Up until a week ago I kept my practice set on my chair or dangling off my music stand, on a book shelf, or on a piano bench. But I have two problems now. First I now have a full set which is too heavy for the music stand and awkward on the chair. And I have a new puppy who is now becoming a med-large dog who thinks that everything at head level is a chew toy for him.
I could disassemble it after every use and put it in the caseā¦ but thats a pain.
So I looked for Uilleann pipe wall hangers. Well there is nothing out there. I found one fellow who is just starting to make Highland Pipe wall hangers. But it would not work with the UPās.
Well since I have now decided that if I am every going to learn the UPā¦ I need to focus on just one instrument. So down came the electric guitar and ukulele and with some spare guitar hangersā¦ Whaā¦ Lah!
I am curious how other people store their pipes between playing?
My set has its own couch in my office/music room. I like the wall hanger idea though. You get to enjoy the beauty of that fine craftsmanship when not playing them. Nice.
Where do I keep my pipes well in a case. How difficult is it to open a couple of catches place the pipes inside and close the lid and flip the catches shut. A metal flight case should be chew proof and add a padlock if you have an intelligent mutt
Hanging on the wall is a disaster in waiting as with changes in humidity parts can and do come loose
i am in total agreement with John, above. Personally, after many experiments, Ive settled on a pro viola case with the ābout-buffersā removed. The case has its own space in the pipe room as well, & its under lock and key except for actual playing time. Most of my instruments have their own cases they can call their own, when not in use.
The only pipes I hang up for storage are Zampognas; this is the safest and reccomended way. Hanging a zampogna up is an entirely different matter than suspending an uilleann pipe. omg i gettin conniptions even lookin at those picās whew!
I agree with CHasR, Elmek, and John. Get those things down from there and in a safe location. And, like tommykleen, I take my chanter out for the same reason.
I guess thats why I saw no UP wall hangers on the netā¦
But some of the reasons for NOT doing this donāt ring true for me. I keep my room between 40-50% humidity and with my central H/A the temp range between 55-75F. Keeping it in a case in this room will not change any of that. And the hangers are horizontal and I handle them horizontally till they are in my lapā¦ so there is no chance of parts falling out because they are loose.
Its funnyā¦ I was talking to my wife about this, who is 100% 3rd gen Irish. I said that its very typical for guitar players to show off their guitars either on a stand or wall. She says that this is an Irish based instrument and the Irish are typically more modest and do not like to show off their stuff. I wonder if that could have anything to do with it??
One problem that I do see is that dust can get on the pipes and bag if left outā¦ so I will have to watch for that.
If you have a central HVAC system, enclosing the pipes in a case will be different than leaving them out where the movement of air can dry things out and wreak havoc onā¦well, everything.
I have a few guitars which are hanging on a wall in my basement. They reason they are hanging on a wall is not to show them off (otherwise I would have hung them in my living room). Hanging a guitar (most stringed instruments, for that matter) is the best way to store it as it helps prevent the neck of the instrument from warping over time.
Cases arenāt only for transport. They are for storage when you are not playing. It may take a couple of minutes to disassemble the pipes and stow them away, but it is the safest place to keep them. If you think that is a pain, wait and see how much pain you are in after Rover chews your chanter.
Obviously a box is a safer storage place for your pipes from unwanted bumps and scrapes, especially as it seems none of you are any good at teaching your dogs basic obedience.
Do your boxes and cases have some sort of climate controlling propertys that isolate it from the room around them? I would have thought a wood box is subject to the same humidity/tempreture changes as the room they are stored in. If anything, a box could have the opposite effect of intesifing temperature swings, especially if the box/case is black, or am I completly off base with this?
Surely direct sunlight, boxed or unboxed is the biggest threat to any stored instriment.
āDune,ā ha ha, great flick. āI WILL KILL HIM!ā
Do what I did, and get a grand piano. Well actually the pianoās been in my family for about 60 yearsā¦lots of room on top for pipes, boxes, what have you.
Bobās ideaās pretty sensible, actually. I hate taking the pipes apart, built a 4 foot long case so I wouldnāt have to break them down all the time. Playing the box or banjo I began to really appreciate being able to pop a latch or two, extract axe, fire away. None of this buckling and strapping and affixing BS.
They say Seamus Ennis would take about half an hour to put on the pipes and tune up. Mostly him being a contrarian, I think. Funny if you think about it.
Heard once about someone affixing a Lambe set to a wall - with nails. No, not underneath the pipes. Through them. It was supposed to be some kind of statement.
who dosent hate taking their pipes apart? before the viola case, i used to use a trombone gig bag. The bell-end held uilleann bellows nicely, and the slide compartment was rigid enough to provide safety for the bass droneā¦but, the social stigma was simplyunbearable.
At least, with a viola case, there;s a chance people might think its a violin. All bottom of the barrell compared to the Uilleann pipes, but at least its not like walking around with a guitar case. (hanging guitars make great dartboards, btw )
Taylor Guitars (the company) recommends storing guitars in their cases to protect against swings in temperature and humidityā¦ and they recommmend not storing them on a stand or by hanging them. Iām guilty of leaving my pipes sitting covered on a table in the music room because Iām often lazy (or working 15+ hours a day), but Iām sure the best storage is in the case with a humidifier. BTWā¦learned the hard way what you donāt put your tuner (for those of you who play along with other instruments and need to be at standard pitch) next to your humidifier in the case. Duh.
Its a Plas-Labs temperature and humidity control box. Ultimate protection for your pipes, and, you still get to look at themā¦ You can even touch them with the handy built in gloves. Its a bargain too at $24,000!!
Joking aside, I donāt want anyone to get the impression iām cavalier about protecting my beloved pipes. They are very well looked after and sleep in a long padded semi-soft fishing rod case. I just donāt always close the lid!
To illustrate with an example from some years ago - A certain UK museum has a very nice Musette du Cour by Chedeville that was suspended on āunbreakableā thread. The curator came in one morning and found it at the bottom of its case where it had all come apart due to the wrappings shrinking. Problem is people think that it is all one solid instrument and only support parts of it. Fortunately in this instant there was no physical damage as it had not dropped far. This was in a carefully controlled environment so a home where humidity and temperature is not controlled the potential for a disaster is much higher.
As Elmek, Chas, PJ, Ted and others say put them away safely in a case.
When playing it might be an idea to keep the dog out of the room as a few years back had to repair a set where the owners dog decided it wanted to jump to his lap whilst he was playing. Snapped the baritone regulator off at the main stock
All bottom of the barrell compared to the Uilleann pipes, but at least its not like walking around with a guitar case. (hanging guitars make great dartboards, btw 
