Long Box project for a buddy..Update Project finished!

[swamprooter]

It happens every year around mid February, as i am driving with my Polaroids on well it happens so slowly but surely.....redbuds!.....you can't see them with naked eye but when you view through your sunglasses, well you start to see springs first buds and that gets my juices flowing........TURKEY HUNT!......even though they are a month away from full glory, the hint of violent gets me rolling to make calls, invent new decoys, or make a batch of turkey arrows etc.... i am now manic.....thanks redbud!..........A friend of mine at our hunting camp share a an old Long leaf plank i found many years ago heavily buried in the sand banks along the MS River in Coahoma Co. I found it not 100 yards down stream from the old Burkes Landing where commerce was once bustling in the late 1800's there in Coahoma C0. for loading cotton and timber on steamboats. Weeks later , my buddy retrieved was 3" x 16" by 14' long-leaf heart pine plank for our future project whatever it may be..This type of wood was a favored of among landings due to rot resistant and insect proof. Well after many years of laying under my friends shed, we found a use for it, mantles for his Big Horn sheep mount and a mantle for my family new fireplace at the camp. Heart Pine is not in the top five of your most desired Long box woods...probably not top 10!!!...However i have some red cedar from the a tornado fell tree also from the club that came from an old sign post deer rub tree everyone in the club knew of. What i though a neat top to escort the heart pine box. Furthermore my friend has no clue of the project which makes it even better. So the jagged 2 ' left off the mantle cutting hopefully will bring a smile to an ole friend who also loves nostalgia as much or more than me.

heres the picture of the rough end with my sample box on top. this wood had 72 growth rings in 3.5 "!!

[swamprooter]

Board had to be squared and sanded. Here is plank being flat sanded through my performac drum sander i use for making my recurve and long bow limbs. the pitch was almost unbearable and ruined my sanding drum in no time

[swamprooter]

Next i had to cut down the sides to a 4.5 degree angle. This is what Neil Cost used and well......he's good enough . Although it's not critical , i stick to his plans. Most important thing here is to align wood grain on box end to quarter strike the grain alignment on lid. I like my grain going 8oclock to 2 oclock for a right hander.

[swamprooter]

With box angles cut, then i transfer over my template and trace so i can cut out with my band saw ( not shown). Important note here is cant your band saw blade 4.5 degrees also so when you cut out box profile, it matches and doesnt come out catty wompus.

[swamprooter]

Next we start cooking cooking with propane, drilling of the box. I use a forstner 5/8 bit and drill to about 3/16 deep from the bottom. No need to hurry here but take your time

[swamprooter]

Now comes the time oddly i enjoy the most, hand chiselling the sides down. Most guys use power tools and they work great... however i have found they do get wood hot and induce moisture into the rails so i stick to the old true method of hand chisel. besides i am not in any hurry.. I try to keep my bottom about 120/1000 with a 30/1000 top rail.. thats ball park.

[swamprooter]

No we going to put some rubber on the road....pocketknife scraping.....there is no other way to do this...yes the big guys and some of your $500 "custom" long box guys have a router or CNC machine etc.that do an exceptional job but here again...i just dont like the adding that heat back to the wood cell so i again stick to what ole Neil instructed ....hand scraping.. goal here is to shape rails so they taper from wide to slim as you reach the top. you also can vary the width of the chamber to get that "yawp" that is so desired on the finished stroke with this style of box. This process make take an hour or a year?!!.....some woods are different.

[LawDawg]

that's really cool, Joey. I checked my game cameras the other day and let's just say, I wish I hadn't. It's gonna be a long wait.

[mshunter77]

Nice man, definetly a labor of love.

[swamprooter]

After i get it "close" . I will throw multiple lids on it. Until i get the 3 note "yew" "yaw" "yawp" that is this type box signature sound.This may take a while but it takes an ear to develop too. Those of you that have made your own calls know what i'm talking about because the repetitive calling will drive you crazy. for that i have what i call my bell Cow call. It's number 16 "Sweetie" whenever i think i'm getting close or not , i hit ole Sweetie and it reminds me of the sound i am searching.

[swamprooter]

ooops picture backwards...above picture is where i take a rasp and square stuff up..heres a pic of the lids. Didnt go into how to make the lids but they are easy. my bell cow call Sweetie is in the foreground.... it vibrates in your hand when stroking it....it's my baby!

[swamprooter]

After i get the right lid and spray with a sealer that DEET wont eat through , i will write some stuff on the lid like where the wood came from etc. and my friends name on it. it's lot fun for me to make a hand made call and give to that friend and watch them have fun with it. kind of extends my season and i guess i am hunting through them if they are successful with that call. I have made calls from broke recurve handles to cracked box calls, old doors and sinker planks. A lot wood will make a call. It's not rocket science and i encourage everyone to try it one day. if i can help anyone along the way please email me and try my best. I am not famous or the greatest call maker but i love the sport and history of the calls. It's just folk art at it's finest to me. good hunting. maybe next post will be my buddy Hughes with a fine gobbler from the pine board!

[Hambone]

That call is way too fine for old HL...just send it to me!!!

[kris Schaumburg]

two things. A) do you have a website for your recurve bows? B) can you post a pic of your friend's bighorn for the sheep people?

[swamprooter]

Chris , sorry I do not have a website since I dont sell anything. Wish I had a pic of sheep but since they are not on my bucket list. I care nothing about those smelly creatures. Yeah right!!