Full set of pipes for £75 !! Reduced to £19-10

rorybbellows · Post by **rorybbellows** » Thu Jun 28, 2007 1:32 pm

Some may find this interesting,from 1965 !!!

Sorry for the poor quality ,but its still just about readable

RORY

djm · Post by **djm** » Thu Jun 28, 2007 1:39 pm

Something about bagpipes and inflation seem to go together .....

djm

chanterdan · Post by **chanterdan** » Thu Jun 28, 2007 2:36 pm

if i only had a time machine!

Dionys · Post by **Dionys** » Thu Jun 28, 2007 4:25 pm

I'll take 13.

meemtp · Post by **meemtp** » Thu Jun 28, 2007 4:51 pm

Huh...I didn't realize that pipemakers were using African Blackwood that far back. I always thought that was a more recent (80's on) development. I wonder who else was using Blackwood at the time, I've seen and heard a bunch of stuff that was made around then and the 70's that I always assumed was ebony. Does anyone know when pipemakers started using Blackwood? In the timber flute world, cocus and ebony were the standards. As far as I know, Blackwood came into use for flutes during the trad. instrument revival after being used by clarinet and oboe makers. But it seems now that pipemakers were already onto it.

TnWhistler · Post by **TnWhistler** » Thu Jun 28, 2007 9:44 pm

meemtp wrote:Huh...I didn't realize that pipemakers were using African Blackwood that far back.

When they were using it in 1965 it was African Brownwood, took a few years to turn Black.

Timmy

That pricelist is probably worth that much now.

The Sporting Pitchfork · Fri Jun 29, 2007 12:03 am

Anybody care to adjust the price for inflation? This was prior to the decimal currency changeover, was it not? (Therefore, 12 pence=1 shilling and 20 shillings=1 pound (or punt if we want to be thoroughly pedantic about it), if I'm not mistaken...Gee, guess that English Lit. class was good for something...). Even at those prices, it'd probably still be a bargain by our standards.

The Sporting Pitchfork · Fri Jun 29, 2007 12:07 am

TnWhistler wrote:
When they were using it in 1965 it was African Brownwood, took a few years to turn Black.

Dr. Teeth wrote: Ha! I knew Miles Davis back when he was only Yards Davis, ya dig?

misterpatrick · Post by **misterpatrick** » Fri Jun 29, 2007 12:17 am

Here's from 1984 issue of An Píobaire.

Alain G. Froment
Practice Set £300
Half Set £600
Full Set £1,300

"Delivery time is exceptionally short, two weeks for a practice set, six weeks for a full set."

DIAGONALINE · Post by **DIAGONALINE** » Fri Jun 29, 2007 3:04 am

I was around in 1965 but musically into the Beatles, I'm from Liverpool and knew people who knew John Lennon, my only claim to fame.
As an approximation :-

A skilled toolmaker earned £20 / week in 65 so the Crowley set was
3-4 weeks wages.
A toolmaker today earns about £480 / week and a Rogge set would be about £4000 which is over 8 weeks wages.

The salary has increased 24X
the pipes have increased 53X

You could have bought my house then for £3,000 its now worth £200,000
The house has increased 66X

A Ford Cortina in 1965 was £800
A ford Mondeo equivalent today is £15000
increase 18X
I'm going for a nap now I feel very old and very sad.

taupe · Post by **taupe** » Fri Jun 29, 2007 4:26 am

Reading the small print a cheaper alternative (full set #3) is Partridgewood - what is it and is it still used by any makers ?

Kevin L. Rietmann · Post by **Kevin L. Rietmann** » Fri Jun 29, 2007 8:52 am

The Crowleys made war pipes as well, which have been turned out of blackwood for a good while since it's a bit less prone to cracking. I was told that ebony Highland pipes were "not for export" but blackwood was used for pipes in the British Colonies and it eventually became the standard.

Rowsome only used ebony as far as I know. There's a Leo R price list in one of the early issues of the US Pipers' Review (available at the other Uilleann pipe forum for members) where he offers ebony, partridge wood, and boxwood I think. The latter two are cheaper. No blackwood. Partridge is from South America. Greenish/brownish tropical stuff. There's a photo online somewhere of a partdgewood Leo chanter. Matt Kiernan made chanters out of truncheons, appropriately enough since he was a Garda Síochána. These were made out lignum vitae, which stands up well to bruising knocks. It's self lubricating too, you can play your chanter underwater.

Uilliam · Post by **Uilliam** » Fri Jun 29, 2007 9:13 am

DIAGONALINE wrote:As an approximation :-

A skilled toolmaker earned £20 / week in 65 so the Crowley set was
3-4 weeks wages.
A toolmaker today earns about £480 / week and a Rogge set would be about £4000 which is over 8 weeks wages.

The salary has increased 24X
the pipes have increased 53X

I certainly wasnae earning anything like £20 a week in 65 which would have seemed a vast amount.In 68 my salary as a firefighter was about £14 a week which seemed not bad.I know the average was a lot lower than for a skilled toolmaker.(.anyways why couldnae he make his own set if he was so skilled)

and where are the toolmakers today? there is no industry in UK for them to tool up for

Uilliam

gregorygraham · Post by **gregorygraham** » Fri Jun 29, 2007 9:30 am

Rory, where did you get that price list? You should send a copy to the NPU archivist if they don't already have a copy.

DIAGONALINE · Post by **DIAGONALINE** » Fri Jun 29, 2007 7:59 pm

[/quote]

I certainly wasnae earning anything like £20 a week in 65 which would have seemed a vast amount.In 68 my salary as a firefighter was about £14 a week which seemed not bad.I know the average was a lot lower than for a skilled toolmaker.(.anyways why couldnae he make his own set if he was so skilled)

and where are the toolmakers today? there is no industry in UK for them to tool up for

Uilliam[/quote]

Toolmakers did earn £20, I was a Toolmaker at MECCANO Dinky. I have made my own set, and there are still jobs for Toolmakers to-day but I don't have one.
I design waterproofing for the construction Industry using AutoCAD.
Do you think I am making this up. ?