I was wondering if anyone knows any easy fixes for leaking regs without repadding them. Something to put on the pads, maybe. i really get a hissing sound and I’m sure it’s taking much more air than should be required for that reason.
Before you put anything on the pads, you should make sure that the key is sitting correctly. If the key is twisted or out of alignment, even a tiny bit, it is possible for the pad to be lifted up off the seat allowing air to escape.
It should be easy enough to identify the key that does leak by feeling with your hand. Sometimes though, with small leaks it is difficult to find anything, so I usually get my face nice and close and try to feel the air leak blowing onto my cheek. It looks a little odd, but does the trick.
Don’t forget to check the ends of the regs at the tuning pins and around the joints and mainstock.
Another nasty that can catch you out on reg keys is when the springs are not strong enough or well enough mounted. If you don’t feel confident about disassembling your reg keys and retensioning the springs, you should get a pipemaker to vet them for you.
djm
Repadding is the best fix and only takes a couple of hours. Most other “temporary” fixes are less satisfactory. Remove the keys and note each pin direction and location on removal, for block mounted keys. Remove the old pads. Heat will undo pads using shellac to afix them or scrape off the old pads and glue. The best new pad material is to get a small block of closed-cell foam from a whitewater kayak supplier. The foam is used for knee pads in WHITEWATER kayaks (not sea kayaks). Slice off or have someone slice the grey foam into slices of various thicknesses (1/16" to 3/16" +/-) with a band saw. Cut pads from a piece a bit thicker than the originals, as the foam will compress a bit, and glue them on. I use contact cement. These pads will give a long lasting ABSOLUTE seal. Any leaks from any pads should never be tolerated! I used to use slices of earplug foam, but they are a quite soft. I find that this closed-cell foam to be ideal. It is now used in preference to sax pads or other leather pads by a number of pipe and flute makers. I repadded a few antique reg’s. with splinters of wood missing which were leaking with leather pads. The foam pads made them absolutely staunch. Before repadding, remove the reg. reeds and blow on the reed end. If there is any leak at all, they should be repadded. Uilleann pipes are never a finished product and are always under construction. Every few months you should do a complete leak check of everything, bag, bellows, connecting hose, end caps etc. They must be air-tight as possible. NO LEAKS. Leaks cause playing problems and are too common but easily fixed.
Ted
Hi Ted,
Is this the stuff you introduced to Geoff Wooff for his keys? If so it’s great stuff… my B set is set up with it and it works a charm!
Patrick.
Excellent post Ted , and I guess with the rest of the foam , one can take up white water rafting . Money well spent .
.
tok . p.s. I have used bees wax to help the key move easily , If it is sticking . I put a small bit of wax under the spring , on the channel of the key block .
tok .
.
Hi,
I’m with djm here. If the pads seem ok, often it’s worth looking at the springs, and also the mounts. If you can hear air escaping, then you have quite a hefty leak (i use the old “blow smoke down them”, don’t forget to remove the reed ). If the mounts have clogged up, they often stop the key returning properly. I find throughout the year, and over time, the wood swells too, (and shrinks of course). Giving the keys and mounts a good clean is essential, and sometime a rub with 600 grit emery on the sides of the keys where they come into contact with the wood helps. You can even go as far as adding a drop of fine mineral oil, if you care to, but that only speeds up the clogging next time. Then look to the pads.
Alan
I am with Alan on this one. I was only addressing repadding, but definately follow Alan’s advice first. Any stickyness in key movement or weak springs etc. should be the first order.
Pat— A big howdy, ya b@%%@#$ ya. Yes, that is what Geoff is using, and K&Q etc. etc. also. It originated with Rod Cameron, a maker of $4,000 baroque flutes. I find it to be superior to sax and clarinet pads. Where there are leaks with these pads, the foam will work better.
Ted
ted . I am with alan on this one too .
tom .
I reckon this is important regarding chanters too. I often sit there, reeding a chanter and it’s a bit awkward and I try many remedies, then I think “Keys!”. If there’s is a leaking key, it affects the tuning quite drastically sometimes, (If you have trouble with Hard D and you have “many” keys, it’s often a cause). The more keys, the bigger the leak! I’m so fed up with my regs., they’re plugged up while I await my new one’s (there’s a great ad for when I come to sell them )
Alan
Better send them to Ted first before you sell them. 
Thanks for that tip Ted. BK put those new pads on my old McFadden regs before I passed them on to the Vallelys (personal friends of McFadden himself, both the elder and younger) and I wondered what that material was.
BTW, don’t know if you’re into Whitewater Kayaking or not, but a couple of weeks ago I spent a few days up the White Salmon River (off the Columbia River Gorge-heart of the Cascade Mt. Range) where there is world class WW kayaking. I stopped by to visit an old friend, an eccentric old Irishman (Bob Sweeny), who has built a 5 story, old style, Irish Castle, furnished with 18th-19th c. hand made furniture, and a pub styled bar in the daylight basement overlooking the river.
He is well known in certain circles of famous travelling Irish musicians, and he throws parties all the time, with music all day and night, or all weekend. If you ever want a fantastic place for NW pipers to rendezvous, this is about as good as it gets this side of old Ireland. He has several acres (maybe as much as 10-20 or more), a small lake to one side, guest quarters, and a hug lawn for campers. He welcomes anyone and plays bagpipes himself. Seems like he has an old B52 airplane somewhere on the property that he is restoring too.
I recommend a non-structured, U-Pipes Blowout Weekend at his place sometime, like maybe Labor Day weekend, or anytime in the summer. 20 minutes west of him is a true bona fide rain forest (80 In. of rain p/year). Elderberry grows all around his canyons. It’s one hour east of Portland, Oregon.
If anyone wants a picture of this fantastic Irish Castle, send me an email off list.