Hi, hopefully someone has some insight, I just acquired a Kirk Lynch chanter and it has a brass tube in the reed seat.
The tube is pretty narrow and the reeds I have to hand use a larger diameter tubing for their staples.
If you have a Lynch chanter do you know if this tube is glued in? Or just a press-fit? I’ll need to remove it to play different reeds.
Thanks!
I used to have a Lynch chanter. On mine it was just pressed in.
Thanks! I was hoping that would be the case. I’ve not been able to pull it out with pliers however.
It wouldn’t be such a bad thing except that it’s made to fit very narrow staples, narrower than any reeds I have.
I have a chanter from Tim Britton and it is made in a similar design. For his it’s designed to use 3/16” (0.1875”) brass tube for the reed staple which is easier to find in the US than 5mm (0.197”) which seems to be the standard.
I’ve seen several of Kirk’s chanters over the years and all the brass tube tuning slides were just pushed in and held in place with a little waxed thread. It is possible that a previous owner used some glue. If cyanoacrylate was used some acetone should help loosen it. Best of luck!
Thanks everybody!
As it happens it was just pressed in, with a small amount of thin nylon thread wrapping, and I was able to coax it out with needle-nose pliers.
I have a trusty old reed in the chanter now and it’s playing brilliantly. The tuning is exceptionally good. I only need tape on Back D.
I can’t argue with your good results. But I would point out that the chanter was designed for a reed with 3/16” dia tubing staple. The tube in the chanter was a clue to the maker’s intention. Pull the tube & a bit of knowledge is lost about the chanter & it’s design. This is particularly so if the reed seat is reamed out to be conical.
Messing around with chanters in this or more drastic ways makes me nervous. If the practical result of modification is truly good, ok; but too often I’ve seen modifications that were unskilled & destructive.
Nick Whitmer
Ithaca, NY
Thanks for the insights, you would know best.
The tube was just pressed in with a minimal wrapping of thin thread, so it’s a simple matter to put it back in. The chanter did come with two reeds made to fit into that tube but both were sh!te. I didn’t ream out the reed seat, that would be scary.
Ideally I’d like to find a reedmaker who has experience reeding Lynch chanters.
Or, failing that, a reedmaker to whom I can send the chanter and reeds who can use those staples as a basis for new reeds.