thekctermite

Here's a padauk duck call I made tonight. I got a nice piece of 8/4 padauk at the lumberyard last week and it has one edge with some sapwood on it. I thought that was a cool feature, and I like the black line between the heartwood and the sapwood. The band is aluminum...Would've looked cool with copper. The call was sanded to 800 and buffed on the Beall buffer, then friction polished with Mylands. I'm still getting the hang of making inserts and tuning my own calls after a couple weeks of working at it, and this one sounds great. Nice loud hail call with really good low end quacks and feed chuckle.

Anyone have any finishes for padauk that they recommend? I tried spar varnish on it once on a TV tray I built....Once! It didn't dry and ruined the project.

Any comments, critiques or suggestions would certainly be appreciated.

Tony B

Padouk is one of my favorite woods. I have used varnish, poly and lacquer on padouk and all with success. I dont know why you had a problem with spar varnish unless of course you used Minwax which is a poor product in my opinion.
I never used any special precautions, just sand and spray. I wish you luck on this go-around.
BTW, nice Duck Call.

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Tony B

http://www.thetexaswoodworks.com

phinds

Whatever finish you use, make sure it has a strong UV blocker, else the padauk will turn brown over time. I use spar polyurethane and it works well, but then people don't put my bowls in their mouth, or at least I don't think they do.

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phinds
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www.hobbithouseinc.com/personal/woodpics/

Kenbo

I was bragging about your duck and turkey calls to a hunter at work. I showed him your pictures on the forum and he liked them as much as I do. Well, you've done it again. Another gorgeous duck call. I'll have to show my co worker this one on Tuesday. Great job.
Ken

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thekctermite

TonyB, I totally agree about the Minwax Helmsman spar. Not good stuff. I've had better luck with the Cabot stuff from Lowes. I thin it 60/40 with mineral spirits and dip my calls in it. Works awesome, although the directions say not to thin it.

Thanks for the compliment Ken! Man, having people brag about my calls is just about the greatest compliment a guy can get.

Phinds, I know about the UV issue with padauk. Orange doesn't lend itself very well to concealment from ducks so I'm going to be ok with it when this one goes to brown. I wonder if spar has a UV blocker....I presume it does since it is intended for outdoor applications.

woodman42

Nice duck call termiite. I really like the contrast.

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firehawkmph

KC,
beautiful piece of wood. I agree with the copper band. I have used lacquer on a lot of my projects. I wipe it on while it is still on the lathe after I am done sanding. Three or four coats, let it dry for ten minutes, then I hit it on the beale wheels. I wouldn't worry about uv rays so much on something like this. Most of the time it will be in your pocket and not lying out in the sun.
Mike Hawkins

thekctermite

Thanks Mike. A lot of callmakers use Deft laquer (either sprayed on or by dipping the call in it). A lot of them swear by it. I used to, and found that it does not hold up if it gets wet. I ended up refinishing some turkey calls I sold after the deft failed. Duck calls inevitably get wet fairly often so I'm pretty skeptical about using it, knowing that people may have durability issues with it down the road.

TexasTimbers

That's a beauty!

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Flame Box Elder

Streamwinner

Nice. Beautiful grain on both sides.

firehawkmph

KC,
I forgot you duckhuntin' guys like to go swimming while you hunt. In that case, I would use something like a good spar varnish, might as well pretend it's a boat.
Mike Hawkins

jdixon

KC that is another great looking call. You are really producing some beauties. I think I'm most impressed you are doing your own tone boards! That is fantastic and has to be a great feeling knowing the sound is all yours!

John