Anybody buy Tim Britton’s reed making kit? Did you get it in a reasonable time and how did it work out for you?
I ordered one about 6 weeks ago and he still has not shipped it to me and has a new problem every week.
Had to order stuff
Family problems
Got the Flu
Snow on the road.
Not sure if I will ever get it. Any other experiences? Maybe I should be more patient?
I am anxious to start destroying some good reed material as I learn how to make a reed!
I have not ordered a reed-making kit from Tim, but I have ordered various tools and materials from him in the past. He has always been easy to reach on the phone and the materials arrived in a reasonable time.
I bought his book from him a few years back and had no problems dealing with him.
I ordered one about 6 weeks ago and he still has not shipped it to me and has a new problem every week.
Had to order stuff
Family problems
Got the Flu
Snow on the road.Not sure if I will ever get it.
I’ve been following this forum for a long time, but I haven’t posted yet. Seeing this thread makes me have to.
I had the same exact problem. I ordered some reed making supplies well over a year ago, and he kept promising they’d be ready to ship “in a few days.” A few weeks later, I’d email him asking if they were almost ready, and I’d get the same response. Finally I asked for my money back, and he offered to just make the new reed. The problem is, it wasn’t just the reed I wanted, but to learn the skill of making them. I finally gave up, and ordered the stuff from NPU. He still has my money, and I’ve given up hope of getting it back. 
I hope you have better luck than I did.
Well about 6 emails and a few phone calls he claims that the kit will be done today and will ship today. I will call later today and see if it really went out or not. “hope springs eternal”
Let me know how it turns out. Maybe it’s time to badger him some more. 
I second Steve’s sentiment.
he says its in the mail now so maybe my nagging paid off
Thanks for letting me know, Bob. I guess I should start nagging again, too. I ordered mine about a year and a half ago. Seems only fair I get my stuff now, too. 
Andy
Tim is, as they say, ‘A one off’. He always has a lot of irons in the fire. Sometimes he seems to go off on tangents. Calling his attention back to a task at hand is always a good course. . .
Bob
I got the “deluxe” reed making kit in the mail today. It all looks great. He even included a vhs tape that he made. Although I sold VCR a few years ago. Anyhow it looks like Tim is a good supplier of these materials but his customers need to have patience 7-8 wks and do a little prodding along the way.
though you waited, I think that MAY be an unfair wait quote. It all depends on what is in stock. If he’s out of everything, then…well…
Tim Britton here…
Sorry to chime in so late. I haven’t been on this forum in many years and had trouble remembering my username when this thread was brought to my attention.
I thank those that understandably spoke up with their concerns, as well as those that kindly contributed their support for me.
Obviously, delayed fulfillment of orders is not an ideal business practice from any standpoint, and I apologize for what is ultimately unacceptable behavior. I think it is clear that I have good intentions, but I am well aware of where the road paved with them leads. I will say, I have never lied when relaying my “excuses”, though my management skills have always been inconsistent, and I have a bad habit of not being touch until I have good news.
A few points of interest: I do not make enough on these tools to make it worth my effort. The margins are just not there in these quantities and I have prioritized keeping prices reasonable. I have worked hard at sourcing some very hard to find tools, and to find good prices on the ones that are available from more than one source. Some of them must be made from scratch, others must be modified, some are quite common but are not available at competitive wholesale prices in small quantities. It is a business model that I question with every order, especially those that for various reasons don’t go smoothly. I do it anyway because there is a need. I don’t find the couple other alternatives to my service to be something I would want to use, as I prefer the tools I provide, last I checked at least.
The gouges come from Germany and must be special ordered from the importer who has been very unreliable in follow through and timing, even once he gets them stateside. I must then regrind them to make them suitable for their highly specialized application. I am currently doing this literally by hand since my shop is not quite restored from the fire it sustained over a year ago, precluding the use of power tools. I anticipate changing this in the immediate future.
Aside from the fire, the last few years have brought me a number of other challenges that have all but taken me out, leaving me with, among other things, a daunting financial hole that has made it very difficult to survive, let alone keep these tools in significant stock, or even order them in the required quantities when an order comes in.
Having said all that, though certainly challenged, I am currently hopeful, due in large part to a lot of support I’ve gotten from various friends in sorting out my plans.
Re: Andall1811’s post here, the above should shed some light on that. Also, he never responded to my offer to make him a reed. I can understand him getting fed up and dropping the ball. My point to him at the time was not to discourage his making reeds but to help him out of the bind of needing one immediately and to point out that he was unlikely to remedy that situation in short order on his own. He had at that point purportedly already gotten tools from NPU so though returning his money was difficult, I could make him a reed and take care of his immediate need that was still as yet unfulfilled. The offer still stands, if he would simply let me know. I can plan on eventually paying him back if that is preferable, though cash flow is severely compromised at the moment.
I would like to expand on his situation, in that I hear from a lot of people who need a new reed and think that then is the time to get tools ostensibly to remedy that. It is a rare person that excels at understanding, making, or even adjusting reeds. It is by no means an impossible task but seems to require a rare combination of skills and aptitudes. At best it usually takes years to master, as many of you well know. However, it is critical to have as much understanding about reeds as possible to keep one’s pipes playable, and there is a lot to be gained from becoming an even mediocre reed maker. It is with this in mind that I sell tools, though it is likely that many of my tool customers will not become their own favorite reed makers any time soon, if ever.
I would encourage anyone that is interested in pursuing reed making and wants to order tools from me, to enquire as to availability, and also as to which tools they really need. All the contents of my kits are required to make reeds, though a few of them are commonly available at your local hardware store. My reed making book is not to be overlooked either, and is often the best first investment so that one can understand the need for the various tools and what types are suitable or unsuitable when assessing those needs. I also encourage you to check out the many informative articles on my website for free at uilleanpipes.com.
Thanks for your indulgence
And… I am loving playing with the tools and material he sent. I have already improved and then destroyed a couple of reject reeds and I am learning a lot from the effore
thanks, Bob… so refreshing to hear of the simple joy of “loving playing” rather than my usual hyper-goal orientation… enjoy!
Fair play, Tim!
I second that.
Maybe this is a stupid question, but how do I order tools and/or the book, Tim?
Thanks for asking. The website is indeed not set up for online ordering, so you have to email or call for a confirmation of availability and price and then send a check or paypal me the amount. old school, I know…
(Hi, Tim! I had the same problem remembering my password after a bunch of years.)
I own a set of Tim’s pipes. I’ve also in the past (long past) ordered tools (gouges, reamers) and books/video (reedmaking - I still have a VHS tape and no way to play it anymore). Almost every time Tim was very quick in getting things out. However he is old school, to be sure, and there was one time where it just took being the squeaky wheel to get something shipped. I don’t pretend to know the reasons and Tim has given his explanation, but suffice it to say that some people are ‘type A,’ hyper-organized people and some people are not and love tangents in the world. Both offer the world a different understanding of how the world operates. The world seems to think that everything has to get done tomorrow and be shipped overnight via Fed Ex these days. Let’s just hope that kind of thinking doesn’t get applied to learning the pipes, too.
Dionys