How to Make a Slate Turkey Call

slate call

Contributor

By John Gugie
eHow Contributing Writer

Article Rating:

(8 Ratings)

Slate turkey calls are the easiest call to make. They can be made in less than half an hour. All that is needed is a piece of slate, a saw, and sandpaper. This is a basic slate call but most hunters will want to tweak the sound with a sound chamber and different strikers.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

Slate
Saw
Knife
Hammer
Sidewalk
Water
Sandpaper
PVC pipe
Pencil
Wooden dowel
Ceramic glue
Dry corncob
Wood glue

Slate Instructions

Step 1

Cut out an 1/8-inch thick piece of slate about 8 inches by 8 inches with a saw.
Step 2

Trim it with a knife and hammer.
Step 3

Wet a section of sidewalk.
Step 4

Rub slate on sidewalk in a circular motion to smooth it.
Step 5

Rub slate with sandpaper until perfectly smooth.

Sound Chamber Instructions

Step 1

Cut a two inch high piece of PVC pipe with an approximate diameter of three inches.
Step 2

Place PVC pipe segment on top of the slate.
Step 3

Trace around the pipe on the slate.
Step 4

Trim the slate to the size of the traced line.
Step 5

Pour a ceramic glue on to one edge of the pipe.
Step 6

slate call

Place slate on to pipe.
Step 7

Allow glue to dry.

Striker Instructions

Step 1

Cut an eighth inch long length from a 3/8-inch diameter wooden dowel.
Step 2

Sharpen one end to a point.
Step 3

Find a dry corncob with the corn removed.
Step 4

Cut cob to about six inches long.
Step 5

Push about half of the dowel far into the center of the corncob.
Step 6

cob striker

Put some wood glue on to the dowel and then push it back into the cob, if they do not form a tight fit.

Tuning Instructions

Step 1

Vary the length and shape of the tip of the dowel until you get the sound you desire.
Step 2

Vary the amount of hollow space between the inside of the cob and dowel or length of the top of the cob until you get the sound you desire.
Step 3

Shorten the PVC pipe until you get the sound you desire.