M Egan Double chanter pix

Kevin L. Rietmann · Post by **Kevin L. Rietmann** » Fri Feb 13, 2004 3:08 am

These are at the newly expanded Dayton C. Miller flute collection website. Just search for "bagpipe." Can't get 'em to post here, but maybe one of you could swipe 'em and put 'em on your own site.

http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/dcmhtml/dmhome.html

Tony · Post by **Tony** » Fri Feb 13, 2004 5:46 am

marcpipes · Post by **marcpipes** » Sat Feb 14, 2004 3:58 am

Wow! How do you set up a chuck to bore that way?
Marc

kevin m. · Post by **kevin m.** » Sat Feb 14, 2004 4:27 am

I've seen similar double pipes,made by Robert Reid of North Shields (Tyneside) in the Morpeth Bagpipe museum(Northumberland).
I've just dug out a postcard of a very fine looking Reid set,and the double chanter has a key over the bottom holes-very interesting from my point of view as a newby-I sometimes have trouble changing from 'E' to D or F without leaks and 'farts'and have wondered if keys would help? No doubt PRACTICE is the REAL answer!!

Kevin L. Rietmann · Post by **Kevin L. Rietmann** » Sat Feb 14, 2004 5:28 am

marcpipes wrote:Wow! How do you set up a chuck to bore that way?
Marc

You have to make a deal'em wijjer that fits the bottom of the bores and has a cone on its end, to turn between centers. A Taylor double chanter I took a look at had marks at the reed seat end where you could see where the metal gizmo had gripped the wood. They perhaps could have filed the marks off but maybe wanted to leave a clue for the intrepid.
For the pilot boring I guess you'd need a three jaw chuck, to line up the bores. Some makers simply glued a couple of pieces together, but not the Taylors! The Robert Reid set at the Smithsonian has a double chanter by M Dunn that was glued up; there's a website detailing this set.
The Taylor chanter wasn't that hard to play, but the notes that weren't lined up perfectly were utterly diabolical to hear. The complete effect is kind of otherwordly, ancient. Like the launeddas. It's quite a sound.

kevin m. · Post by **kevin m.** » Sat Feb 14, 2004 5:38 am

Kevin L. Rietmann wrote: The Taylor chanter wasn't that hard to play, but the notes that weren't lined up perfectly were utterly diabolical to hear. The complete effect is kind of otherwordly, ancient. Like the launeddas. It's quite a sound.

I bought an album last week,called 'Live recordings from the William Kennedy Piping Festival' which among others,features Luigi Lai on the Luanneddas.It's an extraordinary instrument!

DMQuinn · Post by **DMQuinn** » Sat Feb 14, 2004 7:13 am

marcpipes wrote:Wow! How do you set up a chuck to bore that way?
Marc

I came close to posting this link yesterday in a different thread, but thought better of it because I had some other things to say that were just as well left unsaid.

In any case, the third article in the series on making drones deals in tiresome detail with at least one method of making two or more parallel or splayed bores in one piece of wood.

http://www.pipersgathering.org/Irish%20 ... making.htm

Tony · Post by **Tony** » Sat Feb 14, 2004 8:08 am

I don't understand how the chanter (pictured above) has tone holes sized and spaced so equal.

Kevin L. Rietmann · Post by **Kevin L. Rietmann** » Sat Feb 14, 2004 9:02 am

Maybe he drilled the holes next to one other?

Tony · Post by **Tony** » Sat Feb 14, 2004 9:08 am

Duh...
No Kevin, the holes are all pretty much the same size along the stick. Other chanters aren't this way.

Calum · Post by **Calum** » Sat Feb 14, 2004 10:18 am

Aye, but hole spacing is a function of bore shape and reed design (or vice versa). Two identical bores and reeds will require identical holes. Like Kevin sez, drill 'em next to each other. My question is, why is the entire right hand side slightly higher than the left? Is it something to do with seating the reed?

Cheers,
Calum

Kevin L. Rietmann · Post by **Kevin L. Rietmann** » Sat Feb 14, 2004 12:13 pm

I have a sheet of very good measurements of a Taylor double chanter and the bores and holes aren't identical. They're not strictly uniform on this Egan chanter either, as will become more apparent if you use the original website's magnifier (which is quite amazing, by the way - very good resolution). With such a small bore a slight change in the size of a hole makes a large difference.
Larger bores amplify this difference, it is most evident in the F and A toneholes.

Post by **Nanohedron** » Sat Feb 14, 2004 1:19 pm

So, only one reed is used, then? If so, is that the norm for double chanters?

marcpipes · Post by **marcpipes** » Sat Feb 14, 2004 1:36 pm

Thanks much for the info! The pipers gathering page went into bookmarks
real quick.
Marc

Jim McGuire · Post by **Jim McGuire** » Sat Feb 14, 2004 1:54 pm

Two bores + two reeds.