Chiff and Fipple Forums

Pipemakers have got on without CNC for a long time and it isn't necessary. While I was in Chris Bayley's workshop he was working on his Boxford VSL and the only concession he made to computer technology was to use a Heidenhain DRO to accurately place toneholes, and mark the start and end points for ...

Re: Taylor style practice set in D - chanter has 4 keys.

SOLD!

Bad Shepherds

The last time I saw Charles, about three years ago, he was still making pipes in Spain, both Union Pipes and NSPs.

Well... I've just had a play around with Chris' 'C' shuttle set and after adjusting the drone reeds and layette tuning it now plays reliably in tune in D with one of Chris' chanters. Incredulity is expected, but I will try and record a couple of sound clips to prove it. It begs the question though; ...

Tying in an over-the-arm bass regulator set can be tricky. When I do this with one of my bags I cut a leather reinforcing ring to surround the mainstock and glue this on the inside of the bag. This gives some added stiffness to the bag, and stops the drones sliding forwards. As this can only be done...

I should perhaps point out that the Chris Bayley C Practice Set is in fact one that Chris sent up to me to use as a pattern in my own making, rather than a set which he is selling. Now that I am getting up to speed with flat chanters this one can be sold.

The French violin bridge manufacturers, Aubert, used horse urine to darken down their newly cut bridges. It works very well, but is a slow process. Fuming boxwood with nitric acid is better, and I neutralise the acid fumes with ammonia (acid + alkali = salt + water). The concentration of acid is imp...

It might be due to end-bore correction; the amount of air space below the bottom note may need to be altered. Try removing the reg cap and blocking ff the bore with some tape across the open end, and see if that alters things significantly.

As the main threat to a set of pipes in transit is damage, you should ensure that your are insured. In the UK there are financial limits on how much you can insure instruments for, and it is the carrier who determines the maximum. As a cautionary note the maker of the pipes, if using Royal Mail, or ...

As Mr Gumby said, leather can dry out. While you have the valve out of the stock you can rub a TINY amount of almond or olive oil into the sealing side of the leather and press the leather into its' seat with a warm spoon. This will help give you an airtight seal. You can do the same with the bellow...

On my Taylor style chanters it works very well to lift the chanter while curling your thumb up from c#. On the knee, curling the thumb upwards gives a very nice E flat in the third octave.

I remember seeing this in the workshop, and asked whether it was a popping valve for a pastoral chanter. If memory serves correctly it was made of rosewood or mahogany and was spring operated, working with a smooth clean action. There was a related discussion on here (I think) on obtaining a low C# ...

If I go to my local engineer's supply shop I can order HSS drills in any size in both Metric and Imperial. This is not true if I go to the local DIY shop, where exact measurements do not seem to matter!

I suggest you try an engineer's stockist in the US.

Merry Xmas.

[quote][It would seem that not a week goes by that some renowned piper announces that he is now making pipes for sale. On the face of it ,it sounds like a great situation for the piping world ,but is it all good or is there any down side to having so many pipemakers? RORY /quote] I must have missed ...