Uilleann Deconstruction Blog

Martin Preshaw C 3/4 Set

hpinson — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 18:31:37 +0000

Martin is turning out some gorgeous sounding, and looking, work. Here is his latest C 3/4 set.

http://martinpreshaw.com/gallery/c-3-quarter-feb2010.htm (Slideshow)

http://martinpreshaw.com/media/feb2010C3-4set_01.mp3 (Audio Sample: Nice!)

I just got tenor and baritone D concert regulators from Martin and I must say that they are really nice.

Tube Bending Video Tutorial

hpinson — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 18:29:19 +0000

Another excellent tutorial by Curt Garvis, this time on bending brass tubing:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7ySuxiUvAY

NCH Tone Generator Freeware

hpinson — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 14:55:17 +0000

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

Delrin and Cocobolo Wood Penny Chanter Mod

hpinson — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 22:42:45 +0000

Curt Garvis documents a modification of David Daye’s Penny Chanter design, using Delrin rod and Cocobolo wood stock to enhance the aesthetics of the stock design.

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

The use of the Delrin rod drilled exactly to size should eliminate the problem of voids between tone-holes resulting in air-bleed.

Note that metal inside wood can be problematic, but in this case, the wood is probably thick enough to withstand expansion pressures.

It’s a very attractive modification.

Seivane Pipemaking Videos

hpinson — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 16:11:02 +0000

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

New C Penny Chanter Home-Build

hpinson — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 21:09:26 +0000

Here is the C Penny Chanter I just finished. I’m very happy with how it looks and more so, how it sounds. I had a little trouble bending the brass headstock tube, and maybe did not anneal the brass properly. You can see the crimps in the tube, which should not be there. Also I’ve decided to not work with lead anymore as tube-bending filler. It is too toxic (even with a good air mask). Next time I will try fine sand. My backyard is full of it. Also, the E hole seems way oversize, and sharp, so I had to tape. Otherwise tuning remains excellent. It is easy to reed with a Daye type D Penny Chanter reed, using the conical staple.

Thanks again to David Daye for publishing build dimensions.

C Penny Chanter

Second Octave Troubles

hpinson — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 04:53:47 +0000

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

Seán Reid Society Journal Volume III Published

hpinson — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 21:14:00 +0000

Volume III of the Seán Reid Society Journal has been published, in PDF format, and not as an ISO image.

Visit http://seanreidsociety.org/ and click the image on the right, or on the ‘Journal’ dropdown menu.

Volume III Notes:
http://seanreidsociety.org/SRSJ3/Release_Notes_Vol_3.html

This volume focuses on the life and work of Richard Lewis O’Mealy.

Of particular interest to the pipemaker is the following article:

Pipes made by R.L. O’Mealy:
http://seanreidsociety.org/SRSJ3/3.06/O’Mealy%20Pipes.pdf

A Deluxe Set of Mealy Pipes:
http://seanreidsociety.org/SRSJ3/3.10/A%20deluxe%20O’Mealy%20set%20of%20pipes.pdf

The O’Mealy Box:
http://seanreidsociety.org/SRSJ3/3.13/The%20O’Mealy%20Box.pdf

A brief investigation of reamers used by R. L. O’Mealy.
http://seanreidsociety.org/SRSJ3/3.24/O’Mealy%20Reamers.pdf

Preparing for Regulators

hpinson — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 21:02:04 +0000

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

Dremel Stylus

hpinson — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 18:12:27 +0000

The Dremel Stylus rotary tool is a lithium-ion battery powered no-cord, ergonomic revision of the standard Dremel tool which most of us are familiar with, and probably use a good deal. I have to say, it is the most useful little tool that I’ve come across in quite a while. It is perfect for tasks like undercutting tone holes, smoothing rough edges, and deburring in general. It just is comfortable for use in a way that the standard corded Dremel tool is not, and I find I use it a lot more than the corded model. Due to it’s ergonomic design, I feel I have much better control over the cutter as well. And there is no cord to get in the way. Battery life is excellent, I’ve been using it moderately over two weeks and have yet to recharge it.

It has two downsides that I am aware of:

1. It has much less torque that the corded model. That’s OK for the types of jobs that I describe above, but don’t expect it get much satisfaction using carbide cutters on harder metals or stone. It will not work well for that.

2. The battery is not replaceable as far as I can tell. Once the lithium-ion battery wears out, you toss the tool– too bad. I imagine the life of a lithium-ion battery is a few years, based on a small Bosch drill that I have.

In my C Penny chanter project, I used this tool to debur the brass tubing after cutting with a bandsaw, to remove brass burrs after drilling operations, and to undercut the C hole on the chanter which was playing a little flat. It should work really well on hardwood, given the right cutter or sander.