Getting a reed for a Jim Daly fully rationalized set?

Uilleann Pipes
1

Hi,
I’ve got a couple of questions, so please hang in there…

I’m new to uilleann piping although I can pass a tune on the low whistle. In a fit of irrational exuberance about six years ago (remember - everyone was doing it back then) I splurged on a ‘fully rationalized set’ made by Jim Daily in Glasgow.

This picture may actually be my set of pipes (from a link on Jim’s website)…
http://www.uilleann-pipes.com/gallery/details.php?image_id=10
In the intervening years I got busy with school and left the pipes alone in a cupboard.

Question 1: Chanter reed size?
I recently pulled them out again and fixed a few air leaks, made a new bellows-bag connector, made a new bag, etc. They do make sound, but it is “@#$% awful” (Wife 2009). This may be a combination of the player and the instrument, but I suspect I need a new chanter reed. All those cupboard years in Houston Texas probably didn’t do it any good. Just to get a less than awful sound (so that I can practice in the house) I’m guessing I need to order a chanter D reed. I’ve read on the forums postings that suggest that some reeds don’t fit in some chanters. How can I be sure I’ve got a reed that will fit and won’t sound awful?

Question 2: Bunging up the hole for the drones/regulators?
Is there something, apart from a rubber ball that I can cram into the brass pipe that the stock is connected to. Having the stock connected is really awkward while I’m spending all my neural power on the bellows, bag and chanter. They also tend to leak a bit. Is there something else people use to close up this hole?

Question 3: Reeds for the Fully Rationalized Set
The stock has four pipes connected. Two have reeds that look like chanter reeds (although maybe a bit longer?), the other two have drone reeds. From Jim’s website

“The set has the usual bag, bellows and chanter with the following drones: Bass D, drone which does not change note. The middle pipe plays A, with a key which when pressed plays G. The treble pipe plays D with a key which when pressed plays F-sharp. The keys are arranged so that when they are pressed together you can get a D chord and a G chord.”

Is there any way to know from this description what kinds of reeds I would need to replace the reeds that are currently in the drones?

Many thanks
Jeff Cooke
Houston, Texas

2

If Jim Daily made them, that is the first person you should be approaching for replacement reeds. Eventually you will want to learn to make your own, but that is far too much to handle in the beginning. Contact Jim first.

As for plugging the main stock while learning the chanter (smart move!) get yourself an assortment of (unused) wine corks and whittle one down to size.

djm

3

Unfortunately, no. It’s almost certainly going to require custom work from someone, if you can’t get what you need from Jim. It’s a highly unusual piece of kit, far from standard - I can’t imagine Jim sold many of them. What you have sounds like two “more or less normal” drones, plus two quite abbreviated regulators (i.e. two notes each).

It’s pretty normal for any set that’s been put aside for a number of years to need some work to get it playing again - especially if it may not have ever been playing properly in your local conditions. Ideally you’d want a good local reedmaker; possibly there isn’t one. I’d suggest putting everything but the chanter aside for now. If you attend as many piping events as possible you may eventually sort out what you need.

Good luck,

Bill

4

To temporarily get rid of the mainstock I would turn a wooden plug, the same diameter and length as the part of the mainstock where it connects to the bag, wrap it with waxed thread and plug it in as you would the mainstock. I have done this for a couple of friends. If you don’t have access to a lathe maybe there is a woodworking shop nearby that could do it.

Cheers, David

5

telephone Jim he will send ye a new reed (Email isnae working).Maybe ye could pop along to the pipers club in Houston.The reeds might just need tweaking by someone who knows whit they are doing.Opening or closing the bridle etc…anyways a phone call to Jim is all ye need to do.
Uilliam