The time has finally come: mandrels specifically for turning duck call barrels.  These mandrels allow you to mount your pre-bored barrel two different ways, remount any call with the same bore diameter as your mandrel, hold kegs that are turned to your mandrel’s diameter without using a center support (live center/tailstock), and rework previously made barrels that were not drilled in the center, all in one “system”.  A duck call maker who understands how a call mandrel should perform has made the MVS, PLS and CLS specifically for duck calls.  No more using a pen turning mandrel for making duck calls.  After turning calls for 13+ years without a mandrel, we designed the MVS, CLS, and PLS mandrels for our own use.  After many people expressed interest, we decided to start building them to help all of the other call makers out there.  We would suggest that you do some tinkering with this mandrel with practice wood to familiarize yourself with the mandrel.  The practice will likely save you some grief with your good wood.  We hope you enjoy this new tool.

Click on a mandrel to go to that page.

Download the Manual for the Mandrels here

This will help explain operation and features of the mandrels

* #2 Morse Taper Type shown. Standard mandrel rod sizes available: .500” (1/2), .5625 (9/16),and .625” (5/8). Custom sizes are available, contact me for more information and pricing. Below surface cuts are available for total call sanding access. Easily works almost all duck and goose call blanks, wall thickness, and is the most versatile.

* #2 Morse Taper Type shown. Standard mandrel rod sizes available: .500” (1/2), .5625 (9/16), and .625” (5/8).  Custom sizes are available, contact me for more information and pricing. Below surface cuts are available for total call sanding access. Works most duck and goose call blanks, and wall thickness. (Call do not have to have rough ends to avoid damage to the finished call, all holding force is within the barrel.)

Most Versatile System: #2 MT - .625" holder - .625” bore - 3 to 5” blank length     $70.00

#2 Morse Taper Type shown. Standard mandrel rod sizes available: .500” (1/2), .5625 (9/16),and .625” (5/8).  Custom sizes are available, contact us for more information and pricing. Below surface cuts are available for total call sanding access. Works almost all duck and goose call blanks, wall thickness. (Call must have rough ends to avoid damage to the finished call.)  This version is a  little less versatile than the MVS.

Crush Lok System:  #2 MT - .625” holder - .625” bore - 3 to 5” blank length.         $60.00

Looking for a mandrel for #1 Morse Taper?

Pin Lok System: #2 MT - .625” holder - .625” bore - 3 to 5” blank length    $55.00

The WEBFoot Mandrel Systems are now available for lathes with a #1 Morse Taper head stock with only one major change, the taper is machined directly onto the mandrel rod. Unfortunately there is not an affordable version of the mandrel/keg holder available for the #1 Morse Taper mounting. The holders can be custom made, but add considerable cost to the price of the mandrel so the design incorporated the taper directly onto the mandrel rod. The other change is the lack or drive spurs on this version. With the smaller size and lack of two-piece design, drive spurs have not been incorporated in the #1MT MVS, PLS, and CLS mandrels as of yet. Contact Wade at WEBFoot Custom Calls for further information on a custom #1 Morse Taper Mandrel/Keg Holder and standard MVS, PLS, or CLS designs and pricing.  The other option if you have the bed length on your lathe, is to get a #1 MT to #2 MT adapter and use a standard #2 MT Mandrel of your choice.  The adapters are 27.00 and add about 3" to the overall installed length of the mandrel.

MVS - MT1:       #1 MT - .625” bore - 3 to 5” blank length $90.00

Email Me prior to ordering

Shipping charges are not included in pricing.  Most packages are shipped via UPS or Priority Mail.  Add 2.9% sales tax for all Colorado orders.

We can make the mandrels to fit just about any normal sized call, long, short, in-between, though the way we have them sized, one will likely cover what ever you're doing. The normal sizes are; (diameter) .500" (1/2), .5625" (9/16), .625" (5/8) my size and the most common I've seen so far, and .6875" (11/16).  We build them to handle call lengths of 3 - 5", 5 - 7" and 7 - 9".  The 3-5 handles most everything but for the flute goose calls the 5-7 and 7-9 can come in handy. We can also do custom sizes including metric.  Contact me for information on the other sizes.

