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Bagpipe Care & Maintenance
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Advice For Beginners
For the new piper, maintaining your bagpipe will be as much of a challenge as playing the music itself. Your instrument will require constant maintenance and care in order to perform well.
The following items are essential to get you started on the bagpipe:
Drone & Chanter Brushes
Stock Corks (for seasoning)
Drone Corks
Yellow Hemp
Beeswax
Highland Pride Finish Oil (see section on oiling)
Pull Through Swab
Bag Seasoning (for hide bags)
Case Humidifier (see section on winter care)
Get To Know Your Pipes
Unpack your bagpipes and identify the parts by referring to the bagpipe anatomy sheet. Your bagpipes have been set up and tested by us. Before playing, check that the reeds have not come loose during shipment. Use care when removing and replacing reeds. To remove a drone from its stock hold the stock firmly with one hand and with the other hold the bottom section of the drone near the projecting mount. Rotate in one direction and remove carefully. Replace in the opposite direction. The blowpipe can be removed in the same way.
When removing the chanter from it's stock it should be held above the High A hole at the wide part where it meets the stock. Hold the stock and rotate carefully in one direction. DO NOT twist the chanter while gripping at any other point as it will split. Plastic and Blackwood chanters can be broken in this way.
Breaking In Your Pipes
Do not overplay your new bagpipes. We recommend that you play for only fifteen minutes per day for the first three weeks. After each practice session all excess moisture MUST be dried up. Moisture left in the bagpipes will cause cracking. Stocks can be dried out with a cloth and drone tops with a soft brush.
Use a pull through for the narrow lower joints of the drones. Pay particular attention to the blowpipe and blowpipe stock. Your bagpipes should not be played at temperatures below 40F and should not be exposed to sudden temperature changes. If during the winter months the humidity level in your home drops below 40% we STRONGLY recommend that you invest in a case humidifier. This will help prevent shrinkage and cracking.
Oiling
Oiling can be carried out once or twice per year, primarily in the winter months. We recommend Highland Pride Pipe Guard finish oil. This can be applied to the inside bore of the drones with a brush or pull through. After oiling leave the sections to dry before re-assembling. Buff off any excess oil.
Hemping
The hemp joints must be kept in good condition in order that your pipes perform well. DO NOT OVER HEMP. When re-hemping, begin with a short length coated with black wax so it grips to the wood. The hemp should be wound on evenly and the last layers should be coated with bees wax. Pre-waxed yellow hemp works very well for hemping the drone stock, chanter and blowpipe joints. When hemping the tuning pins it is unnecessary to finish with waxed hemp. Take extra care that these areas are not too tight. You should be able to tune with two fingers but at the same time your drones should not be slipping out of tune. Pay attention to how much moisture is present in the joints after you play. Hemp can swell making the joint too tight and can even cause stocks to crack.
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Care of the Bag
The Pipe Bag - Synthetic
It is critical that your pipe bag is cared for correctly. A badly maintained bag will cause problems. Synthetic bags are very easy to care for. If your bag has a zipper make sure it is kept lubricated. Leave the zipper open when you are not playing. This will help the bag dry. If this is not done it will shorten the life of the bag.
Check regularly that the stocks are secure. Water-traps should be cleaned often.
The Pipe Bag - Hide & Sheepskin
Leather bags perform better when they are played regularly. The bag should also be seasoned. This will help make it airtight and improve moisture control. PLAYING YOUR PIPES WILL KEEP THE BAG SUPPLE, NOT SEASONING We recommend the following method when seasoning:
1. Heat can of seasoning in a pan of water until it liquefies.
2. Remove drones, chanter and blowpipe. Cork all five stocks.
3. Pour seasoning into the bag through the chanter stock. See manufacturers directions for quantity. Squeeze out as much air as possible and replace the cork.
4. Now rub the seasoning into the skin. This should be done vigorously. Ensure that the seasoning is thoroughly worked into the welt (seam) of the bag. (See the note below on hide and sheepskin bags).
5. Remove the cork from the blow pipe stock and replace the blowpipe. Ensure that the remaining corks are secure and blow up the bag as tight as possible. This will force the seasoning into the stitching. Tilt the bag back and forth so the liquid can be heard running along the welt. Squeeze bag while doing this.
6. Check that all the stocks are secure and the blowpipe valve is functioning properly. If after 30 seconds you are unable to blow any more air into the bag then it is tight enough. NO BAG IS TOTALLY AIR TIGHT. Do not expect the bag to remain full of air forever.
7. Carefully remove the blowpipe and cork the stock. Hang the bag using the loop at the back.
Remove the cork from the chanter stock and let the seasoning drain out. Make sure the other stocks are kept upright so any seasoning can drain down into the bag and out of the chanter stock. Work your fingers around the part of the chanter stock that is tied into the bag to ensure that excess seasoning does not get caught there and congeal. Be sure that all excess seasoning has drained out before proceeding.
8. Once the excess seasoning has drained out of the bag the stocks MUST be cleaned thoroughly. Use paper towels or rags for this. When this is done check that the bottoms of the stocks are not clogged with seasoning. You can check the drone stocks by holding the bottom of two stocks together and looking through. Check the blowpipe and chanter stocks by holding under a light. If they are clogged remove the congealed seasoning with a stiff brush. The more you season your pipe bag the more this may become an issue. Your drones will not function properly if seasoning is allowed to build up in these areas.
Not including draining time, steps 3-7 should take no more than five minutes.
Note. Do not over-season. The only reason to season a hide bag is to keep the stitching tight. Seasoning will not improve moisture control and will only serve to make a mess of the inside of your bag. Hide bags naturally retain moisture and so are perfect for playing in dry - normal climates.
Sheepskin bags require regular seasoning, not only to keep the stitching tight but to treat the skin also. The pores are not as close together as hide so seasoning is required to keep the skin air tight and to improve moisture control. Sheepskin bags are perfect for normal - wet climates.
Seasoning your bag will be a messy process at first but you will get better at it. It is a good idea to regularly disinfect your bag in order to kill any germs. An effective way of doing this is to:
1.Cork the stocks and pour a very small amount of alcohol into the bag.
2.Blow the bag up and swill the liquid around.
3.Drain it out and clean any stickiness out of the stock. Dry the stocks thoroughly.
For hygiene reasons we recommend that you keep a sheepskin bag for a maximum of three years and a hide bag for no longer than five years. There are a number of resources available containing excellent advice on bagpipe maintenance and care.
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