My bag gave up after 20 years hard labour. It was a vinyl bag made by Chris Langan. Anyone have suggestions for replacement in a relative hurry?
Try contacting Joe Kennedy. He gets in shipments of sheepskin bags from L&M. joe@kennedysuilleannpipes.com
djm
I’m sure you could get another bag made by a maker fairly quickly…maybe try someone new to the scene who is not flat out with orders…bags aren’t rocket science after all.
Alternatively you could have a go at making one yourself. Here’s an easy method that works a treat.
Pull the old bag apart to use as a template (whoops, sounds like a murder plot doesn’t it?). With template ready, go and buy some suitable leather and cut it to size. Now buy some sikaflex caulking compound (the black, quick setting type) and line the suede side of you new bag with it and let it set…then put a bead around the edge of the same goop and press the two halves together around the edge with some board and weights. When set, take your new bag to a bootmaker and get him to sew two lines of thread around the edge inside the bead line where it is glued together. Your bag will work fine now, but really needs a final, narrow strip of leather, covered on one side with sikaflex and then folded over the sewn edge and pressed again until the goop sets. The last bit is to ensure no leakage past the stitching. This is how I make my bags, and I haven’t had a failure yet…and they are totally airtight (you can blow them up like a balloon, put a stopper in the neck and they are still inflated next day).
Cheers, Phil.
Welcome to C&F, Iain. How soon do you need this bag?
(Click on my email below)
A couple of small, thin boards of hardwood, say 3/16 x 2 x 6, can patch up a hole in a vinyl bag when held on with a couple of C-Clamps. No, I didn’t hear about this one from that Antaine feller. This can get you by until you make or aquire a new bag.
Thanks for your replies so far. Done the multi-patches, clamps, glue and…yes, even desperation duct tape…hey, it worked!..but time to move on. Not keen to make my own…although that’s a good set of directions.
Anymore suggestions? Have checked a couple of makers, but as suggested, bags are way down the priority list.
Anyway, thanks all.
If you plan to tie-in the stocks yourself and you want to go with leather, contact
Mac Harg
http://www.vermontel.com/~weepiper/
-or-
L&M
http://www.landmhighland.com/
the Uilleann pipe bags are linked here:
http://www.landmhighland.com/pages/page5.htm