http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=16226&item=3729981229&rd=1
The chanter is listed as being rosewood, but it looks too dark/black for rosewood to me. Anybody else?
Probably depends on what type of rosewood it is.
When I bought this set, the chanter had very dark reddish brown tones and grain. I use olive oil on my hands and it turns the chanter wood black. I was told by a woodworking friend that certain rosewoods are a variety of blackwood. I’m not a wood guy, so I can’t tell you if that is true or not. It certainly doesn’t look like the rosewood that is used in all the Pakistan pipes.
John [/code]
I was unaware that rosewood did have blackish varieties. I own several fifes made of rosewood, one of them a relic from the war of 1812, and it still has a nice reddish quality to it… though noticably beaten up a bit. Live and learn. 
So, srfmowman, am I correct in assuming that the practice set is yours?
Oiled rosewood will darken with time.
Having seen (and played) this set, I can attest to it’s air tight qualities. A very nice construction throughout. John is also a greta reedmaker so I’m not sure why he’s offering to buy a new reed in from a maker near the buyer though. 
At any rate, whoever grabs this one up should be well pleased I would think.
Hi all,
The set is mine. The chanter actually looked like the blowpipe but darkened with the olive oil. I think the blowpipe must have varnish on it and that is why it didn’t darken. An interesting aside, olive oil makes brass very bright.
I have offered to pay for a reed by a reedmaker in the buyers area because I am not sure how a desert reed will fare in the buyers area. (Brian just means I have destroyed more reeds, just to see how they behave, than he has made so far). I would just like for the buyer to avoid some of the reed frustion that I experienced. I know how many months I was banging my head on the wall before I found out that you could make a reed easy to play. I’m not a little guy, but I was getting tired. 
I wouldn’t sell this set at all (I really love this chanter), but I bought that 5 drone Roberts 1/2 set out of Germany (I also love that chanter and the drones) and mama says I can’t have both. I have never ordered a set from Roberts, so I really don’t have a good idea how he is to deal with in that sense, but I really like the level of craftsmanship and the sound of his pipes. I just hope after 20 years or so of practicing that they will sound like a musical instrument in my hands (When others play them, they do indeed sound like a musical instrument). 
John
The set has been sold. 
This is like selling off one of your kids. Deep down (well, not very deep because I’m quite shallow 
) I was really hoping that no one would buy the set. I would have a good excuse for the wife, “Sorry Dear, the market for Uilleann pipes has dried up and I will just have to keep them”. Well, I’m going to put a few more hours on them tommorrow before I have to send them away.
John
Congratulations on the sale…uh…I think.
Yes, the man makes nice pipes O.K, will his son take over the workshop
in Spain when he retires.
Well, since I am the set’s original owner (I sold it to John via eBay), I kind of recall the specifications. I am 100% certain the chanter is blackwood; Charles’ other option is ebony, and rosewood is not offered. Blackwood, aka grenadilla, is not uniformly black, as you surely know; on clarinets and oboes, at least, it can be “streaky” and not of a uniform color. I’ve seen the same coloration of Irish flutes by McGee and Healy. I’m a little vague on what the chanter looked like up close and personal, but I am certain I would not have ordered in ebony when I could get a superior wood for the same price.
For Irish pipes, there are several different types of ebony, African blackwood, boxwood out there for the past 250 years. People swear by them all. Also, it is all about the supply and availability as makers have access to different supplies now and in the past.