I posted the below write-up at customcalls.com, a site very similar to duckboats except call making is the heart of the site as opposed to duck boat building and decoys. Oddly enough that site started about the same time as duckboats, is nearly identical in terms of mission, purpose and format. Want to hear the cool thing? It's founder, Greg Hodges, and I developed our two sites in the same vein yet never knew we worked in the same building for the same customer and had met several times before discovering the commonality. Small world isn't it.
If you've read this already forgive the repost. Seeing as how duckboats.net is a do-it-yourself crew, I figured you might like to see some shop tinkering from a few months ago before the season started.
Just getting started into call turning one of the first tools of the trade to acquire was a mandrel, I figured. One day while at a Jeff Smith's house we were going over the 14" Powermatic tablesaw he's restoring. In the pile of parts to be replaced I saw the locking tilt shaft and was hit with an idea. Instead of locking the trunnion of a saw in place why not lock a call barrel in place. Jeff donated the galled shaft for the cause and I marked it up with a sharpie and took it to a nearby machinist. The whole concept is really straightforward. A pointed threaded rod screws into the shaft and gently jams a woodruff key into the housing, or call barrel, that surrounds the shaft, and prohibits the shaft from slipping in the barrel. My machinist turned one end of the shaft down to a Morse 2 Taper and the other end slightly smaller than 5/8". The single woodruff slot was repeated for a total of three slots, evenly spaced, so that pressure on the barrel was not all on one side therbey centering it on the mandrel which makes for better repeatibility should you remove and remount the barrel.
The only thing left was making a drawbar. What I wanted was a drawbar that simultaneously held the mandrel in the lathe and locked the call barrel into position. With a steel rod that I cut threads on, some bronze plumbing fittings filed to size on the lathe so they would fit firmly in the headstock so as not to let the rod flop around, a spring, and a knob, I was able to trial and error my way to a draw bar that fits my lathe headstock and pulls the mandrel in the headstock firmly while locking the barrel in place.
Galled shaft from a Powermatic 72 tablesaw.
Notes for machinist. If I had it to do over I have have gone a tad larger in dia than .6200.
Threaded rod pushes against woodruff key to "expand" the mandrel.
Mandrel after machinist did his part.
Shop made draw bar uses bushing and spring to hold mandrel in headstock and apply correct tension.
The entire assembly.
Bronze bushing keeps drawbar in postion and from flopping in headstock.
A simple twist of the knob on the outboard side of the lathe pulls mandrel in place while holding call barrel.
Three woodruff keys hold barell in position. Keys are dimpled so as not to fall out.
Barrel ready to turn.
Repositioning barell is as easy has a half twist of the drawbar.
If you've read this already forgive the repost. Seeing as how duckboats.net is a do-it-yourself crew, I figured you might like to see some shop tinkering from a few months ago before the season started.
Just getting started into call turning one of the first tools of the trade to acquire was a mandrel, I figured. One day while at a Jeff Smith's house we were going over the 14" Powermatic tablesaw he's restoring. In the pile of parts to be replaced I saw the locking tilt shaft and was hit with an idea. Instead of locking the trunnion of a saw in place why not lock a call barrel in place. Jeff donated the galled shaft for the cause and I marked it up with a sharpie and took it to a nearby machinist. The whole concept is really straightforward. A pointed threaded rod screws into the shaft and gently jams a woodruff key into the housing, or call barrel, that surrounds the shaft, and prohibits the shaft from slipping in the barrel. My machinist turned one end of the shaft down to a Morse 2 Taper and the other end slightly smaller than 5/8". The single woodruff slot was repeated for a total of three slots, evenly spaced, so that pressure on the barrel was not all on one side therbey centering it on the mandrel which makes for better repeatibility should you remove and remount the barrel.
The only thing left was making a drawbar. What I wanted was a drawbar that simultaneously held the mandrel in the lathe and locked the call barrel into position. With a steel rod that I cut threads on, some bronze plumbing fittings filed to size on the lathe so they would fit firmly in the headstock so as not to let the rod flop around, a spring, and a knob, I was able to trial and error my way to a draw bar that fits my lathe headstock and pulls the mandrel in the headstock firmly while locking the barrel in place.
Galled shaft from a Powermatic 72 tablesaw.
Notes for machinist. If I had it to do over I have have gone a tad larger in dia than .6200.
Threaded rod pushes against woodruff key to "expand" the mandrel.
Mandrel after machinist did his part.
Shop made draw bar uses bushing and spring to hold mandrel in headstock and apply correct tension.
The entire assembly.
Bronze bushing keeps drawbar in postion and from flopping in headstock.
A simple twist of the knob on the outboard side of the lathe pulls mandrel in place while holding call barrel.
Three woodruff keys hold barell in position. Keys are dimpled so as not to fall out.
Barrel ready to turn.
Repositioning barell is as easy has a half twist of the drawbar.
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