Talk:Bagpipe Maintenance

Perhaps, the article should be moved to Wikibooks how to section


 * Good idea. I've never done a transwiki before or else I would.  Anyone...? - Lucky 6.9 06:59, 6 November 2006 (UTC)


 * Before this is moved or merged anywhere, there is a lot of bad or misleading or only vaguely correct information. Chanters usually fall out because the hemp dries out, not the wood.  Whether or not you should oil depends on the type of wood: African Blackwood should not be oiled, and olive oil and neatsfoot are not suitable.  When hemping, the whole piece of hemp should be waxed; cobbler's wax is useful in providing a firm grip on the wood for the first turns.  There is no need to rehemp unless the hemp is rotten or poorly applied to begin with (most new sets of pipes are badly hemped, though).  Natural bags can be cured so as not to require seasoning, so you need to know how your bag was cured.  A bag needs seasoned whenever the insides of the bag do not slip against one another smoothly.  Clean the seasoning from the stocks before leaving the bag overnight (or it will cool into solid lumps that are a pain to remove).  After a months regular practice, any leather bag is going to be as unhygienic as it is going to ever be.  A regularly played sheepskin bag will only last a year anyway, and an unregularly played sheepskin bag is worthless.  Squeezing a staple with pliers leads to non-functioning reeds - pick ones you can play in the first place.  Don't throw away easy reeds, keep them for beginners.  Don't soak a reed in water unless you are going to chuck it anyway.


 * I can see how we could in theory have an encyclopedia article on bagpipe maintenance, but this is not it. And I don't think it is worth keeping, here or elsewhere, either. Calum 23:01, 6 November 2006 (UTC)


 * I also think this would be a good topic for Wikibooks and not Wikipedia. This is a howto article. Chapium 22:54, 12 November 2006 (UTC)