most of the materials aren't "mainstream" products, the information on the card in the packet is probably worth the price, and the mylar in the packet will help in your experimenting/learning process.
To further that process, I offer a free sample pack of reed materials, none of which are in one of the CritR Call materials packets (all you have to do is send me your shipping address).

*I'd have just copied it to this forum, but I don't know what ever happened to the copy I had. Anybody, got one?

There's a lot of talk about "tuning" closed reeds, but I don't think it's something that really needs to be done.
The JC reeds I've used are rarely ever changed from the way I get them, and I have never had anyone (using the calls I made) question my decision to install them unaltered.
Now, you'll have to test drive each reed, as they are installed, to be sure that particular one doesnt have a tendency to lock up or a sound that's not right (which a couple out of every hundred or so can have).

But, if I were you, when starting out, at least, I'd focus on your woodworking, finishes, and finding and defining your own style, before you start trying to reinvent the wheel (as far as the way a closed reed produces sound).

Since I don't use a lathe to make calls, I can't add anything helpful to that subject, other than to say "you don't even need a lathe".

Look around the forums here, there's a lot of information, that should answer many of your questions, otherwise asking for specific answers, to specific questions will be your best bet.

Krusty

Thank you everyone for the Great Advice!  Yes I am the Tyson who you used to see on BTO. 
On the subject of making my own tone boards there is nothing I want more as that is where the soul of the call is...as far as sound.  I am studying as much as I can and plan on experimenting a lot and want to get as many different tone boards and reeds to see how it all works.  I have taken all of my custom and production calls apart and would not dare say I know enough yet....but I am dying to figure it out and to learn from everyone here!
Again, Many Many Thanks for ALL of the Advice and Thanks for the Warm Welcome!
Tyson