Couple of questions

[mw...@psu.edu]

Seumas wrote:

One of my older practice chanters just split this past weekend.
Is there any way of repairing the damage? The split(s)are on the
upper
part and the reed chamber is loosing air.

Wood "bell caps" on practice chanters are prone to cracking. I have
owned five or six old practice chanters and all but one had a crack in
its cap. Most manufacturers today make only plastic caps, even if the
chanter itself is wood.

What to do? There are three possible solutions (and I have used the
first two with equal success). You can try gluing with something like
eboxy, you can get the cap "banded" or you can get it "pinned."

To glue: Clean the crack carefully and throughly. Make sure it is dry.
Bead in the eboxy until the crack is almost full. If the crack is
large, lay in a length of thread so that the glue surrounds the thread.
(This is a critical part. I tried three times to glue a crack without
thread and each time it came apart. It has never separated since I lay
in the thread.) Stopper the bottom of the cap and suck out air at the
mouthpiece. This will draw in the glue to fill the crack. Let it set
up. Make sure that you don't accidently glue the mouthpiece on.

The alternative I have used is to take the cap to a silversmith (or
equivalent) and have he or she make a band or ring that will pull the
wood together. I had a silversmith do this for me. He cut a slight
groove around the cap, glued the crack, then shrank a silver ring on so
that it popped into the groove he'd made. The ring has gotten loose but
the crack has never re-opened.

A third possibility is to take it to a musical instrument repair shop.
The people there might be able to "pin" the cap back together. This is
the standard procedure for repairing wooden flutes, clarinets, etc.

Good Luck. WES

[Robert Reilly]

Seumas wrote:

> Is there any way of repairing the damage? The split(s)are on the upper
> part and the reed chamber is loosing air.
>

> "Greensleeves". Anyone know if this is available for GHP and if so where can I get the score?
Seumas,

Don't know either answer & am new to newsgroups, but try posting to our
Piping Bulletin Board as an additional resource.

Replies are by email. Hope this helps!

--
/>
/< Robert C. Reilly
[\\\\\\(O):::<======================================-
\< Bag...@concentric.net
\> http://www.concentric.net/~bagpipe