The MVS. or the Crush and Pin Lock mandrel is the best over all value and most versatile i.e. the name Most Versatile System.  It allows the use of either the compression lock holding style, the pin lock holding style or both.  If you use both, then you can do you major turning with the compression nuts holding everything in place, then once its roughed out, cut the ends off with your tool (assuming you get the recessed lands cut in the mandrel to fit your call), and the pin lock takes over.  Do your fine finishing/re-centering cut, and it ready for sanding.  Break off the two ends that you cut free, and you have more than ample room to get in there and sand every surface but the bore.  You can also do a bunch of calls in stages.  Rough cut, cut ends off, and fine cut/re-center (re-true) and pull it off, and do the next one.  After you have however many you want made then go back to the pin vise set up, remount the call and sand away.  There may be a little bit of out-of-round, but the mobility in your hand and sand papers will do just fine.  And viola you can get covered in chips one day, and get covered in dust the next.  Then you can apply wax under power, pull it off to dry and polish the next day.  You can also mount your already made calls and fix them, refinish, reshape, burn, buff, or what have you.  You also can get the mandrel styles by themselves.  Get a 1/2 Pin Lok System (PLS) rod, and a 1/2" Crush Lok System (CLS), if you want them separate, or one size of one and another size of the other style.  Pretty good so far huh?  That's the cream of the crop.  Oh wait, it gets better.....  (I should be doing an infomercial ;-) Now when you get the mandrel, it comes assembled, but it comes apart, for a few reasons.  The mandrel holder allows you to change mandrel sizes with out buying a whole new set up.  You just get the rod and use your original pin, holder, and depending, washer and crush nuts.  So you can go to 1/2 or 11/16 from 5/8 without even removing the holder from your lathe.  The next reason for having the holder as a separate piece is, you can use it as a drill bit holder.  If you get the 5/8" holder for you mandrel, then you can get a regular jobber 5/8" drill bit -straight shank, and put in right in there.  Now you can bore your blanks on your lathe instead of the drill press.  If you're like me, I have a heck of a time getting the blank squared so the bit goes straight through.  Now you just put your bit in the lathe, mark the centers, and run the blank on the bit. Another reason, and this is likely the coolest one, is if you have the 5/8" keg OD, and have the 5/8" holder, you can put your keg in the holder after its been turned and drill it, sand it, concave the end, polish, counter bore, put lanyard groves in already made calls or store bought calls, and anything else you can think of.  And that's with or without the soundboard cut out.  An O-Ring or some masking tape, and you're rocking. If you're curious how the pin lock theory works, go get one of your drilled blanks and something small and round like a tooth pick or inside part of a pen.  Assuming any one of your fingers are small enough to fit loosely in the bore, put your finger in the bore and then slide the pen piece or tooth pick in between the wall and the side your finger nail is on.  Sort of snug huh?  I have fat fingers too.  Anyway, now with your finger and the pen or toothpick in the bore, slowly turn the blank on your finger.  Notice how the pen or toothpick rolls from side to side?  As you turn it farther and farther it starts to bind on you finger. And at some point the wood wont turn any farther.  That toothpick is the pin part of the pin lock theory.  The pin rolls along the mandrel surface we machined and 'wedges' in between the rod and the call, holding it still.  It’s not the best for hard cutting, but for fine cutting, sanding and polishing it’s the cats meow.

The cheapest and easiest mandrels to make are the ones that are on a #2 Morse Taper, the others require a lot of extra machining or adapter sleeves.  If you have a #3 MT on your lathe, Id just get the #2 MT mandrel and buy a taper sleeve or the set we have on the website. 

 If you find that your tools are too hard on the mandrel, we can harden it for you either before we ship it or you can send it back.  It will cost notably more, but depending, may be worth it.  I've found that I like the soft version better as I have a tendency of running my tool in to it as some point, and the harder the steel the harder it is on your tool.  But that's just me.

 Now when you pick your mandrel, sizing is important, that's why we don't have 'part number' type things on my website.  If you make calls that have a 5/8 bore ID and Keg OD, then you'll likely want to get the 5/8" holder so you can turn your kegs.  But in choosing the 5/8" you loose the convenience of having the 1/2" holder that will hold the ever-popular 1/2" shank drill bits.  So that is something to keep in mind.  But to remedy that, we also have drill chucks with and without Morse taper arbors and replacement mandrel holders of different sizes.  So there is a way around that little problem. 

08/21/2008 12:58:05 PM