Uilleann Deconstruction Blog

Dirk Mewes Shop Pipemaking Blog

hpinson — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 18:08:14 +0000

Dirk Mewes, Colorado pipemaker, has a blog that details his process.

http://dwmpipes.blogspot.com/

Lately he has taken on regulator key-making.

Highly recommended.

The Uilleann Pipe Reedmaker’s Guidance Manual, by Dave Hegarty

hpinson — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 18:04:43 +0000

NPU seems to have made freely available Dave Hegarty’s excellent The Uilleann Pipe Reedmaker’s Guidance Manual, third addition.

What I like in particular about this book is, besides giving great advice for making and troubleshooting chanter reeds, it delves in-depth into drone and regulator reeds. Regulator reeds have been particularly neglected, until as of late, in the literature. Also covered is reeding narrow bore D and flat chanters, an area that I am struggling with myself right now. Also includeds appendixes detailing gouge sharpening and equal temperment and just intonation tuning.

The guide is available here.

Using a Tap and Die

hpinson — Mon, 10 May 2010 21:43:14 +0000

The drawbar in my XJ9525 Mill has M12 (12mm) threads. My new set of R8 endmill holders have M10 (10mm) threads. The answer, turn the rod thread down from 12mm to 10mm using a die.

Here’s how:

http://www.diynetwork.com/how-to/how-to-use-a-tap-and-die-set/index.html

Irwin makes good metric tap and die sets.

http://www.acetoolonline.com/Irwin-Tap-and-Die-Combination-Sets-s/2823.htm

Medir Cane Online Store

hpinson — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 22:32:59 +0000

Link to Medir Cane online store where you can purchase cane for UP chanters and drones:

http://www.medir.cat/index.php?option=com_virtuemart&page=shop.browse&category_id=7&Itemid=3&lang=en

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