Hi everyone. I’m a newbie piper who got a practice set from Boston Uilleann Pipeworks a few months ago, and I haven’t been able to find a teacher (based in Calgary, AB/at university in Antigonish, NS), so I’ve had to attempt to teach myself. I’ve been reading this forum a bit and looking at all the beautiful pipes here but been a wee bit too intimidated to post in the first place.
This might be a bit of a dumb question, or something experienced by all pipers, but I find that the connection between the bag and the chanter feels rather loose. I don’t know if it’s just because I’m not used to doing what it takes to maintain the connection properly, or are there any secrets to this?
The secret is waxed hemp. You’ll find this available at highland bagpipe suppliers, and don’t tell me there’s none in Antigonish, cuz I know there’s lots of pipebands down there. A few wraps around the end of the pipe from the chanter will give you an airtight seal into the bag connector.
It sounds like you probably just need a little more thread on the part of the chanter that inserts into the bag. There’s no secret to it that I know of…unless I’ve been doing it wrong all this time
If you can’t find a music store that stocks waxed thread, try your local shoe-repair/cobbler. You won’t need much, but it’s a good investment to have a ball of the stuff in your pipes’ case.
So do I just wrap however much I need to get a secure fit around the already present thread? Any certain way I have to do it, or do I just wrap it around?
I don’t happen to like teflon tape. It’s great for sprinklers but not for uilleann pipes. It’s too slippy, defeats the purpose of putting the stuff on in the first place, plus it stands out like a sore thumb and is a pain in the h*le to take off if you need to… which you will
Dental floss is fine though… Larry Dunn likes the green minty stuff…
Dental floss is a good alternative if you get the heavier stuff. Don’t get the very thin df, else you’ll need to use tons to achieve anything, and if it comes unwound it’s a nuisance.
Pats right.
Teflon tape can be handy for a quick fix but it breaks down and can be more hassle in the long run.
Dental floss works better for a quick fix.’
Dental floss is fine though… Larry Dunn likes the green minty stuff…
And he’s right!
The mint flavoured kind is better simply because it has more of the waxy material on it so it’s stronger for binding joints on pipes.
And it smells nice too!
The best thing, as was said already, is to spend about $10 on waxed hemp at a highland pipes supply (online) store and it’d last you years and years.
This place is very quick about getting orders out and has very cheap shipping rates for small items. http://www.howardhighland.com/index.htm
I once purchased some string from a music supply company (for making oboe reeds or some such) I then waxed it myself with a wax toilet seal that I bought at the hardware store (it was much fun explaining what the toilet seal had to do with flutes and pipes).
This was all quite messy and laborious, but at least I had the satisfaction of having done something unnecessarily messy and laborious. One must suffer for one’s art after all.
I don’t know if the toilet mess and labour is necessary. You can get good mileage by using the wax that wraps those little Baby Bel cheeses. It is a good, soft consistency. Mix it with a bit of melted creosote (aka boot black, also available from a highland bagpipes supply) and you can make your own heavy wax for binding reed heads (if you’re so inclined).
So do I just wrap however much I need to get a secure fit around the already present thread? Any certain way I have to do it, or do I just wrap it around?
You need to wrap it around exactly three times. Then, shalt thou count to three. No more. No less. Three shalt be the number thou shalt count, and the number of the counting shall be three. Four shalt thou not count, nor either count thou two, excepting that thou then proceed to three. Five is right out.
Sure you could do that, but then you don’t get the satisfaction of going into the hardware store and saying “I need a wax toilet seal for my bagpipes”. The look on the guy’s face is well worth the trouble and mess you get later. Besides, when you play like I do, people appreciate any extra little time it may take to get the pipes working.
Also, many thanks for all the laughs provided by the responses. Especially the toilet ones. I need to keep posting here and pestering you folks with my beginners question. I’m kidding. I won’t ask too much, promise.
Still, anyone know of any pipers in the Calgary or Antigonish area?
Well it’s 132 miles, but in the piping world that’s nothing: Jon Goodman is in Halifax, 2 hours away from Antigonish, and he’s a superb piper and flute player. He also popped up recently on this forum, so if you do a search on his name, you can send him a PM.
Hi Jon.
I don’t know any UPers in NS. John Walsh makes shuttle pipes, but everyone else I can think of is a fiddler or GHBer.
In Calgary, I did a quick search for local sessions and came up with this list:
1: Friar’s Pub, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
2: Jackdaw’s, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
3: The Downtown James Joyce, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Possibly there is someone at one of these sessions who knows someone who has a friend who once heard of a guy who’s uncle was a veterinarian who once looked after a lady’s cat who was the sister of the aunt of a UPer … somewhere … oh, wait, that was in Edmonton.
Thanks so much! I’ll send a message on to Jon. I’ve heard of a person or two in the Calgary area who plays pipes so maybe if I head down to some sessions I’ll get some contacts.
