Leaking Drone Switch (Rod)

A forum about Uilleann (Irish) pipes and the surly people who play them.
Post Reply
User avatar
Ceann Cromtha
Posts: 883
Joined: Mon Aug 01, 2005 5:03 pm
antispam: No
Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
Tell us something.: I’m changing my location to my actual address. My previous location was a reference to Joyce’s Finnegans Wake.
Location: Baltimore, Maryland USA

Leaking Drone Switch (Rod)

Post by Ceann Cromtha »

I have a very slight leak via the place where my drone switch rod goes in my main stock. Does anyone know a good fix for this? Beeswax immediately comes to mind, but I'm afraid that I'll need something that has a little less viscous than that since I still want my drone switch to work properly. Thanks!
User avatar
Hans-Joerg
Posts: 788
Joined: Thu May 27, 2004 3:37 am
Please enter the next number in sequence: 1
Location: Germany, half an hour west of "Old Brunswick" (Braunschweig < Brunswieck)

Re: Leaking Drone Switch (Rod)

Post by Hans-Joerg »

A snugly fitting brass pipe that you find in shops for modell-ships (or ebay).
.
geoff wooff
Posts: 633
Joined: Sat Apr 20, 2013 3:12 am
antispam: No
Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
Location: centre France

Re: Leaking Drone Switch (Rod)

Post by geoff wooff »

Beeswax is sticky stuff , I'd not use it for this aplication.

I think it best if you can post images of your switch set up showing what sort of air tight 'gland' it has ( cork or the telescopic tube that Hans- Jorg suggests or something else).... if the rod is a straight pull or if there is a fulcrum action etc etc. The gland may need replacing due to wear.

Simplest is to take the thing to your (nearest ?) pipemaker.


There ought to be a book on Pipes maintenance but as no offers of money to write one have yet been made and all the people who might be asked are flat out busy. :poke:

Good luck.
User avatar
Ceann Cromtha
Posts: 883
Joined: Mon Aug 01, 2005 5:03 pm
antispam: No
Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
Tell us something.: I’m changing my location to my actual address. My previous location was a reference to Joyce’s Finnegans Wake.
Location: Baltimore, Maryland USA

Re: Leaking Drone Switch (Rod)

Post by Ceann Cromtha »

Thanks, guys! I'll try to take and post some pictures.
User avatar
uillmann
Posts: 174
Joined: Wed Oct 26, 2011 1:06 pm
antispam: No
Please enter the next number in sequence: 10
Location: between rock and hard place

Re: Leaking Drone Switch (Rod)

Post by uillmann »

There is a section on maintenance in "The Union Pipes, A Workbook"

An encyclopedic volume, well worth studying.
User avatar
Ceann Cromtha
Posts: 883
Joined: Mon Aug 01, 2005 5:03 pm
antispam: No
Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
Tell us something.: I’m changing my location to my actual address. My previous location was a reference to Joyce’s Finnegans Wake.
Location: Baltimore, Maryland USA

Re: Leaking Drone Switch (Rod)

Post by Ceann Cromtha »

uillmann wrote:There is a section on maintenance in "The Union Pipes, A Workbook"

An encyclopedic volume, well worth studying.
Thanks, Mark. You advised me years ago to get that book by Dennis Brooks and I did. I've dug it out and am reading it now.
Post Reply