I got a leak

[Nick the DSM]

Well, I found out last lesson I had with my instructor I have a leak in my bag. She said she used rubber cement and nail polish to fix a leak she had in her's, but mine is unfortunetly on the seam where the stitching of the bag is. It is right at the neck of the chanter as well.

Is this fixable or should I get a new bag ASAP?

I feel like I might be SOL on this.

[flyrod6057]

We had a guy in our band with the same problem. He put every band-aid (ha!) imaginable on it, and it worked okay for a while. Eventually, it was just too bad to fix, and he ended up replacing it.

I've heard of pipers using barge cement or aquaseal to repair seams with decent results. Not sure what your options are at the chanter stock. I've never had to deal with it, so I don't know how it works.

I play a hide Gannaway, so seam issues aren't too much of a concern.

Good luck!

[SFCRick]

Just keep your kilt on and no one will notice!

[highland mafia]

What kind of bag is it?? Sorry to say... But you can fart around with all sorts of homemade bodges, but all of it is just going to hold you back from the most important thing. and that's learning, practicing and playing your pipes.. A leak is very counter productive to playing. So I would say don't be so Scottish about it and buy a new pipe bag! LOL!

[EagleJCS]

If it's a Canmore (Gore-Tex(R) ) bag, you might be able to use cyano-acrilate (SuperGlue) to seal the gaps in the seams. Just run a trickle along the seam and let it dry. I had a leak in the back corner of my Canmore bag, used some CA and haven't had a problem since.

If it's a leather bag, it sounds like you may need to re-season. If it's a 'hybrid' bag (artificial inside and leather outside), check with the manufacturer on what to do if you detect a leak.

For the leak around the 'neck of your chanter', do you mean it's leaking at/around the chanter stock? That may just need a little more tightening on your tie-in. You can get some artificial sinew (check Tandy leather), and tie a couple more wraps on it.

Use the following method:
1) Wrap some sinew around a 1" dowel rod (or broomstick) and place the rod on the floor
2) Tie the sinew onto the chanter stock (and around the bag as well) with a clove hitch (look it up - it's not that hard to tie)
3) Make one wrap around the chanter stock
4) Place your feet on the dowel rod and pull the sinew as tight as you can
5) Repeat steps 3 and 4 a couple of times
6) Tie off the sinew with a clove hitch

You might also use some extra tape there to help finish sealing the chanter stock. I used plain old electrician's tape (same stuff I use on the chanter to flatten notes buy covering the hole - I just cut it in half width-wise for the chanter).

That was done with mine early on (I didn't have the knowledge at the time, so a senior piper in the band did it for me). Haven't had a leak there since, either.

Good luck!

[Nick the DSM]

It is a Canmore goretex, can't believe I forgot to mention that. What I mean by close to the chanter is the seam that runs right to it. I might try superglue, though I think in the future I will have to get a new one, but I can't dillydally around and lose playing time.

[davidlpope]

How old is the current bag?

[piperdbh]

I would think the glue would need to be on the inside of the bag. I usually find out the hard way that I've glued the wrong side of things.

Will whomever you bought the bag from replace it?

[Nick the DSM]

I bought this used, so I have no idea how old the bag is. To get the super glue really in there, I might try blowing up the bag so that the leak opens up.

[davidlpope]

I bought this used, so I have no idea how old the bag is. To get the super glue really in there, I might try blowing up the bag so that the leak opens up.

Buy a new bag. I really like the Bannatyne canmore/hide hybrid. The feel of hide, no seasoning, zipper opening to put in tone enhancers, let out moisture, etc. Really nice.