NCH Tone Generator is software that generates a sustained tone at a frequency you designate.  The tone can be a sine wave, a square wave, and a number of other basic waveforms.  Tones can be designates and saved to a list. Playback is with a click on the saved item.  One use would be to setup a just scale and match chanter tuning against that. It’s also a useful reference for drone and regulator tuning.  PC Only.

http://www.world-voices.com/software/nchtone.html

Susan Seivane is a wonderful Galican piper. She comes from a tradtion of pipers and pipemakers, starting with her grandfather, and now her brothers.  She has made available a series of facinating videos that document the Seivane pipemaking process.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Tu5KKNrQG0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4D1LekoOUU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQz5HG11fUg

I have a new reed that is having trouble holding the high second octave. Other than that, it seems a good reed; good tone, in tune. What to do?

David Daye has written up some procedures for diagnosis and repair of second octave problems:

http://www.daye1.com/bagpage/upoctave.html

With regulators coming soon, I probably should try and get a handle on how to reed and tune them.

Here is Geoff Wooff’s excellent article on the subject:

http://www.uilleannobsession.com/extras_geoffwooff.html

I made my first successful chanter this last weekend. What a feeling of accomplishment, and it took a long time to get here. It is based on David Daye’s C Penny Chanter design, for which I am eternally grateful to Mr. Daye for making available to the public, and to all his patient help. I can say all parts of this are self-made: chanter, reed, bag, and bellows.

I have no pictures yet (it’s not much to look at), but here is a quick recording:

c-pc.mp3 

…and I am very pleased with how it sounds, and amazed at how in tune it is without tweaking. The only adjustment I made was taping the e hole a bit as it is playing fairly sharp. What’ s out of tune in the recording is my playing, not the chanter.

Also, I’m brand new to playing a C instrument (normally playing D Concert) and it is a challenge– a little akin to jumping from Violin to Viola, though probably somewhat easier.

I plan to post a description of the build process and some pictures later.

I’m always hunting on the net for a reed symptom / adjustment summary.  David Daye has a good one on his extensive website:

http://www.daye1.com/reeds/reedadjust.html

[Note: I posted this review about two years back on Uilleann Forum. Thought it might be relevant here, as the topic seems to arise frequently for beginning makers. One year later I still like it a lot, though am having problems with headstock vibration at a few  speeds. I can't seem to clamp the headstock down as tight as it needs to be, using the headstock cam lever. I need to take the cam lever mechanism apart and see what the problem is. Probably a worn bushing of some sort.  Also, i've since replaced the stock toolrest with ones of better quality.]

Delta X5 Variable Speed Wood Lathe:

http://woodworker.com/x5-16-wood-lathe-mssu-46-755X.asp

I purchased this wood lathe new in the fall of 2007 from Woodworkers Supply in Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA. Cost was about $2100 U.S. dollars plus tax. Costs for wood and metal lathes seem to be rising quickly due to greatly increased shipping costs and I see the lathe now runs in the $2200 - $2400 US range.

I am happy with the purchase. This lathe seems to me a good value, and is great fun to use.

The lathe was delivered directly to my garage by drop-gate truck, and packed on a skid.

All metal parts were coated with grease, to prevent rust. Kerosene and a rag removed it easily. I did this both before assembly and after.

I was able to assemble the lathe by myself with no help, though get assistance if you can, especially when mounting the bed. Once assembled, it is heavy enough to be quite difficult to move, so consider your final floor placement well, and then assemble. Don’t hurt yourself putting this heavy lathe together!

The length of the lathe is 68″, with 42″ useable between centers, with a 16″ swing. In this regard is quite adequate for pipemaking. I would not want a shorter lathe! I should probably repeat that… I would not want a shorter lathe for pipemaking.

The lathe is heavy enough at 354 pounds to prevent vibration at least for pipemaking operations. If vibration does ever become an issue, the legs can be filled with sand, and the lathe can mounted on horizontal 4×4 posts to increase lateral stability. Take the time to level the lathe on your floor.

