How critical is the windcap??

Brian Lee · Post by **Brian Lee** » Fri Apr 23, 2004 8:18 am

Well, I guess I should have expected this sooner or later...

At the last concert I was playing, the inlet pipe snapped clean off the windcap of my wonderfully made chanter. :roll: Thankfully it was towards the end of the show. Needless to say I am even less pleased with the dumb thing now.

My question is this: I plan on making my own new windcap but I'm interested to learn what the relationship of internal volume and length have (if any) on reed behavior. If I were to make the cap a bit shorter overall for exampe (say 1/2-1 inch or so) assuming there is still enough room for the reed to vibrate freely etc. would this change how the reed sounds?

I'm also thinking of going with a goose-neck design instead of the straight in the side variety. any engineering pros or cons to this method? Thanks for any insight...

Brian~

djm · Post by **djm** » Fri Apr 23, 2004 9:34 am

I think this has come up a few times before. There are arguements that coming off the side may disrupt some waves/harmonics, that coming straight out the top is better but should be sufficiently wide not to cause waves to reflect back into the chanter, that the length of the windcap should match the wavelengths somehow, that a metal windcap can chill the reed, etc. etc. The only way to prove/disprove any of these ideas would be to make one of each type for the one chanter and try them all, a luxury most of us don't have. Then you could settle the arguements once and for all.

djm

bcpipes · Post by **bcpipes** » Fri Apr 23, 2004 9:35 am

Hello Brian,

Other that keeping reed-damaging-things a comfortable distance from the reed, all that you need concern yourself with is physical playing comfort and durability. It has been pretty well established, in previous threads, that the dimensions and materials in a chanter headpiece make little difference to tone quality.

Although, I am really liking wooden headpieces these days.

Cheers,
BC Childress

Brian Lee · Post by **Brian Lee** » Fri Apr 23, 2004 9:56 am

It seems to me that the straight down style would offer a stronger connection than the "in the side" type as the forces are not working against breaking the joint nearly as much. I've never seen or heard of a windcap joint snapping off like this before. Have any of you?

I'll start off with the goose-neck design and see what I can figure out from there...

Thanks guys.

Bri~

No E · Post by **No E** » Fri Apr 23, 2004 10:09 am

Hey Brian,

I've had three wind-caps* on D chanter: a brass "side draft," a wooden "side draft" and a wooden "top draft." Apart from aesthetics, I can't say that there is a noticeable difference in tone or playability.

Wooden tops do have the advantage of being less sensitive to changes in temperature. I do like the way top draft/goose neck wind-caps look.

I think Bruce's posts hit the nail on the head.

No E

*NB-none of them broke

Lorenzo · Post by **Lorenzo** » Fri Apr 23, 2004 10:22 am

If it's a brass piece that broke, solder it back on. It probably wasn't done right to begin with if just playing it caused it to snap. You should be able to reach it by removing the cap/plug at the top end.

Brian Lee · Post by **Brian Lee** » Fri Apr 23, 2004 10:40 am

I did solder it back on, as I have three more concerts each of the next three weekends - no other choice at present. I won't say what I think about the craftsmanship of this chanter etc. as it's been said before and all I hear then is "You're an idiot - what do you know?? Just shut the hell up!" :roll:

Anyway, I'm not going to mess around with it anymore than I have already and I see this as a very temporary fix. I plan to construct my own windcap as soon as time allows and I can find the right materials. I know a couple of friends with lathes so I may see about turning one out of ebony or something along those lines. Again, I think I'll likely go with the goose-neck design as it seems like it would be the sturdier of the two mounts and I also like the looks of it better.

Thanks!

B~

Tony · Post by **Tony** » Fri Apr 23, 2004 10:59 am

Brian Lee wrote:.... I've never seen or heard of a windcap joint snapping off like this before. Have any of you? ....

Yes.
It happened on my O'Grady chanter.
The bag tubing was soldered only where it joins the reedcap and it can easily break. I repaired it by pushing the tube in 1/8" into the hole and soldering it from the inside.
Childress (and Mackenzie) extend the tubing into the cap until it touches the other side. This is the stronger method as the solder is holding in several places. If you do this method you will have to drill a hole in the bag tube thru the top of the windcap before you add the endcap.

