Macdonald Bagpipes

Macdonald Bagpipes Based in Melbourne Australia, I refurbish and repair bagpipes.

Another set heading back home. These pipes have some of the prettiest projecting mounts I’ve seen. In case you’re wonder...
20/08/2023

Another set heading back home. These pipes have some of the prettiest projecting mounts I’ve seen. In case you’re wondering these pipes aren’t a new job I’ve taken on. They belong to a very patient friend of mine who knows how I work and has supported every aspect of my piping endeavours for 25+ years. This set has been sitting under my workbench for far too long and it was time to get them done.

Ready to go back to my friend in Hobart. The bass drone got repaired the same way as the tenor and I also put in a sleev...
10/08/2023

Ready to go back to my friend in Hobart. The bass drone got repaired the same way as the tenor and I also put in a sleeve to give it more strength.

Most of you know I don’t do the refurbishing work at the moment. I will do repairs if needed. Repairing some snapped pin...
20/06/2023

Most of you know I don’t do the refurbishing work at the moment. I will do repairs if needed. Repairing some snapped pins on a friend’s set of pipes.

I keep threatening to wind back the work I do on pipes but it just doesn’t seem to happen. A pin replacement today. Firs...
24/11/2021

I keep threatening to wind back the work I do on pipes but it just doesn’t seem to happen. A pin replacement today. First task, cut off the old pin. Then tidy up and thread a seat for a replacement pin. Then thread the replacement pin and style it to match the old pin. Finally screw it in and glue. I had to get the pin finished on it’s own as this bass mid section had a small warp so it would not turn true on the lathe.

After a couple of marathon sessions on the lathe (My back is now killing me!) these pipes are ready to go home. This is ...
09/11/2021

After a couple of marathon sessions on the lathe (My back is now killing me!) these pipes are ready to go home. This is pretty much a burger with the lot. All plastic projecting mounts and ferrules replaced. Beautiful wooden mounts and inserts fitted along with lovely silver work, h**p retainers and a full varnish removal and polish. I was careful to not remove the Henderson stamps from under the cord retainers. A somewhat remarkable transformation from what they were. Having made pipes from scratch and doing these big refurbishment jobs, I know which is easier and why I’m one of the few fools to offer this service 🤣

13/10/2021

Started work on this set today. The new projecting mounts have been supplied to me so that speeds up the process. A small amount of profiling had to be done to fit them but they will definitely be a nice looking set when done. I may do a normal video to upload to my YouTube channel.

Cleaning up the workshop today before I undertake this next restoration. I don’t want to get ahead of myself but I think...
08/10/2021

Cleaning up the workshop today before I undertake this next restoration. I don’t want to get ahead of myself but I think this one is going to be a cracker.

I finally took delivery of this lovely collection today. My friend Ian Lyons sourced all but one of the original foolsca...
28/09/2021

I finally took delivery of this lovely collection today. My friend Ian Lyons sourced all but one of the original foolscap books and got them bound for me in a beautiful personalised leather cover. Thanks also to Al McLaren for sourcing me the one book we were missing.
So, one day, when my mouth is fixed, when my fingers are healed, when we can maybe attend solos again and have life back to normal I hope to be able to play some big music tunes again.

Finally finished. These pipes have been a fairly sizeable undertaking. If you remember how they came to me the change is...
23/09/2021

Finally finished. These pipes have been a fairly sizeable undertaking. If you remember how they came to me the change is quite significant. A few more jobs to get through and I’ll be back on level terms.
I will post on here when I can take on more work.

Fixing hairline cracks. Some cracks on drones are easy to spot and some can barely be seen. The varnish that had been pu...
19/09/2021

Fixing hairline cracks.
Some cracks on drones are easy to spot and some can barely be seen. The varnish that had been put on these pipes showed up the cracks nicely but once I had cleaned that away the cracks became almost invisible to the naked eye externally, but they could still be seen inside the drone.
As you may have seen in previous posts the old sub par method of filling cracks with two part glues is something that keeps me awake at night. The method I have developed seems to work quite well and does not create such a hot mess.
Some time ago I invested in a vacuum chamber and pump for drawing resin into soft porous wood. I then thought this could be modified to draw thin glue through a cracks and help seal them. To do this I mark where the cracks line up on the drone, attach the vacuum pump and then put thin CA glue over the crack. I give it enough time to draw through but not go off. I then clean off the outside of the drone and use a gun brush to clean the inside where the glue has come through.
It is hard to show with the iPhone camera but you can see in the circles where the glue has come through. I will do this process a few times until no more glue comes through.
I have found this method to produce good results.

Bass drone done. One tenor left to go.
13/09/2021

Bass drone done. One tenor left to go.

Like many old sets the german silver ferrules don’t fit all that well on this set. The quick remedy a lot of people use ...
13/09/2021

Like many old sets the german silver ferrules don’t fit all that well on this set. The quick remedy a lot of people use is to wind some h**p around the piece to hold the ferrule in place.
To help the ferrule fit properly I remove the h**p and build up the piece with CA glue and wood dust, essentially creating a Blackwood resin. I then turn this back down and comb it. I also reshaped the very end of the wood to help the ferrule fit flush.
It’s these little jobs and details that I do when restoring pipes that takes up so much time, and why the pipes look as good as they do once I’m finished with them. It’s not just giving them a polish and sending them home.

Starting to take shape. They’ll be a lovely looking set.
10/09/2021

Starting to take shape. They’ll be a lovely looking set.

These pipes keep throwing up challenges. It seems at some stage the metal work has been coated in some material. I’m thi...
09/09/2021

These pipes keep throwing up challenges. It seems at some stage the metal work has been coated in some material. I’m thinking it may have been some kind of sealant to stop the nickel from tarnishing, I have seen this done before. It has now well and truly gone off and I’m having to pick a lot of it out by hand. A tip for those of you playing along at home, a routine wipe and clean with a silver cloth or similar will serve you much better than this idea.

Stripped back and ready for vacuum testing and polishing.
01/09/2021

Stripped back and ready for vacuum testing and polishing.

This next set of Lawries are taking longer than I had hoped. Whatever was used as a polish when they were previously res...
31/08/2021

This next set of Lawries are taking longer than I had hoped. Whatever was used as a polish when they were previously restored is very thick and taking a while to get off. It has taken a few hours just to get the bass drone cleaned up. The pictures below show what I’m dealing with. Luckily most of the cracks I was worried about appear to be surface cracks. There are a few that go through though unfortunately. I’ll put up some more pics when I start polishing them.

Address

Tolmie, VIC
3155

Telephone

0402437043

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Macdonald Bagpipes posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Shortcuts

Share