How WEBFoot Custom Calls started
WEBFoot Custom Calls first started in 2002 as a tiny little company (okay, one man band) with call making on the brain. Prior to WEBFoot Custom Calls, the calls really didn't have a name, they were only identified by shape and a "W R C" burned into the face of the barrel. Once WFCC was born, it was eat, drink, and sleep the next call to come off the lathe. After the first year of making calls and fighting the age old problems all call makers used to face, it was time to look into getting some different equipment so that it would be possible to make some of the tools so desparately needed that were not available "off the shelf". That was the beginning of the WEBFoot Custom Calls you know today.
After investing in a small and cheap metalworking "multi-machine" - one of those 3 in 1 deals, a whole new avenue of obsessions kicked in. Finally, after sleepless nights and sweating to the oldies in the garage, what is now known as the MVS was 'born' from ideas seen in old wood working books from the library and input from others. After a few of the mandrels were in use, friends asked "whats the trick to turning barrels with a centered hole?" The reply was, "...using this little thing I made in the garage." After showing pictures to a few friends, one said, "You should sell these things!" The rest is, well, history.
After making mandrels for a while, due to the popularity of the little 'buggers', the mind started wandering again to new tools and things one could not readily find or afford... Then came jigs, reed punches, drill bits and reamers, and so on. During the course of the increasing popularity of the items on the old WEBFoot Custom Calls website, emails started flying in asking about call guts and where to get them. So then the search started for suppliers of call guts and parts. As you can see from the current website, the search was a success, though its a never ending search to keep adding new and improved items, the current product list has a lot to offer.
After a couple more years of plugging along, it was time for something new, that 'something' was CNC lathe capabilities. In mid 2005 that became a reality. Though over the last few years, the processes, tooling, and machines have changed, CNC lathe services are still one of WEBFoot's premier services for the smaller call maker.
The latest endeavor is drill bits specifically for drilling cast acrylic. All the efforts that have gone into the R&D appear to be a success and the only hurdle remaining is to finish up some product testing. By the time this new site is released, it is likely that the testing will be over, and the only thing left to do is build up some inventory. When the inventory is built up, the items in stock will show up in the Online Store - so check back frequently if what you're looking for is not currently shown!
Whats next? Who knows... A VMC (CNC Mill)? A different Lathe? Call Making Machinery? Maybe nothing, but adding new capabilities is something always bouncing around in the mind.