I’m just doing some research here before ordering a set of drones and stock.
What would be the best type of wood for the construction of a stock. My practice chanter is made from African Black and i wonder how it’s going with hardwoods of similar colour?
Have you guys heard of exotic hardwoods (and tone-woods) such as Cocobolo, Walnut or even Papua New Guinean Ebony? Their tonal qualities?
I would be requesting for a hollow stock (for the extra buzzing). My pipe-maker said it requires quite a bit of extra work. Have any one seen a hollow-stock before?
I’m just doing some research here before ordering a set of drones and stock.
What would be the best type of wood for the construction of a stock. My practice chanter is made from African Black and i wonder how it’s going with hardwoods of similar colour?
Have you guys heard of exotic hardwoods (and tone-woods) such as Cocobolo, Walnut or even Papua New Guinean Ebony? Their tonal qualities?
I would be requesting for a hollow stock (for the extra buzzing). My pipe-maker said it requires quite a bit of extra work. Have any one seen a hollow-stock before?
Thanks again.
Cowan
Any reasonably dense, close-grained hardwood that turns and bores well will do. It’s largely a cosmetic decision.
I have seen sets of pipes with hollow stocks, and generally their drones sound lovely. They are extra work as more material has to be removed and it means more wear and tear on tools as well.
I made a rolling pin out of rock maple last year for my mum. It’s about 2&3/4" in diameter. It was oiled and stone burnished on the lathe. Every time I see the beautiful pattern in the wood, I can’t help but think what a nice common stock it would make for uilleann or small pipes. I have about 60 pounds of the stuff so I get at least one of two stocks out of it.
hardwood is a must.i was once reeding up a set for a customer(the maker shall remain nameless,oh alright then,davey spillane.)and the damn thing would not be airtight.i did everything,bindings,new bag,valves etc.then when i was scrathing my head and drinking a glass of the good stuff i spilled a little on the stock and lo and behold,air bubbles were merrily emitting from the wood,lots of them.3 coats of yacht varnish and the set was tight,more glasses of the good stuff and so was i.
i have heard of two instances where mahagony “weeped” air under pressure. one mainstock and one bellows. as said they had to be varnished. i am on the verge of making a mainstock out of cherry. i choose this because of price and availability,fair chance of a screw up do to lack of skill and fancy tools, and i like cherry and its virtues. i think tim britton uses cherry for mainstocks. save the rare,very dense and oily woods for chanters and regs. i’ve had good luck with teak for blow pipe and chanter plug in stocks.
I’ve never seen an uilleann main stock. Just wondering if it’s heavy or light? My research suggested that makers tend not to use blackwood or ebony due to cost which is eventually pass onto customers.
And i’ll need to know these; Is the selection of good hardwood (eg.African Black or ebony) the upmost priority ie. Do they affect sound of drones?
Or, it’s wiser to go for light weighing stocks with fine hardwoods.
Lastly, a good yet light weighing wood for durability?
If you think about it, the amount of wood needed to make one stock could probably be used to make at least four (maybe 6) fittings for air inlets and chanter stocks. It would also be a shame if you were making a hollow stock out of blackwood or ebony and ended up with that much of it as dust on the floor. It might alos be harder to find pieces of ebony in the dimensions needed for common stocks.
Marc
Mahogany is a mistake. Old mahogany is ok, bu the stiff available now is complete garbage and is very porous…
One thing to consider is cost and economics…a mainstock CAN be built from blackwood or ebony to match the set..but the cost of the stock will be SUBSTANTIAL and an unnecessary expense…I was rather frivolous in a choice for my most recent mainstock. I’m currently working on a hollow mainstock with hand-rolled nickelsilver ferrules made from Eng. Boxwood…looks wonderful…but it is a HUGE waste of good boxwood!
My mainstock is of Delrin. Looks like blackwood. Main advantage is that it never changes size. Thus, no leaks, not need to rewrap tenons, and since the drones are also delrin, no ned to rewrap drone tenons either. Very stable!! Main disadvantage is its weight. My 3/4 set weighs a good clay brick or two more than those sets made of wood. One notices this hiking thru airports en route to tionols and other music festivities.
Glands,
Other than strength, what’s the benefit of using acetal (Delrin) over wood?
I suppose rod in that diameter would cost more than wood. There might be a time savings not having to turn it as it already comes round.
Main advantage as I see it is that it does not expand and contract with temp or humidity sources. And, for the eco-radicals out there, it saves trees. Speaking of eco-radicals, it was the EPA that insisted on the use of the particular environmentally friendly fateful foam on the space shuttle tanks. How preposterous is that? Envrio-friendly foam on a spaceship propelled from the earth’s gravitational pull by a massive controlled directed burn of fuel?!?!??!?!?!?
Many old hollow stocks were made of boxwood and often dyed black for a set in ebony. The stock wall was quite thin and a nice buzz was added to the drone sound from the vibrating stock. Add a bass reg. and that buzz is cancelled or at least muted due to the bass bar being screwed onto the stock. I have only seen one old 3/4 set with a hollow stock and the sound was great. I have seen others with the bass bar added and could hear the difference.
Use as dense a wood as you can get for the resonance of the stock. Mopane and Nara are good. If desired you can always dye the wood to match blackwood or whatever.
Ted
[ This Message was edited by: Ted on 2003-02-05 11:22 ]