Plans

Uilleann Pipes
1

Where can I find good plans for building bellows and bag? I see Dave Dale has kits, went available, but if I want to try to build me own, I haven’t found a good site for plans. Any help would be app appreciated. Thanks, jeff

2

Hi Jeff, the universe is sending you a message and the message is, if you are good enough to make a bag and bellows , you are good enough to make your own plans .

RORY

3

Ah, I kind of agree . I have built houses, built motor cycles, built cars, but never a musical instrument. Just thought it would be nice to have guide lines.

4

There is plenty of bellows making stuff on you-tube and bag making stuff on the interweb . I would think enough to get you going.
http://uilleann-info.blogspot.ie/2010/12/straightforward-bellows-for-smallpipes.html

RORY

5

There is some pretty detailed info on Northumbrian smallpipe bags and bellows - you might get some pointers here (there are fairly detailed drawings of bellows components in the ‘drawings’ section):

http://www.machineconcepts.co.uk/smallpipes/pipe2.htm

6

There are very good templates for bag & bellows in Wilbert Garvin’s book on Uilleann Pipemaking.

7

Gentlemen, thank you for your feedback. Im looking forward to this project. If this goes well, i may try to make a chanter and reeds. Found that I don’t have the wind ,much anymore, to blow my GHB, so this well be a new adventure. Thank you all again.jeff

8

Several very fine pipemakers have told me that it is best to learn reedmaking first, with a good chanter. Once you can make good reeds, making a chanter can be the next step. Just food for thought.

9

More on bag making Http://www.borisfavre.com. Other useful tips too. Look under shop tips.

10

Thank you again for the very good sites . Very informative , exactly what I wanted. Now, one other question, might as well throw it in here,Does anyone have an opinion ( dumb thing to ask) about which lathes work better for turning chanters? I think that the metal lathes are better because of the precision , although Roweson used a wood lathe . Any one model better?

11

There’s not much in it, I think, as long as it is in reasonable condition.

The challenge is that you may want to turn as much as 22 inches between centres for a Bb chanter, but a metal lathe with that kind of capacity will have a huge swing and hence be a big beast.

12

Good point , on the B flat chanter. Will probably get a decent wood lathe to start. And I have the tools, so it makes sense , in that respect also.