Hi,
I just made my first few tapered staples and found that back D is very flat compared to tubing staples. Is this normal? Would a chanter that is made to play a tapered staple have the back D tuned accordingly and differently from one made for tubing staples or are my staples just naff?
Hiya,
If you look at Goldys thread about staple eyes a few days ago, you’ll find some stuff about staples and back Ds.
What dimensions are you using for the staple blanks? If the tapered part is too narrow, that might have an effect. How’s the rest of the tuning/pitch?
I started with .62 x .55 " then tried .58" x .54" same problem back D flat and 2nd octave is flat which is a first for me because 2nd 8ve have always been sharp. I think I may have over tapered as I am used to making the eye small to try and compensate for second octave being usually too sharp. I noticed that you and others don’t form the eye at the tip of the mandrel but place the staple further up the mandrel before forming the eye, maybe that is what I need to try next
I started with .62 x .55 " then tried .58" x .54"
That’s 15.7mm x 13.97 mm and 14.7mm x 13.7mm in metric sizes
and still think it’s big for the mandrel
Kenny,
Those dimensions sound good to me. The 14.7/13.7mm blank is about the same as I would start with. The 15.7mm blank sounds like it should work okay. The coppers thickness will dictate how the head volume is affected, so the wider your blank, you may run in to 2nd 8ve and back d tuning problems.
If you’re rolling, the forming of the eye is different to a tubing one. I tend to form the eye with pliers at wherever that point is on the staple that I think is correct for the eye measurement (a good thing is to mark out say 1.5mm width point on your mandril and mark it, you can then deviate more succesfully/quicker with your eyes). Hammering around the eye of the staple when it’s copper can be tricky, a lot of spreading metal everywhere but where you want it. You gotta keep making 'em!!