Question re: Mandrels from NPU

[Kramden]

Just starting to make my own reeds and was wondering if anyone could tell me the difference between the two mandrels available on the NPU web site. Would mandrel "D" be for concert pitch chanters, with mandrel "C" being for flat chanters?

Any help would be appreciated.

Best,
John

[PJ]

The diameter of the mandrel is larger for D reeds. It would be 4mm whereas the C would be closer to 3mm.

[billh]

Just starting to make my own reeds and was wondering if anyone could tell me the difference between the two mandrels available on the NPU web site. Would mandrel "D" be for concert pitch chanters, with mandrel "C" being for flat chanters?

Yes.

If you're hand-rolling staples, as opposed to just using mandrels to flatten the eye/tie the reed/etc., you may need to make yourself a tapered rolling mandrel. Every reed formulation requires a slightly different size and taper, thus it isn't so practical for NPU to provide rolling mandrels.

The NPU mandrels can be used for rolling, but it's trickier because the fit is imperfect. You can roll a staple on an oversized mandrel, then close it by careful rolling with a file with the mandrel removed - but it's hard to roll a staple on an undersized mandrel.

Most concert pitch chanter designs fall into one of two categories; either optimized for a 4mm I.D. tubing staple (in which case no rolling mandrel is required), or optimized for a larger, hand-rolled staple (in which case the NPU mandrel is likely to be too small).

Bill

[PJ]

On the subject of making rolling mandrels, I had a good rolling mandrel (as well as flattening mandrel and eye-forming mandrel) made for me by J-dub, a member of this forum. I'm very happy with the tools he made for me. Send him a PM if you're interested.

[djm]

My pipemaker made me one mandrel to do all three steps. That's all he uses. Perhaps you could contact the maker of your chanter and see if he can make you a mandrel appropriate to your particular chanter.

djm

[Kramden]

Thanks for the advice.

I'm not rolling my own, but will be using stock 4mm I.D. tubing. If all I'm looking for the mandrel to do is flatten and form the eye, would NPU's D (i.e. concert pitch) mandrel be sufficient? If not I'll follow up with either J-dub or the chanter's maker for a custom one.

Thanks again for everyone's help.

[mike spencer]

As Billh says,yes.You need a D mandrel. In the US Nick Whitmer and Tim Britton also have reedmaking supplies.Less postage and no Customs.

[Kramden]

As Billh says,yes.You need a D mandrel. In the US Nick Whitmer and Tim Britton also have reedmaking supplies.Less postage and no Customs.

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll check out Tim's web site this evening.

Again, thanks for everyone's thoughts.

Best,
John

[J-dub]

On the subject of making rolling mandrels, I had a good rolling mandrel (as well as flattening mandrel and eye-forming mandrel) made for me by J-dub, a member of this forum. I'm very happy with the tools he made for me. Send him a PM if you're interested.

Thanks for the referral PJ, I hope things are going well.

It looks like the mandrels on the NPU site are rolling mandrels. not flattening mandrels. It is hard to tell from the photo, and there is no description either.

In case you, or anyone else, is interested in making a flattening mandrel yourself, here are some ideas/suggestions that might be useful. It is not too difficult to make one if you have access to a few simple tools and have some skill using a file.

Tools needed:

A good quality file (like Nicholson), 8" second cut or smoothing file

A sturdy bench/table with a vise

5/32" drill rod

A hacksaw to cut drill rod into pieces

Sanding paper

You can find various types of drill rod at a local metal supply store, or online (try ENCO or MSC). You will find several types of tool steels, 01, A2 and W1 are the most common. If you are not going to harden and temper the mandrel (and there is really no need to), then any of these types will serve your needs, although 01 is the softest of the three and is more easily worked, but this is a very small difference we are talking about.

A good vise fixed to a stable table will help immensely. Basically, you just go at it with the file until you have the shape you desire. There is a bit of a learning curve hear, but 5/32" drill rod is relatively cheap so you can afford to make a bunch of mistakes! Pay attention the the thickness and shape where the eye of the staple will be; shoot for a smooth lens shape. You want some lee way to form different dimensions for the staple eye, so it helps to make the mandrel accordingly so you can get various staple apertures from a single mandrel. The staple eye will be some where between 1.3 mm and 1.5 mm typically. Some form of measuring device like calipers will be essential, but you will probably already have them if you are making reeds

If you have a flattened staple that work for you chanter, then it is a simple matter of filing until it just fits the staple. A simple trick to reveal high spots that need more filing is to coat the mandrel periodically with machinist blue high-spot, check the fit and any spots that need additional filling will be revealed by where the dye is removed. A felt-tipped magic marker or some paint will also work. If you don't have a working staple to compare to then you will have to determine what works for your chanter from scratch.

A crude but effective handle can be had by drilling a blind 5/32" hole in a piece of dowel and there you have it! Commercially available wooden file handles also work if they are not already drilled with too big of a hole.


John

[billh]

It looks like the mandrels on the NPU site are rolling mandrels. not flattening mandrels. It is hard to tell from the photo, and there is no description either.

All the ones I've seen at NPU have been flattening mandrels. They could be used for rolling (as implied above), but would not be ideal as they are cylindrical below the oval/flattened section.

regards

Bill