I'm a new piper with a half set, and am wondering what one should do to take care of one's set, as well as how often?
Some things I've heard of are oiling the wood--my set has ebony for the wood, as well as cherry for the bellows sides and mainstock (not sure what type of oil to use). It also has nickel plating on all the metal, and I picked up a metal polish cloth from the local music store that's meant for plated instruments.
Anything else that someone can suggest? Should the leather parts of the bellows be conditioned to keep them supple? And does the bag need anything done to it? It's a heavy duty leather, seems like a suede of some sort. Not sure if this should be treated from time to time.
Thanks for any suggestions offered~
how to maintain pipes?
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billh
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Don't oil the wood (unless the maker specifically recommended it). The bore shouldn't be oiled and the rest shouldn't need it...
I am not sure about the polish cloth - if it's specifically OK for silver plated instruments it should be OK, but realize that most "band" instruments are lacquered, a different thing altogether. You want to avoid any kinds of metal polish that are chemically based (and many are, including some polishing cloths). Most folks just let 'em develop a patina anyhow.
Note also that if the mounts or other parts of the pipes are light wood, polishing the metal is likely to discolor the mounts.
Don't treat the leather, it should be OK as-is for a few years anyhow. Putting the wrong stuff on/in it is worse than nothing at all.
The maintenance that you are more likely to need to do involves thread packing of joints. I don't advise using teflon/PTFE/"plumbers" tape under a wooden joint, for instance on the slides. Under a solid metal joint it's OK. In general you want the joints to be well packed but not so tight that they get stuck, and any joing with wood on the outside should not be too tight otherwise the timber is likely to split. Adding and removing bits of thread is one of the basic pipe maintenance activities, especially as the seasons pass.
regards
Bill
I am not sure about the polish cloth - if it's specifically OK for silver plated instruments it should be OK, but realize that most "band" instruments are lacquered, a different thing altogether. You want to avoid any kinds of metal polish that are chemically based (and many are, including some polishing cloths). Most folks just let 'em develop a patina anyhow.
Note also that if the mounts or other parts of the pipes are light wood, polishing the metal is likely to discolor the mounts.
Don't treat the leather, it should be OK as-is for a few years anyhow. Putting the wrong stuff on/in it is worse than nothing at all.
The maintenance that you are more likely to need to do involves thread packing of joints. I don't advise using teflon/PTFE/"plumbers" tape under a wooden joint, for instance on the slides. Under a solid metal joint it's OK. In general you want the joints to be well packed but not so tight that they get stuck, and any joing with wood on the outside should not be too tight otherwise the timber is likely to split. Adding and removing bits of thread is one of the basic pipe maintenance activities, especially as the seasons pass.
regards
Bill