For those who might be interested, I’ve developed a foot-joint that allows the uilleann pipe chanter to play low C without affecting D or the other notes: http://foot-joint.com/
Also see article in the December issue of An Piobaire.
Happy New Year.
Wow - the wheel re-invented 
I wonder if the the pipemaker that already has done this would care to post although from memory it was a wooden body
Seem to recall this has been a subject of discussion before but cannot find it running obvious searches
John
I don’t think so. The article explains in detail.
John, I don’t believe this kind of foot-joint has ever been done, but would be glad to know about it if it has. This is not a simple static extension of the chanter. Again, I refer you to the article or website.
How much are ye charging?
A demonstration video might be interesting. Even necessary. 
Yes I intend to get some media up soon as I can get that organized. I’m not quite into production yet, so don’t yet know what they might cost.
John, I don’t believe this kind of foot-joint has ever been done, but would be glad to know about it if it has. This is not a simple static extension of the chanter. Again, I refer you to the article or website.
I know what I saw and heard and it definately not only gave the C but also acted as a stop valve.
I have emailed the maker concerned to let him know about this thread so hopefully he will post with details of how it works
John
Yes, it would have to, otherwise there would be no way to close the chanter. However that in itself still would not make the two things the same. I’d be very interested to learn about this other device you mention.
In the meantime, read the article. I’m sure you’d find it at least a little interesting. You posted your first reply 26 minutes after my OP, hardly enough time to spot the post, read the article, understand and contemplate it enough to be able to conclude that this is " the wheel re-invented".
Read the article in NPU so was aware of the claims
Trying not to labour the point but your claim is the foot joint allows the chanter to play the low C leading note and also allows the chanter to be stopped in the normal way for stacato
Where the hell is the difference between what you claim and what he has done several years ago ?
Only difference I can see is that your use magnets and he either uses gravity or knowing him a spring to give positive action
Perhaps it is hard to find your idea has been done before but thats life
John
John, you’d make a great diplomat. I am prepared for the possibility that something like this has been done before. However I would have to see it or be able to read about it in detail to accept that as a fact. After exhaustive searching and many enquiries, I haven’t found the thing you’re referring to. Your opening volley was that this is “the wheel re-invented” but at present you are unable to back up that assertion. If it does exist, then this original “wheel” you speak of is generally unknown, including to a good number of senior pipers that I’ve shown this foot-joint to. So, at present it is a “secret wheel” that is inaccessible, and thus your point is mute, if not also belligerent.
Besides, there are many different kinds of wheels, accomplishing different tasks with different effectivenesses. For instance, how does the device you’re talking about avoid interfering with the bottom D? How quickly does it open? How smoothly does it open? How long is it? How has the length been minimized by other pitch flattening methods? What kind of adjustability does it have for different tenon lengths? What kind of adjustability does it have for fine tuning? From what you’ve said so far, I doubt you have any good answers to these questions.
Once again, I look forward to hearing about any other devices (aside from ordinary chanter extensions) if they exist. I’m very much into the exchange of ideas and I’m sure I’ll learn something.
I remember seeing this in the workshop, and asked whether it was a popping valve for a pastoral chanter. If memory serves correctly it was made of rosewood or mahogany and was spring operated, working with a smooth clean action.
There was a related discussion on here (I think) on obtaining a low C# by shading the bottom of the UP chanter. The leading note would be useful to have available at will.
I saw this thread by chance and had a look at the website - if I understand the system correctly, for each bottom D a (short) C sounds before the actual D can be heard while the slide moves, as it passes the “C” position before entering the position for bottom D. Is that correct?
No need to get nasty, Elmek. You’ve made your point, such as it is. The OP asked if it had been done before, and you’ve answered the question.
Inventions and innovations are often re-invented multiple times, so that’s not news. Wikipedia’s count for the incandescent light bulb is 24 times.
