pipes on the wall!

[macgreggor]

So I'm going into a little hole-in-the-wall music store trying to get a keyguard screw for my daughter's sax. While I am chatting with the great folks there (good service and willingness to think outside the box) I look up and there is a set of , I think, small pipes hanging from the wall. By the owners admission, the reeds are gone and the bag leaks. Is there anything in particular I should look at to see if these are even worth taking on as a fun project? I think I could get them for $25 or so.

Making my own reeds could be a real learning experience!

Thanks
macG
Greg

[PiobBear]

can you post a photo?

[Panache]

Greg,

i moved your thread to the "Celtic Muscians" forum where more of our pipers will see it.

Cheers

Jamie

[beloitpiper]

$25, wow. Do you play pipes? Because you'd need a pretty intricate knowledge of pipes to fix them.

[macgreggor]

$25, wow. Do you play pipes? Because you'd need a pretty intricate knowledge of pipes to fix them.

Never even picked up a chanter. The only thing I would be doing here is trying to restore these pipes to a playable condition. If I tried to play small children would cry and strong men faint.
Greg

[macgreggor]

can you post a photo?

The only camera I have right now is my camera phone and that is worse than useless!

Greg

[Mr. Woolery]

There's no point in trying to make your own reeds if you don't play. The finer nuances of playing pressure, tone, volume, etc. are going to be a problem for a non-piper. However, there are cheapie reeds available for some smallpipes, depending on bore size. Practice chanter reeds are the standard for Gibson Fireside pipes and Kitchen Pipes. Used to be for the the Bagpipes Galore Practice Pipes, but they now have a different setup.

As for sealing the bag, in many cases, if the leather is sound, a good application of Airtight bag seasoning will be all it takes.

FWIW.

For $25, I'd go for it myself, but I am a piper and could probably make them work for me. That is, if they could be made to work at all.

-Patrick

[macgreggor]

My dear spouse has decided that I NEED a project for the next year or so. Between finding/making reeds (I know, I know) sealing bags and maybe trying to get a sound from these pipes.....
Thanks for the input. Will post pics after the purchase. I figure I wasted a WHOLE lot more than $25 back in the day.

Greg

[Derek Conley]

Interested to see these.

[PiobBear]

There are many, many different varieties of smallpipes in the world; Scottish smallpipes come in basically three types.

The first has the drones in a common stock, usually three, usually all different lengths; bass, baritone, and tenor. They may be in A, Bb, or D. They may be mouth or bellows blown.

The second are parlor pipes. They were quite popular after the turn of the century, and most of the big names turned a version. These look like little great Highland pipes, with two tenors and a bass drone, usually in Bb, usually mouthblown (I know of at least one set that was converted to bellows for a WWI veteran who's lungs were knackered by gas).

The third is crap manufactured in Pakistan, in which case your $25.00 would be much better spent on good beer. Again, some pics would help.

If they haven't been played in a while, you'll want to oil them; most folks would use almond oil, the same stuff woodwind players use. Apply it (inside and out), let it soak a while (especially any end grain), and wipe it dry. Repeat. Old sets were shellacked or varnished; do not try to strip and refinish them unless you're very experienced in wood refinishing. Never, ever, seal them up in urethane plastic or the like; the wood absolutely must be able to breathe! If they have ivory (can you recognize real ivory?), keep everything off of it, with the exception of a little mineral oil.
If it needs a bag, go to L&M. You can Google how to tie in or season a bag.
For reeds, consider Ezeedrones. Since you don't play (yet), you've no idea what they're supposed to sound like, hence you can't make your own.
For the chanter, it depends on what kind of chanter you have in what key. Again, buy reeds. If they are old pipes, you'll probably spend a bit until you find the right one (but as you don't play, how will you know?).
Joints on pipes are wrapped with waxed hemp, and should always be easily moveable without force. As the moisture content of the wood changes, hemp is added or removed to keep an airtight but moveable seal. One of the most common Newbie mistakes is to hemp the hell out of tenons, play them until the wood swells, locks up the joint, and cracks it.
A thin wooden tube full of water vapor is the most unstable thing known to engineering. If they're mouth blown, moisture (from your breath) should be re-introduced very gradually. The oiling will help retard the absorption of moisture, but not prevent it. Play only a little bit at a time, carefully monitoring the joints, until you're satisfied that the moisture content of the wood has stabilized. Always be mindful of their moisture content; never leave them near a heat source, in your car, or under the bed for six months, then pull them out and pipe all Saturday night at the pub.
If you're going to have a set of pipes, you might as well learn to play them. They're played essentially the same way as great Highland pipes. Get a tutor.