A tiny bagpipe drone

[johnpipe108]

Once I learned of turning between cone centers, I finally decided to start making a basic set of Northumbrian bagpipes -- small bagpipes from the north of England. I've made up the tenor drone, except for the end cap for the tuning part as I don't yet have the Ivory substitute wanted for that. The wood is Mexican rosewood.

The standing-part on the left is 3-13/16" OAL, with a 7/32" diameter tuning pin, and a reed-end tenon of 5/16" diameter; the main bore through both pieces is 3/32". The tuning part on the right is 4" OAL; after mounting the ferrule, the area inside the ferrule was drilled out to 9/32" to accept the tuning pin.

The maximum overall diameter of either part, including the ferrule, is 3/8"; a common #2 pencil is shown for size comparison.

I've put this project off for years, waiting both for workshop space, and a better technique for turning the parts. Now that I'm turning directly between cone centers, my spur centers are getting lonely!

John

 

[NCPete]

sounds like fun! (but can't see the pics?)

 

[johnpipe108]

(I hope that is the right picture.)

John, you are doing some fine turning and I know that has to be precision to sound correct in the pipes.

Thanks Mike,

I'm slowly getting the feel back for the pipe turning; this is the first time I've tried to do the real small stuff. The biggest difficulty with this project is the small beading; beading on the tuning part didn't come out all that well.

I really need to make a pyramid point tool for that, as skews are really not good for small beads in "hard" hardwoods, and none of the 4 "Holtzapfel" style hardwood chisels I've made in the past are right for that either. Pipemaker David Quinn makes mention of this on his bagpipe making CD:

"In his books Notes from the Turning Shop, and Further Notes from the Turning Shop, Bill Jones describes a curious tool he calls The Point Tool. It's a simple thing: a three-sided pyramid ground on the end of a steel rod or an old triangular file

 

[DavidF]

I've seen that tool in books and it looks very effective in all sorts of situations.

 

[johnpipe108]

I went to a web site with an article on using the tool, but they wanted money for it :-x

All I know of it is what D. Quinn reported, that it's a very good tool for fine detail and especially beading in hard hardwood (he says the Holtzapfel's considered woods like maple to be softwoods!).

regards, John

p.s., my rosewood has been identified as mostly Brazilian, with some pieces of cocobolo (both rosewoods, I just learned), including one cocobolo piece (just about has to be that) which came from the female tree, guestimating by color. The pieces shown here are most likely Brazilian. The wooden rifle sight I made in the first part of the year is very reddish, and that would definitely be cocobolo.