Dave Atherton

This instrument was made for Mark Lee (of Rocket Reeds) in late 2006. It features well-seasoned African Blackwood that is exceptionally dark and straight figured. There is no finish on this bagpipe other than a light waxing. This underscores the quality of wood used in the manufacturing. The bores on this pipe are based on early David Glens, but the bells are somewhat larger, and the bushes are somewhat smaller. This set has African Blackwood projecting mounts in the style of Glen/MacDougall/MacDonald. This style is known as "parrot's beak" as the beads closely resemble the latter. There are no ring caps on this set. The beads on the tops are integral to the wood. Again, this highlights the quality of wood used, as such a large surface area of end-grain would certainly check (crack) if the wood was not properly dried. The bells on the tops have a large number of scribe lines and several sets of combing. Note that they are all perfectly matched. This is a direct influence from Donald MacDonald who was known to place a set of combs just under the bell. The bushes feature another MacDonald influence with several scribe lines and some fancy cut-ins on the bush itself. This type of treatment to the tops and bells is labor intensive as the tops have to go from boring center to lathe, then back to boring center and lathe whilst keeping everything perfectly matched. Standard artificial ivory was used for the both the bushes and the ferrules.

Close-up shot of the two tenor tops. Note the delicate scribe lines and radiused cut-in on the two bushes. This is a direct influence of Donald MacDonald. There are no ring caps on this bagpipe.
A side shot of the the three tops. Bass top in the foreground. Note the sets of combs and immaculate smooth turning of the wood.
A nice underside view of the three bells.
The two superbly matched tenor tops. Note the irreproachable combing and beading.
The two tenor top mounts showing the parrot's beak style of projecting mount.
The two tenor bottom mounts. Sometimes referred to as "stock mounts" because all the bottom mounts sit on a stock.
A macro lens close-up of the bass bottom top mount. Note the elegant and classic proportions of the mount.
The bass top. Elegant yet bold. Note the bead made of wood. There are no ring caps on this set.
Side view of the tenor tops showing the faultless combing and beading and the ferrules.
Top view of the tenor tops.
Another top view of the tenor bottoms.
Another shot of the three tops.
This set of bagpipes is made from ebony. When I received the wood it was already ten years old. I bored the billets and put them on the shelf for another few years before making this pipe. The wood was so stable that it didn't even need to be reamed after the set was made. The wood was not so kind to my hand tools however. When ebony is turned it creates a very fine dust that tends to polish the cutting edge on tooling which required frequent sharpening of my hand tools. It destroyed an entire half of a combing tool. Ebony can be quite unpredictable. It is prone to checking as well as cracking for no apparent reason, but this set has been defect-free since I made them 7 years ago. Amazingly, the end-grain on the tops has remained crack-free despite the large surface area since there are no ring caps. The set features artificial ivory ferrules, bushes and projecting mounts. The projecting mounts are made in the tradition of Glen/MacDougall.
Side view of the Bass top and middle joint. Notice the incredible tightness of the grain and smooth turning.
Side view of the three tops showing the end-grain and art. ivory bushes. There are no ring caps on this set. Note the classy scribe lines on the bushes.
The MacDougall style bottom mounts.
Side view of the bottom mounts and stock ferrules.

I made this set in late 2006. It features exceptionally straight figured African Blackwood, sterling silver ferrules, water buffalo bushings, and water buffalo projecting mounts. The matching chanter has an identical 26 tpi comb and sterling silver sole. The blowpipe features an aluminum tip that is threaded onto the wooden blowpipe. There is a brass tube that runs through the wood (without touching it, to compensate for the wood moving) that connects to a brass hemp tenon on the bottom (which is also threaded onto the wood).

The projecting mount on the blowpipe is threaded onto the brass tenon. It's indestructable. The brass tube on the inside is made airtight on both ends with internal rubber O-rings. You can't see any of this on the outside because all that craftsmanship is hidden. It takes more than a day of labor for the blowpipe alone.

The projecting mounts on this set are made of water buffalo horn. I copied the shape and detail on the mounts from a set of mid 1800's David Glens. The grain of the horn mounts is really evident in some of the close-ups. The bores, though, are 1912 Peter Hendersons.

The ferrules and ring caps are sterling silver. All the mounts, bushings, and projecting mounts are perfectly threaded, fitted and glued.

I typically wax my instruments, but for this beauty I used ultra-pure blonde shellac that I mixed up fresh from scratch. I used three super fine coats. The finishing alone took me a day and a half. I steelwooled and buffed between each coat. The finish is so thin and perfect that it will always have a classy sheen yet will never chip.

As always the combing and beading is second to none.

Here's another macro lens shot of the water buffalo horn.
Note the extremely fine detail in the shape of the mount and the smooth turning.

Side view of the blowpipe with mount.
Of course, all bottom mounts are perfectly matched.

Close up of the bass bottom combing and beading. I used a 26 tpi comb for this set.
Note the perfectly symmetrical pattern and perfect spacing.

Close up of the bold bulb mouthpiece made of water buffalo horn.
The inside of this MP has a sleeve that is threaded into the horn so it won't come loose, and also to prevent moisture from ever touching the horn. It is coated with blonde shellac.
Super smooth hand turning.

Close up of the two tenor top mounts. Perfectly matched and aesthetically pleasing.
The shape differs from the bottom mounts as this was the style in the pre-war golden age of pipemaking.

Tenor tops the way they should be. Matching in every way.

The silver bands on the two tenor tops next to the sole of the pipe chanter.
Note the matching pattern on the bottom of the chanter matches the pattern on the tops.
This is RARE attention to detail not seen since Donald MacDonald. Fantastic!

The full set. This set is guaranteed to be an heirloom someday.

Another great shot of fine turning.

A nice shot of the water buffalo bushings. Note the delicate scribe lines and perfectly fitted bushes.

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