The
pictures below are of sterling
silver tubing. This silver
will be threaded, faced,
and cut to length in my
workshop. It is then sent
to the Atherton bagpipes
commissioned silversmith
who will solder beads and
caps onto the threaded tubing.
This allows Atherton bagpipes
to have complete control
over the quality of the
final product. The tubing
for ferrules and ring caps
is .050 thick (roughly the
thickness of a one cent
coin). The heavy wall thickness
allows for the deep threads
which will insure a lifetime
fit. It will also prevent
dings and dents which are
so common in cheaper thin-walled
silver. The tuning slides
are .020 thick. This minimizes
the amount of wood that
needs to be removed from
the wooden tuning pins,
which can weaken the pin.
When choosing silver for
your bagpipe, whether plain
or hand-engraved, the first
consideration should be
the quality of the silver
itself.
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Threaded sterling silver ferrules.
Every piece of silver on an
Atherton bagpipe is precision
threaded onto the wood for
a lifetime fit. Lower quality
makes of bagpipes have silver
that is not threaded; it is
merely glued, which leads
to the silver coming loose
and being damaged.
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Close-up
showing the deep precision
threads in a stock ferrule.
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Precision
threads in a tenor ferrule.
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Sterling
silver tuning slides. Perfectly
concentric, with just the
right wall thickness to allow
the tuning pin to remain strong.
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A
half-set of sterling silver
after the beads and caps have
been smithed |
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Close-up
showing 28 tpi threads in
a ring cap |
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Close-up
showing threads in stock ferrule
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Tenor
ferrule |
Bass
ferrule |
This
picture is showing the detail
of the bead wire on the
ferrule. The height, shape,
andposition
of the facing on the bead
wire is critical to the
overall "look"
of the silver. When
the wood is turned to meet
the bead, the low-profile
position of the bead wire
will allow for a seamless
flow between the wood and
the silver. This is one
reason that the silver on
vintage sets of bagpipes
has that "classic look".
A lot of thought and care
has gone into the making
of this silver. Be wary
of lesser quality silver
that lacks aesthetic character
and does not reflect the
care and precision of the
great makers of the past.
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Hallmarking
Hallmarking
with the D.M. Atherton Bagpipes
sponsor's mark is available |
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Mouthtube
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Tuning slide |
Ring cap
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Stock ferrule |
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Projecting Mounts |
Two bottom mounts. Perfectly
matched with excellent detail.
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Close-up of a bottom mount
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