The picture is a Mackenzie chanter windcap

Brian Lee · Post by **Brian Lee** » Fri Apr 23, 2004 11:11 am

Yep Tony, mine was only soldered on the one wall and then cut flush. (but not flush enough to keep it from destroying my first several reeds)

The method you show there would indeed work well, but then I'd have to make the whole windcap about an inch longer to insert the inlet pipe above the reed itself. It seems to me that a well thought out windcap design would put this joint well above the reed anyway....but on well.

B~

marcpipes · Post by **marcpipes** » Fri Apr 23, 2004 1:20 pm

Dear Brian,
You might have better luck and stronger results if you cut or fabricate the pieces yourself to fit well and have them brazed together by a local friendly jeweler. Brazing takes place at much higher temperatures than regular soldering and is much stronger. I would suggest using a 10K or 14K medium gold solder as brass doesn't like to cooperate as much with silver solder. If you scrape all the old lead solder bits off your old windcap you could have that brazed back together. All the lead has to be removed though, otherwise it has a tendency to volitize under torch heat and drill pits right through the metal. A jeweler will also polish the finished piece nicely for you.
Marc

Brian Lee · Post by **Brian Lee** » Fri Apr 23, 2004 5:20 pm

I was wondering about that Marc,

I know a couple of guys in the jewelry business so I may have to hit them up for a favor and see what happens if anything. Thanks a bunch for the suggestion!

B~

oleorezinator · Post by **oleorezinator** » Sun Apr 25, 2004 3:45 pm

djm wrote:I think this has come up a few times before. There are arguements that coming off the side may disrupt some waves/harmonics, that coming straight out the top is better but should be sufficiently wide not to cause waves to reflect back into the chanter, that the length of the windcap should match the wavelengths somehow, that a metal windcap can chill the reed, etc. etc. The only way to prove/disprove any of these ideas would be to make one of each type for the one chanter and try them all, a luxury most of us don't have. Then you could settle the arguements once and for all.

djm

sometime ago, cillian o' briain wrote an article in an piobaire or the ipc pipers review about the older topless arrangement as sounding better. this in combination with a hollow mainstock. the harmonics blending and supporting one another. and of course, the flat pitch approach. does this also apply to wide bore concert pitch pipes. anyone?

oleorezinator · Post by **oleorezinator** » Fri Oct 01, 2004 2:16 pm

oleorezinator wrote:
djm wrote:I think this has come up a few times before. There are arguements that coming off the side may disrupt some waves/harmonics, that coming straight out the top is better but should be sufficiently wide not to cause waves to reflect back into the chanter, that the length of the windcap should match the wavelengths somehow, that a metal windcap can chill the reed, etc. etc. The only way to prove/disprove any of these ideas would be to make one of each type for the one chanter and try them all, a luxury most of us don't have. Then you could settle the arguements once and for all.

djm
sometime ago, cillian o' briain wrote an article in an piobaire or the ipc pipers review about the older topless arrangement as sounding better. this in combination with a hollow mainstock. the harmonics blending and supporting one another. and of course, the flat pitch approach. does this also apply to wide bore concert pitch pipes. anyone?

Joseph E. Smith · Post by **Joseph E. Smith** » Fri Oct 01, 2004 2:39 pm

Man......you've been waiting a long time haven't you?

billh · Post by **billh** » Wed Oct 06, 2004 3:13 pm

Brian Lee wrote:It seems to me that the straight down style would offer a stronger connection than the "in the side" type as the forces are not working against breaking the joint nearly as much. I've never seen or heard of a windcap joint snapping off like this before. Have any of you?

Bri~

Well, most top-loading caps have the inlet inserted into a cap, so more likely the cap would just come loose.

One thing to watch out for is that if you choose to make the cap of wood, you are putting a metal joint *inside* wood which tends to lead to splitting. If you opt for ivoroid plasticky stuff this isn't a concern really.

- Bill

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