45 'ing your newly made chanter reed

Uilleann Pipes
1

Any pipemaking/pipemaker/reedmaker’s - out there have any objections to rounding off the corners on a newly made chanter reed for concert pitch pipes.

I just finished making another reed for myself and found that " 45’ing the corners, per say, kind of forces the blades to vibrate centrally.

Any truth to this myth or is this “mahambo-jahambo”? Any other suggestions?

Much appreciated..
Daryl

2

Just finished off three new reeds last night. One with regular corners, and two with the edges clipped. We’ll see how well they play in after a few days…and if there’s any discernable difference in tone at all.

3

Hey Brian thanks for the reply.

Let me know how it turns out?

Daryl

4

I have been told that clipping the corners is only required for reeds that don’t work well. I have found that any reed works easier with the corners slightly cropped - 0.5mm at most.

djm

5

I’ve heard a similar thing DJM, and so decided I’d try it with three reeds on identical staples, all made from the same tube of cane. I’m not certain my skills at finishing the scrape are as honed as I’d like them to be, but all three were crowing and sounding pretty similar as last tested. The proof will be in the pudding though, as they say…and I imagine it may take several weeks or months playing in to find what they are ‘really’ like in the end. :slight_smile:

6

Thanks for the reply DJM.


Actually,

I’ve been told “clipping” is especially dangerous since your could permanently destroy your reed. I use 600 -800 wet-dry sandpaper to ‘45’ the corner a little, 4 or max 5 singled handed scrapes on each corner will actually close the edging.

P.S. Where are you located in Canada?

Daryl

7

Hi, I am in London, Ontario.

I would suggest you NOT use sandpaper on the corners. Just use a sharp knife, and only take off the tiniest little crumb from the corners. All you’re really trying to do is ease the tension at the lips to encourage them to open/close.

djm

8

I once asked Benedict Koehler the reason for the alteration under discussion , after he chopped off the corners of my reed, and he said the only real value he has been able to discern is that it seems to prevent one from knocking the reed corners and causing permanent damage when removing and replacing the windcap.

9

Sounds good.! Thanks DJM and everyone for the replies.

I’ve heard that about removing the windcap, I guess both method are up to the user really.

Thanks for all the replies again, and/or suggestions.

Daryl

10

Clipping the corners is usually (was originally) done on reeds that have/had been sanded or scraped too thin at the edges of the lips. Clipping would then make the the thickness uniform again because as you cut higher into the reed…the cane gets thicker. Sometimes the edges of the reed lips end up flat at the edges so that a tiny area is not elevated. Sometimes clipping can correct this if it’s right further in. The perfect reed has a uniform arch from extreme edge to extreme edge…and no leaks along the edges.

I’ve heard the story about chopping the corners for safety while placing the reed cap on, but that doesn’t seem necessary. Clipping the corners is not for looks. The best reeds don’t have chopped corners because they don’t need them.

There was an entire thread about this a year or two ago.