I've used the transtint dyes from Woodcraft (quite cheaper elsewhere online) for some various woodworking projects. They're awesome. For callmaking I don't think I see the need to pre-soak the blank. I'd turn it and sand it to about 220, dye it with repeated coats until the color depth you want is achieved, then sand on down through the finer grits. More dye can always be re-applied.
In alchohol the only issue is overlap between coats/strokes because the alcohol dries so fast...Probably the benefit of pre-soaking.
I've used it in water as well...But it raises the grain so there's more pre-wetting and sanding involved. Overlap's not an issue though.
A little bit of dye goes a looooong way.
