Perfect reed for Duck Call

thingiverse

This is a replacement for the Duck Call by jamesarm97 https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:38359 I've got my focus locked in on creating a playable reed and after several trials, I've finally nailed it. There are two files available - reed 3mm and reed 4mm. The first one uses a 0.3mm reed, which produces a loud, deeper sound. The 0.4mm reed is more authentic and offers better tunability. PLA print settings include 0.1mm layer thickness, all solid layers, and an outline shell of 1. The reed will be printed slightly larger than needed - about 1.5mm on each side - to accommodate cutting out the area where the nozzle turns and creates rough spots. Remove these excess edges from the left, right, and top sides. Check out the first image and the microscope image for a visual comparison. The top reed has been cut, while the bottom one is straight from the printer. With this reed, the duck call functions perfectly and sounds just as good as store-bought models. When removing it from the bed, wait until it cools down to prevent bending or curling. Use a razor blade to carefully remove it, ensuring it remains flat. You can also lightly scrape or sand the top surface if it's too rough. The sound produced depends on how you position the reed with the wedge. The thicker lip of the reed should be fully under the wedge for a clean sound and more raspy when that lip peeks out. With the 0.4mm reed, you can easily tune it to any desired sound. You can also shave off a few micrometers by scraping the top with a razor blade. If you use glass as your bed material, the bottom surface will be mirror-smooth. It's fascinating that today's 3D printing machines in PLA can produce excellent reeds. I'm planning to create a saxophone reed next to compare its performance. Good luck communicating with ducks - just remember not to use it while driving.