The ways are made of quality steel, are well cast, and have no twisting or binding issues. Way finish is good with no visible rusted areas on delivery, which is common with Asian lathes. I spray down the ways with WD40 weekly to prevent subsequent rusting. I live in the high desert, and even here, ways will rust if you don’t protect them.

The motor is 2HP. It has nice torque at low rpm (under 100) which is essential for reaming. I have not yet gotten the motor to bind at low RPM. Top RPM is 3000, and the faster speeds are nice for finishing. The motor appears to be of a high quality, and I have had no problems with it, unlike some lathes that are fitted with cheap Asian motors, which seem to have incessant capacitor problems. The motor is bolt on, and can easily be removed for service or replacement. The spindle is belt driven, and replacement belts are available from Delta.

One issue that you must be aware of before purchase is that this lathe runs on 240 volt 1 phase AC power. 240 volt AC provides smoother motor operation at lower cost, so is desirable. If you do not have a 240 volt AC feed to your shop, you will have to either install this yourself or have it installed. I did so myself. The motor WILL NOT run on 115 volt AC power. If your electrical drop box does not support 240 volt AC for whatever reason, the cost on obtaining this could be prohibitive. Please consider BEFORE you purchase this lathe or any other 240 volt power tool. If you decide to add such a 240 volt AC feed to your shop yourself, please be careful!

What I like most about this lathe is the variable speed controller (VFD), a newly affordable technology which allows change of speed on an AC motor with a single dial turn, from 0-3000 RPM. If you have used a lathe where speed change is accomplished by a dangerous belt or gear change, you will appreciate how convenient and safe this feature is. I do try to keep the VFD electronic unit vacuumed out, as they can fail due to dust accumulation. My understanding is that they do fail for this reason eventually.

The drive spindle hole is 9/16″, which is small. I would have liked 1″ or more for passing stock well into the spindle.

The drive head can be rotated on the ways for other lathe operations like bowl making. Drive head alignment can be locked down with a cam hand lever. Because the drive head is designed to be easily rotated, runout can be an issue, so check alignment carefully before starting your work.

The lathe does not come with a chuck. The drive spindle is threaded to accept 8TPI chucks which are a standard. I ended up buying a Teknatool Supernova chuck. I regret that purchase, because none of the available jaws seem quite right for pipemaking diameters. Changing jaws in the Supernova is also a pain, requiring removing 8 screws, changing jaws, and then replacing the screws. I will probably buy a quality Bison 3 jaw metal lathe chuck at some point to do double duty with my metal lathe. Adaptors are available from Oneway. I have been able to adapt two nice three and four jaw Sherline chucks using an 8-16 TPI thread adaptor.

The tailstock is solid, and can be easily locked via a cam lever, with no slippage. The tailstock hole is 11/32″ with a 2MT taper which is standard for accepting drill chucks and centers of the same 2MT taper. The hole could well be adapted with bushings or collets for drilling operations or work holding. The tailstock spindle travels 4″ with a smooth rotary wheel controlling action. If you extend the spindle too far you will get chatter.

The lathe comes with a barely adequate live center. Replace this with the best one that you can afford. It’s been my experience that the cheap Asian live centers all too often have bearings out of round. I replaced mine with a nice Groz live center for under $100 US.

Oneway accessories fit the lathe well, given the right width clamp bar on lathe way bottom. I am using a Oneway 3 Spindle Steady, and a Oneway Drillmaster for drilling operations.

Oneway Spindle Steady:
http://www.oneway.ca/steadyrests/spindle_steady.htm

Oneway Drill Wizard:
http://www.oneway.ca/workshop/drill_wizard.htm

The lathe has indexing stops which are very useful for fixing chuck position when drilling holes. I believe there are 16 index stop positions and wish there were more. 32 index stops would be optimal, and this may be a future modification.

