Tool Making
Reamers and Reed Socket Tools
For a complete guide on sizes/dimensions, all will be available on a series of step by step CD's coming soon
The following tips given are for making some of the different kinds of tools, most of which can all be made with every day workshop tools, they consist of chanter bore reamers, reed socket tools and tone hole drilling jigs, so that every chanter made is
the same as the one before it, a subject that was not carried out in the past by many makers, and the reason for many variables, which also contributes to much confusion and wasted timbers and time.
Below can be seen a selection of flat reamers and tone hole jigs for all pitches of Uilleann pipes, the flat reamers are made from standard gauge plate, 15.00mm X 4.00mm thick for concert chanters and 13.00mm X 3.00mm thick for flat chanters and regulators with
bore/bell sizes of 11.00mm or less, many of the collection can also be used to set different parameters
on different parts of a full set of pipes.
To make a flat reamer simply take the flat stock/gauge plate, coat it in some engineers blue marker, let the blue dry and scribe the lines onto
the blue, now cut out the reamer using a 1.00mm cutting disc and angle grinder, if you can, leave the lines visible when cutting, so you have something to guide you later when you file up/sharpen the reamer later.
Once you have done this stage, the reamer needs to be filled and set to the desired size for the parts of the bore you need to manipulate
IE a bore or cone normally has several different sized areas, top, middle and bottom, so you will need to work out the sizes and areas in question, which will become apparent if and when you measure an instrument to copy etc.
When measuring the diameter of the reamer to cut any given sized hole, you must remember to measure from corner to corner
or you will not get the desired number/s, this goes for the entire length of the reamer, mark the areas upon
the blue marker for a record, also make the reamers longer in both directions so you have plenty of material
for sharpening them up.
Cutting out the flat stock, this stage takes about ten minutes for each reamer, try not to get the metal too hot, take your time, let the metal cool down slowly if needed, remember gauge plate is made from tool steel, which can be hardened afterwards and please were the appropriate safety equipment.
Flat reamers sometimes have a tendency to chatter when cutting, especially the thinner gauges, to prevent this you can either encapsulate them in timber or place a small spacer either side of the centre point to alleviate this problem, see above, the wooden model show here in effect gives you a solid structure, which will support it like that and better than that of a fluted reamer,
The timber slips also help to burnish the bore as it cuts, in fact I have used plain wooden formers/reamers to do this technique with difficult timbers, Remember to leave just enough blade showing so the edges can cut, and you can achieve just as good a result as a fluted reamer,
the bore will shine just like an S**t House door on a frosty morning.
The first stage begins by turning your chanter blank into a cylinder and drilling the centre pilot hole through the middle, in this case its a concert D chanter blank with a 3/16" pilot hole......The next stage is done incorporating/using a small tool called a reed socket tool, this is made from a 5/16" silver steel bar, which has an end pilot guide of 3/16" and a measured ramp or taper, which is D shaped in the cut away area, see above and below.
Using the spigot or guide on the end of the tool, insert the reed socket tool into the timber and cut out the reed seat until it reaches the shoulder, this is done on all chanters, the reed socket and depth is then set automatically, now take your reamer/s and remove all
the wasted from the cone to within an inch of the throat area in the lathe and stop reaming, now place the reamer facing
upwards in a vice and finish reaming by hand reaming, for a much better grip wrap a piece of soft leather around the blank.
I have worked out the angle of approach for my instrument, so the throat is set at the correct depth using this tool in
conjunction with the reamer/s, its simple and easy to do every time.
I much prefer the tapered self wooden reed socket because, the reed can be removed and replaced with accuracy each time, the binding becomes compressed upon the bottom end of the staple and will go back exactly to where it was before, I find the tube type fitting to be much too fiddly and harder to control during manufacture.
Above right shows my own drilling/reaming steady, I use this for difficult timbers as it helps to prevent chanter and is much safer
than holding the timber with the chuck alone, the bearing is from a standard agricultural machine, notice the number, off the shelf, the
post is 1" mild steel ground bar as all my other posts, cost 20 bucks to make.
Above shows a set of small bore gauges, you will need these in order of setting the throat accurately, without them you will be searching in the dark, now take the small bore gauge and set it by twisting the small knurled portion at its end, this opens and widens the end fingers, using a digital vernier gauge, place the small bore gauge inside the jaws of the vernier and twist the small bore gauge from the middle section, this will open the vernier and give you your reading, once it is set be careful
not to touch the end knob or it could alter the setting if turned accidentally.
As your ream the cone of the instrument the throat will rise and widen inside the chanter as you progress,
Carry on reaming inwards towards the top end of the chanter/cone, at regular intervals check the throat area, until the small bore gauge just pops through the hole/throat without having to put much effort behind it, you soon get the feel for this, and you will have your desired throat size and depth, also make sure that the small bore gauge is inserted perfectly inline with the chanter blank, this technique is done the same way on all instruments and is a very accurate way of standardising on of many of your manufacturing processes.
Once you have set the throat area you can then set the other tapers/areas of the cone, it doesn't matter which way round you do these, as long as they are all done the same.
Since my training with pipe making guru Peter Hunter, I have learn many more finer points by doing things my way, which I include in any of my full time pipe making courses, A modern apprentiship is the most positive way forward for the trade, ensuring that nothing is lost along the way.