Fix for a Flat Reed: Anyone Try This?

Uilleann Pipes
1

Caveat: Please keep in mind that I am quite the novice when it comes to making reeds, so try this at your own risk.

I recently made two reeds for my Hillmann chanter which worked great, but played consistently at a higher pitch (it was as if my D chanter was an E chanter – it sounded in tune with itself, but was one step higher than concert pitch).

Because of “architectural constraints” I couldn’t reseat the reeds higher on their staples and was hesitant to move them to other staples because the blades of the reeds were quite “happy” sitting where they were. Since I have other working reeds I thought I’d use this as an experiment so here’s what I did:

I took a conical metal punch and hammered it into the end of a copper tube the same size of the staple. Then I cut off this end of the tubing so that its length was about a quarter of an inch. Then I seated the staple of the problem reed into this extention and sealed it with a heat-shrinking insulator for wires. I then refit the extended staple into the reed seat and after a few minor adjustments with hemp I got both reeds to play in tune in D.

2

Whatever you can get to work is pretty much a good plan… unless, perhaps, it involves copious amounts of high explosives. :smiley:

Cool.

3

All without a trip to the mall , thats a neat idea !! :astonished: :slight_smile:

4

i have to do something similar with the reeds in my regs. i don’t roll the staple, rather use standard brass tubing. Cutting off a small piece of tubing the next size down in diameter and sliding it into the staple will flatten the reed significantly…

5

does this happen with all your reeds?

6

No, just two for some reason. With regard to the sliding tube thing, I considered that as well, getting the idea from an upgrade Bruce Childress made on my regulators.

7

if it works, use it!!

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So then shouldn’t the title say “Fix for a Sharp reed”? You said the reed was sharp, and you therefore fixed it by flattening it… Or did you mean flat as in a flat chanter reed? :really:

10

In my most recent experimentation’s I have cut the Staple short… or should I say, put them on the belt sander. There is a lot more control to be had there.

11

I roll the staples. Yes, I should have titled it “Fix for a Sharp Reed.” Thanks.