One problem, not a show stopper, is the low quality tool rest. It feels thin and cheap, and I prefer something a bit more rounded. I do believe that aftermarket replacements are available. If replacing, a short 3″ and long 12″-16″ tool rest combination would be nice. I have not yet made this replacement… I guess the tool rest is “good enough”.

The MT2 4 prong drive center is adequate, and I will probably replace it with something of higher quality eventually.

Another minor problem is that the locking lever of the banjo tool rest holder is set in a position when locked that it can get in the way of your tools or the steady when working on very short pieces. I have so far been able to work around this, but it can be an annoyance. I’ve not yet looked into remedies.

Overall, I am very happy with this lathe, and would recommend it if you don’t want to fuss with an older lathe that might have problems. Note that older lathes can have real issues like worn ways, or hard to find replacement parts.

You can certainly spend a lot more on a wood lathe. The variable frequency drive (VFD) allowing on-the-fly speed control makes this lathe shine. I’ll never go back, and have retrofitted my Lathemaster metal lathe with one of these units as well.

Sometimes the question comes up, which to purchase– a wood or a metal lathe. I think both if possible, but unless you are set on doing metal tooling work, I think if I were to only have one, it would be a wood lathe.

At some point I hope to review the Lathemaster 9×30 metal lathe, which is also a good value, but falls a bit short (literally) in some regards.

I hope this is helpful to someone considering a wood lathe purchase. I would think that a lot of my conclusions can be used to evaluate other wood lathes.

Your comments and technical corrections would be appreciated.

An American source for brass tube, rod and sheet is here:

Lewis Brass and Copper Company, Inc.

Catalog:
http://www.lewisbrass.com/newCatalog/NewCat.pdf

Phone:

1-800 221-5579 (U.S. only)
Phone:

(718) 894-1442 (Outside U.S.)
Fax:

(718) 326-4032
Email:

sales@lewisbrass.com

Available from:

http://www.pipedreamsreeds.com

Living in a high-desert climate with rather extreme humidity swings, I find that cane drone reeds are problematic for day to day usage. Sometimes getting them to play at all is a real challenge, and tuning is a constant chore. I was looking for a more stable alternative, and have had good results with composite reeds home-built as described by Tim Britton, John Liestman, David Daye, and others.  I was looking for stability in performance and tuning, and knew there would be some tradeoff, particularly in timbre.

I had heard positive comments about the Pipedreams Ezeedrone reeds, and decided to give these a try.

I ordered these directly from Pipe Dreams in Scotland though their website, and after an initial lost order, they shipped to New Mexico within a week. The order problem was resolved through a single pleasant email exchange, with no overseas phone call required. Email response time was prompt. I was very pleased with the transaction.

The tenor, baritone, and bass reeds come attractively packaged, with clear installation instructions, and are basically ready to play, with some tweaking required. The reeds are made out of an attractive synthetic material, with polycarbonate sheet reed tongues, elastic bridals, and an innovative and handy plastic tuning screw. Despite being made of plastic, they seem quite durable.

Written instructions were clear and to the point describing setup and adjustments for common problems. There is also a helpful installation video posted on the Pipedreams website.

http://www.pipedreamsreeds.com/support/bagpipe_drone_video.php

Some tweaking should be expected, and will be variable according to your drones.  Uilleann drone reed-seat diameters are not standardized except grossly, and do vary.  Pipedreams has provided reeds that they believe will fit a wide range of makers pipes. However it is likely that you will have to do some adjustment, so expect this, and don’t be disappointed if the don’t fit right away. I would imagine there are the odd drones that these reeds would not fit at all. I agree that they should fit most, with tweaking.  Return policy is 7 days after delivery, as stated in Pipedream’s Terms and Conditions.

Out of the box, none of the reeds fit into the seats of my excellent Martin Preshaw drones. I referred to the clear instructions provided with the reeds for guidance.

