Box turtle slate call

[GLS]

I bought my first box turtle slate call from Lamar Williams over 30 years ago. He stopped selling them when Florida’s Endangered Species Act made the sale (and possession??) of box turtle shells illegal. Familiarize yourself with your state’s laws regarding box turtles. Even where legal, I don’t advocate the killing of these beautiful, gentle creatures for their shells. I still stop on a highway and move them off the road to the other side. My children do the same after seeing me do it countless times. Finding the shell and appropriate-sized slate is the hardest part of making one of these calls. It’s easier to find the shell than it is the slate. You are on your own on both. My source of slate has vanished. You can try the round blanks on Ebay or scavenge from small chalk boards. I find the turtle shells in the woods during the winter or in the spring woods before the squirrels finish them off. Between railroad tracks is another source as the turtles get trapped and die between the rails. For years I used a simple coping saw to cut the slate. Now, a Dremel tool with a reinforced cut-off wheel expedites the job. I use the same blade for notching the shell in two places on the front and a recess in the back. I make a rough pattern out of paper which I then fine tune and ultimately trace to cardboard. The cardboard template is traced slightly oversized to the slate. Since one can’t add slate once removed, oversized is best. Use coarse sandpaper to slowly reduce the size until it fits into the shell. Don’t be tempted to exactly match the full shape of the slate to the opening of the shell. It looks great, but the resulting sound is limited in pitch, tone and volume. Note the gaps between the shell and slate on the finished call. This is deliberate. The slate is held in three places with epoxy paste. To protect the shell and mask the bright white, I paint it inside and out. I first painted with primer and khaki camo Rustoleum left over from my 20 gauge single-shot project. Same for the turkey stencil. A box turtle slate call is deadly in the woods. It can be made to yelp or cluck loudly or softly. It’s a versatile call.

[FullChoke]

That design looks real good.

Is that pattern pretty much the same as the one from Lamar? I have done terrapin shell calls like this, but trimmed the slate to fit all around the inside of the shell. The sound was not very good. It looks like my problem was not letting the slate find it's own resonance.

Well, there's another project for the off-season!

Cheers

FullChoke

[turkeybuster]

Best call you will ever use.

[GLS]

FC, the top right call was made with a full-fitted slate. It sounded awful until I cut the slots with the dremel tool's wheel. The top left is one of Lamar's. Bottom photo was taken this am on way to work.
T''buster, it's unfair to the turkeys that you use a call at all .
Seeing Lamar's call reminded me of improving the epoxy mix. As you can see it has had multiple repairs. I started mixing in chopped up fiberglass insulation in my epoxy. This really strengthened the bond better than plain epoxy which is brittle unless reinforced.

[Turkey Talker]

man those calls are awesome!

[GOLD HUNTER]

[slickyboyboo]

I am most definitely going to have to try this, I have a shell sitting in my closet at the house, that came out of my turkey vest this spring.

[GLS]

SBB,
Years ago, I saw them for sale with a wooden sound board which was twice the length of the shell. It looked cumbersome as heqq. I've wondered how it would sound with glass, copper or aluminum instead of slate. Next shell I find, I'll have to try it. Gil

[FullChoke]

I wonder what effect an internal sounding board would have on the sound quality, if any?

Have you tried making one using a slider turtle shell? It has a lower profile than a softball-shaped box turtle shell and it would fit better in the pockets of my vest.

I may have to switch into R&D mode here.

Cheers to the DIY!

FullChoke

[slickyboyboo]

SBB,
Years ago, I saw them for sale with a wooden sound board which was twice the length of the shell. It looked cumbersome as heqq. I've wondered how it would sound with glass, copper or aluminum instead of slate. Next shell I find, I'll have to try it. Gil

Thats a thought right there, it should definitely bring the pitch up a bit. Maybe even a Copper or Aluminum over glass or slate.

[GLS]

FC, I've only made them from Box turtle shells. Don't see why a slider wouldn't work. Dunno how an internal sound board would work with the end of the call open. A good box turtle call is not just a novelty call. They can do the job very well.

[astomb]

Hello
I am new to this forum. I have been making turtle shell slate calls for twenty years or more. Many states have laws that protect box turtles and even ban the use of road killed turtles. My attempts on sliders and other pond turtles have failed to produce good sounds. I have found that large eastern box turtles do not make great sounding calls.

I am seriously thinking about putting together and marketing a turtle shell slate call making kit that would contain enough materials to make two calls.

Anyone interested?

Spencer