Wood

[bcullen]

I have 2 of his chanters one in Holly, the other in castella boxwood ( Lemonwood )

I have made a chanter out of African Blackwood and am aware of timbers such as boxwood and rosewood and am wondering
just what range of timbers are used for chanters and how they are rated by makers/players. I have a Loquot tree and am informed it is a good turning wood.So a list of proven timbers would be a good resource
Bryan

[rorybbellows]

Why stop at wood ? Why not try this material and if you dont like the results, eat it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWbj7FYEi3M

RORY

[glasba]

...some from my research (actualy from web sites of makers, several forums and talking with some makers...) few years ago when I had sweet ilusions of becoming great pipemaker

- indian/ceylon, african, macassar and brown ebony
- european boxwood or castella boxwood/lemonwood
- cocobolo and some other rosewoods like tulip, madagaskan, brazilian, indian, sonokeling…
- some south american woods like palosanto, lignum vitae, snakewood, purpleheart
- native like plum, pear, apple, olive, laburnum, holly, yew, hawthorn, hazel and even maple
- african blackwood, mopane
- pink ivory could also be used
- less known leadwood, american persimmon, partridgewood, dogwood, mountain mahagony
- some australian woods like red lancewood and few others as well
- some french makers like to use »cormier« which is sorbus and some german makers swiss pear (service wood) which is another from sorbus family
- Dan O'Down used also the greenheart if I am not mistaken
- some makers today use manmade materials like delrin, ebonite ect.

The one with bold text has been already used for Uilleann pipes as far as I know (at least the chanters), the others were used for other types of bagpipes or experimentation
...so, many woods can be used if they are dense and hard enought. I hope it helps, Best, AA

[bcullen]

Thanks Glasba you have done the legwork for me I have no illusions of becoming a professional pipe maker. But
I am enjoying the challenge. I am turning a reamer at the moment and what a head F!@@## that is I am on #8 and
it's coming together. I will make up a list of woods and hope I can stumble across some of this timber

Ho, Ho, Ho Rory a carrot I can hardly contain myself

Bryan

[Mike Hulme]

Another wood, native to your location, is Gidgee. It works well. You could also try Queen Ebony; it's difficult to get over here, but I have heard good reports of it.

Mike

[uillmann]

American hornbeam or "blue beech" is another USA native timber. It is not hard to find along streams in the Mid Atlantic region. I never made a chanter out of it, but I think it would do just fine.

[Pipewort]

American hornbeam or "blue beech" is another USA native timber. It is not hard to find along streams in the Mid Atlantic region. I never made a chanter out of it, but I think it would do just fine.

I once had to cut down a hornbeam, European variety,. They are renowned for being hard on edge tools, and this tree was no exception. I spent more time re-sharpening the chainsaw than cutting the thing up. Beautiful timber, from which I made myself a mallet.

Related to the Beech spp?

[bcullen]

Yeah there is a Tasmainian Blackwood that is beautifully coloured but apparently too hard to work. There are some interesting
stories to go with some timbers. The Red Lancewood is also known as Death Finish an Aboriginal name given to the tree "If trees die then everything finish" Thanks for all the info on timbers.

Long live the trees

Bryan

[benhall.1]

American hornbeam or "blue beech" is another USA native timber. It is not hard to find along streams in the Mid Atlantic region. I never made a chanter out of it, but I think it would do just fine.

I once had to cut down a hornbeam, European variety,. They are renowned for being hard on edge tools, and this tree was no exception. I spent more time re-sharpening the chainsaw than cutting the thing up. Beautiful timber, from which I made myself a mallet.

Related to the Beech spp?

I don't know anything about making chanters, but I have a European hornbeam in my garden. It's a member of the birch family, apparently, rather than beech. Slightly surprising, that.

I have had to take the odd branch off from time to time, partly because the tree has a huge spread. As you say, Pipewort, the wood is very hard indeed. A hand saw barely touches it, and it blunts a chainsaw in minutes. I wouldn't want to work it, personally. It is supposed to be very close grained, hard and very solid though. I can't find any information about whether it splits or not, and I've only ever used the wood for burning and never kept any so I don't know whether it splits or not.

[reedmasters]

I have a quantity of sea grape (coccoloba uvifera} blanks that have been waiting to be turned. It's a nice pink to red with light colored sapwood. Made a couple of awls and small boxes so far. The heartwood is dense enough to make pipe parts from. When I have turned something uilleann related, it will be posted here.

[glasba]

If you are from Australia and by this also very near to New Zeland you actualy have many more options: Michael mentioned the Gidgee, but there is also Cooktown Ironwood, even Kauri, Black Maire...

[The Lurking Fear]

American hornbeam or "blue beech" is another USA native timber. It is not hard to find along streams in the Mid Atlantic region. I never made a chanter out of it, but I think it would do just fine.

I once had to cut down a hornbeam, European variety,. They are renowned for being hard on edge tools, and this tree was no exception. I spent more time re-sharpening the chainsaw than cutting the thing up. Beautiful timber, from which I made myself a mallet.

That's why in NY State we call it "Ironwood".

[Peter Duggan]

You could also try Queen Ebony; it's difficult to get over here, but I have heard good reports of it.

Also known as Tubi or Solomon Blackwood. Terry McGee and Dave Copley have made flutes from it (Zac Léger and I both have Copley keyed flutes in it) and others have certainly used it for pipes, though not necessarily Uilleann pipes. It's beautiful (darkening over time to a dark brown that's still brown rather than black), hard, dense and stable when appropriately worked, but apparently also quite tricky at the seasoning/pre-boring stages...

http://forums.bobdunsire.com/forums/sho ... p?t=128324

I wouldn't swap my Solomon Blackwood flute for one in anything else!

[bcullen]

Thank you one and all I have a lead on some cooktown ironwood.... My reamer is nearly finished. I wish I had a better grasp
of the formulas and graphs involved.Trial and error have worked so I can now make some sense of the maths involved.
Ta very much
Bryan

[benoit trémolières]

The problem is that the wood is not the only thing that matters.
Depending of the general bore shape geometry (more or less narrow or wide, angle of the conicity, holes size, etc...), some woods will suit better to your own taste than other.
There's no absolute rules.
Secondly, the cleanness of the bore has a crucial role in the final tone result.
You can use the best indian blackwood availlable: if your reamer is not finely shaped and PERFECLY SHARPENED, you'll loose at the end lots of harmonics, and (on a concert-pitch chanter), the second octave will sound harsh and shrill.
But maybe it appears to be an advantadge for a flat chanter bore.
The differences between the wood sounds are mainly a question of bore inner surface state.
If so tiny grain differences can produce an audible result, you can easily imagine that very little defaults in the cutting of the bore reaming does the same.
If you're good enough at sharpening, you can manage to ream properly even rather tender woods.
If the boxwood gives always very good results, it's because it can be turned out like plastic, even with a bad sharpened tool!

It seems that usualy, people are more found of very clear tones, as rich of harmonics as possible.
But, one more time, I think that we have to keep an open mind: in musical instruments craft, very bad things can make sometimes great results!