First, each reed seat insert has a plastic shrink wrap that can be pulled off. The shrink wrap is about 1mm thick, and in my case for the bass and tenor reeds this was enough to allow a good fit into the reed seat. My drones expect a tapered reed; the Ezeedrone inserts are cylindrical and not tapered.  I achieved a slight taper, and reed seat protect with a little Teflon tape. Waxed thread could also be used.

Even with removing the shrink wrap, the baritone drone still would not fit, so I took some 120 grit sand paper and carefully reduced the diameter of the insert to where it would fit. I did this by spinning the insert in the sand paper by hand.  Reduction and fitting was accomplished in about 10 minutes.

With all reeds fitted to drones, my next jobs were to balance and tune.  I first taped off the bells of the bass and baritone reeds to keep them from sounding, and began adjusting just the tenor drone.  At first play, the tenor was very weak sounding and out of tune. To remedy, move the elastic bridal just a hair towards the seat. This made the reed speak nicely. However it was still quite flat in pitch, even with the drone tuning slide pushed all the way in.

Ezeedrone reeds have a screw tuning mechanism. To sharpen, screw in, and to flatten screw out.  Even with the screw and tuning slide all the way in, the reed was still playing quite flat.  To remedy, I shortened the overall length of the reed by sanding down the bottom of the reed, taking off about 2mm.  This put the reed in tune, with a pleasing and mellow tone.

I repeated for the baritone reed. Again, I had to move the bridal a hair towards the seat to get the reed to speak with more authority.  In this case found that by adjusting the tuning slide alone, the reed came into tune. I did not need to shorten the quill.

I found the same for the bass reed. It voiced and tuned easily.

With all reeds sounding with authority and in tune, I connected my chanter, to test for balance between chanter and drones.  I found that overall balance and air usage was acceptable, so did not need to adjust further.  Chanter/ drone balance can be adjusted by moving the drone reed bridals just a hair, lengthening the tongue results in a louder tone with more air usage, and shortening the tongue a softer tone with less air requirement. Don’t adjust too much or the reed either will stop sounding, or drastically change in its pitch. Just a hair is all it takes.

Performance is excellent. The reeds all stop and start with no issues. I can flick a finger across the bell of each drone and stop the reed while playing.  By relaxing bag pressure a bit the individual reed will start right up. Drones cut in and out with a flick of the drone switch.  There is very little if any pressure variation in pitch. This is all as it should be.

Tone is loud and mellow. There is no rasp like one might get from a cane bass drone reed. Timbre is definilty different than cane, but not displeasing. I would describe it as more or a sine wave, compared to the square wave cane can produce. Rounder.

Tuning is extremely stable. I’ve had them a week now through a 100 degree plus heat wave followed by monsoon rains. With all the variability in heat and humidity I have no issues to report. My drone problem is solved.

If you are having drone reed tuning or stability issues, I can highly recommend the Ezeedrone Uilleann drone reeds.  Also if you just don’t want to fuss with your drone reeds this would be a good choice.  Personally I do prefer cane timbre, but given my circumstances, this works well for me.

Here is a sample recording of the Pipedreams EzeeDrones.

Recorded by me, on Martin Preshaw Drones, direct to disk in Reaper, 24bit mono, AKG C3000 Mic flat, normalized, converted to MP3 in Audacity.

Note to self: when drilling ebony, go slow, in tiny increments, and use some sort of lube, lest it crack! 100RPM drilling seems too fast.  Cracks develop internally and you don’t even know they exist until they reveal themselves during turning.

Martin Preshaw, the Irish Uilleann Pipemaker, has recorded Eamonn Dillon playing his Uilleann Concert D Half Set. It’s just wonderful!

• Clip 1
• Clip 2
• Clip 3
• Clip 4
• Clip 5

And a link to Martin’s website, which I maintain.

An excellent Uilleann reed-making tutorial for a Concert D chanter, by master Uilleann piper and reedmaker Finbar Furey.

• Part 1
• Part 2
• Part 3
• Part 4
• Part 5