I just finished reading David Quinn’s article in the Pipers Review, concerning reamers and decided to comment here on the list. A very good article indeed, well worth reading.
Quinn and quite a few others use several shorter reamers to bore chanters and regulators. David mentions in his article that he believes, through his research, that the old masters also used several reamers.
What did the Oboe makers use?
All of the reamers that I have seen: the Taylor’s (at the Mercer museum), Willie Clancy’s old reamer collection and Sean Reid’s , were one long reamer, some made from old bayonets. Also Dan Dowd and Matt Kiernan used long reamers. Matt told me that Rowesome used long single reamers. Perhaps Kevin Rowsome could look and see what kind of Reamers the Rowsome’s used.
Perhaps the old masters used both. A long reamer for the first cut, then smaller touch up reamers to bring the bore into tune.
All the best,
Pat Sky
Oboes - tools for early ones are illustrated in Diderot and Alembert but cannot remember what they are and my copies of the plates are somewhere in the archives. They will be short as the oboe is made in sections.
Some of the French makers used and still use several shorter reamers rather than one long one. The long ones for the section nearest the throat are on a long spigot. One major advantage of this approach is that you are only cutting over a short length of the bore at one time reducing force and heat generated although if reaming by hand this later should not be a problem. using several shorter reamers gives flexibility for opening out sections (tuning) of the bore.
Among the many exhibits in the Chateau Musee in Montlucon, Central France are the contents of a couple of 19C makers workshops including their lathes. Unfortunately the museum is a shadow of its former self and only a small section is now open to the public with the emphasis being on electric guitars rather than the tradional instruments of the area - Bagpipes and Hurdy Gurdies
I have a note of some of the reamers used by O’Mealy for his Double Bass and these were square section (info from Wilbert Garvin)
Some years back I inherited some of Henry Starcks tools, mostly tone hole drills and these were all hand made from broken / worn out files. They were donated to the NMAS Edinburgh
On a personal note
I use several reamers - ground down Lebel Bayonet (Cruciform) for the initial cut over the whole length then use a shorter steeper conical reamer (1/4 section milled out) to widen the bore from the ‘a’ hole to the bell. Bottom ‘D’ itself is tuned using a slightly steeper reamer to open out the bell.
The ‘Lebel’ also doubles as the reamer for the bores of the tenor, Baritone and Seperator with a D section reamer being used for the keyed section of the Bass.
A triform bayonet is used for the bore of the keyed section of my Double Bass regulators
Chris
Chris.
Your use of bayonets is interesting. Sometime around 1873 I was at Willie Clancy’s house and he produced one of the old French bayonets and asked if I could make a reamer. I told him yes and we went up the street to a garage and for the next 5 hours I hand ground a long reamer. Years later after Willie’s death, I was at Sean Reid’s house and there among the stuff that he inherited, was the reamer that I made for Willie. I don’t think Willie ever got around to making a chanter.
The reamers of Taylor are square type reamers that cut in the corners.
I myself use one long reamer , for chanters, that I have professionally made 30 years ago and it still cutting as good as the day I bought. I just ream very slow and use water as a lubricant.
All the best,
Pat
“Sometime around 1873”
Jeez Pat, I knew you were an old geezer, but I must say you’re awfully well-preserved.
Back in 1875 (sic), I remember Pipe/ Chanter collector Peadar Flynn
(around the corner from Dan Dowd’s house, off the Malahide Road),
showing me a SIX Fluted Reamer, made by Jack Wade.
Mr. Jack Wade was a Dublin Piper, and Pipe-maker, who died young,
in the 1950s or was it the 1960s?
(Also a note that some of Jack Wade’s settings of tunes,
are in Volume 1 of Brendan Breathnach’s “Ceol Rinnce na hEireann”).
Peadar also had a Wade "Dogwood"Chanter (in D),
and he said that this particular Chanter was made with that
Six sided Reamer. It was THE LIGHTEST Chanter I ever held in my
hands and it looked like a piece of “Drift-Wood”.
It was…Very Artistic !
I think the only way a bore could be made in that type of wood
was with a delicate rotation of that special Reamer !!!
Sean Folsom