By all means, let’s have all the information out there, and give it all a fair hearing. If the previous invention is a success, I haven’t seen it (yet) at tionóls, etc. Maybe it needs to be better publicized. If the specific details of gillis’ device - springs, magnets, whatever - are an improvement, then great. If either device works or neither device works, the market and community of pipers will decide. And we can let the patent attorneys fight about prior art.
We can ofcourse assume pipers decided when they dropped the foot joint in the first place
On a serious note though, it would be interesting to know the effects of the extra length of the chanter when playing the regulators as well as the tonal effects when playing various off the knee movements.
The assertion
Low C is a very important note in Irish traditional music.
may need a bit expanding, with a convincing list of tunes from the mainstream repertoire where the low C is indeed an important note that is sorely missed when unavailable.
Yes, I should have said: if either device works, or fulfills a need. The suggested Low C Tunes listed on the website are somewhat off the beaten path. The chicken or the egg, perhaps.
The chicken or the egg, perhaps
Possibly although even the repertoire for the fiddle or the concertina, instruments that have the low C available, use the note more as a passing note than one that carries a lot of weight. Unless they’re moving in keys that would be alien to the pipes anyway.
A bit more information on the tuning of the low C would be interesting too. How does it interact with the drones?
Nice! I’ll be getting this In principle not very different from the telescoping C#-foot I was raving about here some time ago, but it is more complex with that hole on the side and a closed end. Can you get a C# out of this? Congratulations for developing your idea this far and making it into the production phase!!
Happy new year!
As MTGuru has already been mentioned ideas circulate and come back time and again sometimes with variations. The Patent Office has a number of Patents pertaining to “Improvements to Bagpipes” but these are mostly to the GHB and include plastic (vulcanite) reeds, ‘O’ rings instead of hemp from the beginning of the 20th Century and there is also one that provides for a sliding section to close off the chanter - a staccato GHB CHanter
As has been noted already the subject has come again and a quick search of this forum found this interesting thread from which the below quote is taken https://forums.chiffandfipple.com/t/chanter-design-development-ideas/73562/1
From ‘Islander’ based in Oulu Finland.
Since the opening of this thread I came up with a simpler way to add an extra note below the low D (or the usual bottom note on any chanter). A lower hand thumb operated sliding metal tube with a spring (or a strong magnet and a piece of iron, why not?) to pull it back up. It really can’t be impossible to build such a simple mechanism and I’m sure it would work. One extra note and no modifications to the bore or tone holes, just a longer than usual metal tube to the bottom which could be moved with the thumb. What do you think?
John & Mike, yes you have seen something like this in my workshop and it was developed a good few years back in response to requests to give a stopping facility for a pastoral chanter. It is simple enough and works with a piston inside the footjoint to close off the vent holes and is spring loaded for positive opening and is held captive by the bottom mount.
Whilst this extension is considerably shorter than the normal Pastoral footjoint there is a problem noted by everyone who tried it. The main chanter i.e. the Union Pipe chanter when stopped on the knee is now much higher with this in place and for those who like playing with the chanter stopped on the knee the bottom hand is too far up to play the regulators well
Because of this I have never developed it further or offered it commercially although it does remain an option with simple Pastoral sets which only have drones or a single regulator
Hope this sets the record straight
Chris
I think Mr Gumby was making a helpful suggestion for Mr Gillis to improve his explanation on his website, rather than picking you up on anything, Mr Guru Sir.
And I think he’s absolutely right. It would be particularly useful if the website showed, in effect, what could be done with the device as opposed to without. So, which tunes require the low C? There would have to be a fair few to justify the assertion on gillis’ website “Low C is a very important note in Irish traditional music”.
The device looks interesting.
[cross-post with Chris Bayley]
Not sure it was helpful but I was in fact responding to the list posted on the website.
By the way, when making comments like this :
I’m sure you’d find it at least a little interesting. You posted your first reply 26 minutes after my OP, hardly enough time to spot the post, read the article, understand and contemplate it enough to be able to conclude that this is " the wheel re-invented".
it’s probably good to realise many of us received their Piobaire well before Christmas and had ample time to read and digest it’s content by the time the OP was made.