Do somebody have information about the size of the lathes it take to built Uilleann pipe and the tool it take to make the long taper hole inside the chanter??
Join amatuer bagpipe makers at yahoo.com. It’s a good site with plenty of information about pipe making with advise on lathes and plans for making D-bits for long bores. http://groups.yahoo.com/groups/amateurbagpipemakers/
Marc
From what I’ve read on the subject, most folk seem to recommend 36" between centres as an ideal size for pipemaking ( big enough to comfortably handle a Bb chanter, anyways). As you’re doing spindle turning, and quite narrow, relatively speaking, you don’t need a big swing. Woodturning these days seems to verge more towards bowl turning rather than spindles, so any lathe should accomodate in that regard.
A lot of amateur makers seem to recommend metal lathes for pipe making, and I can’t find fault with their arguments on the face of it (not that I know anything about woodturning). But most pros seem to prefer woodturning lathes.
As for reamers, either you make your own, or pay $$$ to have a local shop make it for you. The balance of opinion is you’re better off learning to make your own.
Google knows a fair bit about pipemaking, but it is fragmented, disorganised, and comes from sources of varying reliability. Beware.
Cheers,
Calum
Depends upon space - ideally you would have both in the workshop. You can turn wood and metal on the machine lathe but only wood and maybe the softer metals on one designed for wood.
As regards tooling - it simply is not available off the shelf and specialist machinists will charge a lot for making up reamers etc. The metal lathe will enable you to make your own.
Swing is very important - chanters do not need much but when you start on the main stock and boring off-centre the swing becomes very significant. Also the machine lathe has a bigger mass which makes it better for turning / drilling off-centre items as it is better able to resist the vibrations - the trick with a lighter lathe would be to add a sandbag or two to the frame to dampen this out.
you cant go far wrong with a long bed myford super 7 and then get yourself a copy of THE AMATEURS LATHE by L.H.SPAREY an excellent book for the non-engineer
With a bit of ingenuity one can make great pipes with just about any lathe (well, maybe not a watch-makers lathe!). Indeed you can make pipes with no lathe at all at all…just a drill press and a router. It all depends on how many sets one plans on making.
I use a metal lathe exclusively, but I come from an engineering family and it’s all I know… plus wood lathes scare the shite out of me! 
I’d recommend a metal lathe with between 24 to 36 inches between centres (longer is better, but not essential), with a six inch swing (ie six inches between the centre and the top of the bed). Belt drive is much better than a gear head lathe, for turning wood at least, as the high speeds required for turning wood are a bit much for some cheaper gear heads…they make a hell of a racket over 1000rpm and are known to blow up from time to time. Having said that though, I use a good Taiwonese gear head lathe with fully enclosed norton box for power feed and screw cutting. I have modified it to include a clutch so as to relieve the pressure on the starting capacitor (the original ones from cheap Chinese lathes usually blow up in a week or so…watch out, they are VERY poisonous inside and they can go off with a hell of a bang and send crap flying all round the 'shop).
One thing rarely mentioned, and more important in some ways than distance between centres, is the headstock madrel inside diameter. Mine is just shy of two inches, which means I can get a chanter blank to slide into the headstock mandrel for easy and accurate boring. Lathes that only have an inch or less I/D really restricts one in this regard.
As for making reamers…well, they are easy enough to make at home, though it is a slowish process if you care about accuracy. You can also turn out all your own drills as well.
Just by way of interest, Geoff Wooff started out using a tiny metal lathe only (18 inches between centres I think) before switching to a Taiwanese lathe like mine. When he set up in Ireland he left the Taiwanese one in Oz and now uses an English Myford metal lathe (great lathes, but a bit pricey). I’m not sure of the size of Geoff’s lathe now (I’ve only seen photos), but usually Myford’s of the type he is using are about 18 to 24 inches between centres. Geoff only uses metal lathes as well by the way (he too has an engineering background).
Cheers, Phil.
That book is VERY good for newbies, I thoroughly recomend it…the Myford Super 7 too, if you have the dosh (they have an amazing array of accessories, such as a really sturdy taper turning way, that fits on the back of the lathe). All the model steam train buffs use Myfords here, and those guys are the best in the business (mostly retired engineers in their second childhood).
Good advice. May I also add, make sure you get a steady rest. If not, you’ll have to make one.
"), with a six inch swing (ie six inches between the centre and the top of the bed). "
err, Phil…wouldn’t that be a 12 in. swing? 
I made a 3 axis steadyrest with metal drawer runners and skateboard wheels. It works pretty well. You’ll also need a 4 jaw chuck and a dial indicator. Those are great fun to learn to calibrate.
Marc
Duh! 
You are quite right of course…a bit of a brain-fart on my part. I was actually trying to clarify the difference between centre height and swing; made a good job of it didn’t I?.
I gotta buy some stronger coffee!
Cheers, Phil.
…
Oh, Ha!
OK, a stronger brain then…I’ll go have a look on eBay…