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Píobaire, An, Volume 8, Issue 4, Page 24

Píobaire, An, Volume 8, Issue 4, Page 24
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periodical Publisher
Na Píobairí Uilleann
periodical Editor
Chairman, NPU
periodical Title
An Píobaire
volume Number
4
issue Content
Píobaire, An 8 4 24 20120927 24 of hemp until the socket of the tenon will fit over it snugly. If a joint takes a number of layers of thread, some of the bottom layers can be coated with beeswax, leaving two or three layers of un- waxed hemp on the outside of the wrap. The tension in the joint can easily be adjusted by the piper by adding to or removing some of the out- side layer of hemp, to make the joint looser or tighter, as needed. A tenon taking thirty turns of hemp may only need as few as two or three or as many as twenty or so evenly spaced turns on the outside wrap to make a proper fit. This gives a range of adjustment. For example, a drone slide should move fairly easily, but the tenon at the reed end should be tighter so it will stay in the stock while tuning. Waxed hemp lacks the needed cushion, so un- waxed hemp is needed for a proper joint. Fer- rules and mounts are often secured to the pipes with a small amount of black waxed hemp which fills any space between the ferrule or mount and what it is placed on. It allows some contraction or swelling of the dissimilar mate- rials, while keeping things together. This can help prevent cracking a mount. A metal ferrule may be heated and forced-fit over the waxed thread for a tight fit. The wax will melt, help- ing it stick to the ferrule. The glue in glued-on mounts can give way, resulting in a loose mount. An entire set of pipes can be put to- gether securely with nothing but black wax and hemp. This facilitates easy repairs by the piper. Some pipers use Teflon tape to make these ten- sion adjustments, supposedly temporarily. Often it is not replaced. It is as easy to have some hemp, rather than Teflon tape in your pipe case to make these adjustments. Teflon tape may fill the gap, but it is very slick, so it is often placed on in layers to make the slick- ened wrap hold the joint together. Teflon often shreds in use and bits of Teflon tape get stuck in the tenon or make their way into the bag. I do not recommend its use. Waxed dental floss is sometimes used in tenons. It lacks cushion- ing. It may be OK in a metal to metal joint, like the joint to access the bass regulator reed. Hemp will work here as well, but it should be beeswaxed and lubricated with cork grease or a similar product. I use black wax on the hemp used in the gasket wrap at the open end of a drone reed. This ad- heres the reed to the seat and prevents the reed from coming loose from the drone. Some reed makers use black wax to coat their reed wrap- pings. This can make the reed airtight, by rolling the wrap between the thumb and fore- finger. After it sets for a while, the wax will harden so the reed can be handled. The wrap can easily be removed so the head can be repo- sitioned on the staple. Add a bit more wax, if needed, and the reed can be rewrapped. I used to make drone bridles with black waxed sewing thread. I applied the bridle with the same technique as whipping the end of a rope, usually using four wraps for the bridle. The black wax allows the bridle to move and keeps the bridle together. I have since moved on to a bridle cut from silicone tubing 2 to 2.5mm wide, with a bore of 2mm (5/64”) and an outer diameter of 4mm (5/32”). It is available in 6 inch lengths, enough for 60 or more bridles, from the store at NPU. GHB suppliers have some substitute products available for black wax they sell as cobblers’ wax. They used to sell Thermowax, made in England, but it is no longer made, except by C. E. Kron, GHB maker in New York, who got li- censed to make and sell Thermowax from Caswell Ltd. of England. It is OK as black wax, if you can find it. The other substitutes are worthless as an adhesive wax. They are paraffin based and simply do not work. I hand make small batches of black wax, from formu- las found on the web. Google “coad wax” to find the link to the Crispin Colloquy, a shoe- makers’ site. I sell it as Shoemakers’ wax and it is available from the store at NPU. The store at NPU sells a yellow linen thread (called
issue Number
8
page Number
24
periodical Author
[Periodical]
issue Publication Date
2012-09-21T00:00:00
allowedRoles
anonymous,guest,friend,member

An Píobaire, Volume 8, Issue 4

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