Mouth vs bellows question

[Doc Jones]

I'Ve always been a bellows guy....UP, NSP, SSP.

I'm just curious about what goes on with the bags on mouth-blown pipes. Seems like the moisture in the breath would be a disaster for growing gook and whatnot. What do you do to keep the inside of the bag dry and clean?

Doc

[Chiffed]

Dried cat turds in the bag. They rehydrate nicely, and are biodegradable.

[Yuri]

Leather bags dry out quite quickly after playing. At least in normal weather. Some dressing recipes have some sort of preservative in them. Some players simply stick a copper coin (if they can find any, not my way any more) into the bag, that stops anything living in it. Some just put up with things living in the bag, and try not to inhale much. (Bill Clinton springs to mind..)

[CHasR]

Synthetic bags with a drying(condensation trap) system can be kept really clean with just soap + water, alcohol or bleach wipe, or several sprays that are on the market. (Rubber + Naugahyde being an exception)

Heavy skin bags, Elk, Moose, Gnu, Cow, etc need (in my experience) one of the many seasoning brands on the mkt. They not only keep it airtight, but also antiseptic. Ive never had organic growth on cane in the many regularly used 'heavy-hides' Ive played, but If they sit for any length of time, then usually there's some kind of trouble.

Sheepskin/ deerskin/chamois kind of falls in the "mid" inbetween category, (for me anyway). Last chamois bag I had got crackly, so I seasoned it lightly, + it still ate a hole in it. Sheep needs to be seasoned often + frequently in order to retain its elasticity&suppleness.

Lighter skin bags such as Goat, etc are really , really porous + wick away moisture rapidly. Never need seasoning. If it gets too humid, leave em in the sun. If it gets too dry, hang a dampit in em. As long as they dont get fleas, they are (IMO) one of the easiest to care for materials. Problem is, keeping em in a closed case for any length of time is a recipie for disaster. I hang mine up in a closet, & theyre fine.

Needless to say, the **crucial** element in any mouth bag is the integrity of the blowpipe valve.

[Casey Burns]

I am now a Goretex man and don't worry about it. Before I made bags from something they market as "Canadian Bagpipe" which is a leather from the Leather Warehouse in Vancouver made specifically for bagpipe bags. Never needs seasoning. I have one bag I've played for 17 years this way that is finally starting to leak - due to someone who I had apparently offended at a music camp taking revenge by poking holes in it with thumbtacks. I never found out who or what was the offense.

I once saw a GHP made with a clear plastic bag. There was quite the disgusting ecosystem growing in there!

Chrome cured leather on the other hand seems a toxic environment for anything to grow in and the water eventually passes through - though one time after a long French dance at the first annual Over The Water Hurdy Gurdy festival which took place just 4 miles south (now it takes place 29 miles away up near Port Townsend) everything swelled so much I couldn't pull anything apart for 2 weeks afterwards. At the time we had tropical moisture pouring outside and the air was supersaturated! This also made for my reeds working perfectly for some reason and given who I was on stage with (among others the great hurdy gurdy player Pierre Imbert of Lo Jai fame) this evening was truly one of my best musical experiences ever.

Casey

[mike spencer]

in days of yore the laird would give his piper a bottle of single malt scotch so that he could pour a dram into the bag now and then to disinfect it.honest.

[psychodonald]

I use a product that contains a small container of kitty letter which absorbs the mosture very well. As one blows into the blow pipe, all of the air goes into the container prior to entering the bag or into the drones or the chanter. In addition I use a gortex bag and I've had zero trouble with gunk and things growing in the bag. I also change the kittly litter on a regular basis, it's not at all difficult and the pipes stay quite dry. The system I'm speaking of is produced by Omega.

[Father Emmet]

in days of yore the laird would give his piper a bottle of single malt scotch so that he could pour a dram into the bag now and then to disinfect it.honest.

Why not have a few sips every 10 minutes or so and disinfect the breath directly?

[marcpipes]

As my teacher always said: Scotch is best applied to a bagpipe as a vapor.

[Leel]

As my teacher always said: Scotch is best applied to a bagpipe as a vapor.