Hi y’all,
Just wonderin if you people could give me some advice on how to start on reedmaking? are thee any good reedmaking books, or dvds? And are the reedmaking classes in NPU good?
Thanks
Here’s a link to a whole forum on reedmaking:
http://uilleannforum.com/forums/viewforum.php?f=4
Here’s a thread on the types of resources you requested:
http://uilleannforum.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=94
Find a tionól near you this summer. They almost all have a reedmaking seminar.
djm
If it’s reedmaking you’re after, get yourself down there. As far as I know. they are having different reedmakers each month, so you will get a really good overview of styles and techniques.
Also the DVD ‘Heart of the Instrument’ is available from NPU and is a Gem!
And that’s just for starters…
Get yourself to a ‘live’ demonstration - far better than any book, video or DVD. Watch several reedmakers if possible as whilst some parts of the process are the same they all have slightly different ways of acheiving the end result and some are more flexible than others at making reeds for different makes of chanter.
Watched one maker give a demo at a tional a couple of years ago - made it look incredibly simple and demistified the process. All he used was easy to buy tools including a cheap pair of electrical crimping pliers to form the eye on the staple. Three flicks of the knife and he had cut the slip and paired it down ready for minimal gouging. Have watched other reedmakers flap around with planes and shooting boards making a real pigs ear of the process. 
John