DuckSouth.com

A while back i read a post on here and somebody said to use Johnsons paste wax on your reeds to keep them from sticking. Will this work and is my memory right? Is that what you put on them to stop it or was it something else?

Never used the Johnsons wax but I have used automotive spray on wax with success.

Rain-X will work also

I usually clean the reeds. Take mild abrasive file or sponge to the tunning board to rough it up so the reeds won't have something to stick to. I also put Carmex or lip balm on the reeds. Basically vaseline and it works well.

I have been using Johnsons Paste Wax for years and it works great usually apply it three times a season. It is non abrasive and won't hurt any part of your call. Be careful with RainX, a buddy of mine swears up and down that it destroyed one of his acrylic calls ($120 or more).

Remember to turn your call insert so that the reed is "upside down" so that the moisture falls away from the reed into the barrel, instead of vice versa. I got that one from Butch Richenback himself, and it seems to help.

upside down? I'm not smart enough to understand what you're saying, can you explain it in a little more detail, thanks?
Rick Dunn, echo, said to put the reed between your index and thumb..squeeze it, you want it fo bow back toward you're hand, that side faces down...

Excess moisture build up is what causes 99% of all reed sticking. The reed lays on the tone channel of the insert. The way most people stick the insert into the barrel, when they put the call to thier lips, the tone channel is on the "bottom" of the barrel, then the reed, then the cork, next thing is the inside of the barrel. So, moisture condenses and pools on the reed, since it is the "low point" other than the tone channel itself, right?

So, if you put the insert in the call rotated 180 degrees, so that when you put the call to your lips the tone channel is on the TOP, then the reed, then the cork, gravity causes a lot of the moisture that would otherwise get under the reed to drip down into the lower surface of the inside of the barrel, and less stays on the reed, and gets blown on out of the call. In other words when you look into your call, if the reed is on the bottom of the cylinder, spin the insert so that the reed is on the top of the cylinder, and call with it in that configuration. That helps a lot of people with sticking problems.

Would that mean I would have to mark one side of my call UP?