Skip hemp on the joints that get the most moisture; use wax nylon lacing tape and dental floss instead. The blowpipe joint, the water trap connection, and any joint on a practice chanter all get soaked with breath moisture. Natural hemp swells, shrinks, and eventually rots there. Wax nylon lacing tape as the main wrap, finished with a thin layer of waxed dental floss, holds tight for years without absorbing water.
A hybrid pipe bag with a Dri-Flo system is my whole-setup recommendation. Hybrid bags (leather outside, breathable synthetic inside) combine the traditional feel and shape of leather with the airtightness of Gore-Tex. Paired with a Dri-Flo desiccant moisture control system, they keep drone reeds dry and stable without the upkeep problems of old-style hide bags.
The chanter stock has no grommet, so it needs an O-ring plus a hose clamp over electrical tape to stay airtight. Unlike the drone and blowpipe stocks, which seat into rubber grommets, the chanter stock is secured with an O-ring in its groove, a buildup of electrical tape as a gasket, and a metal hose clamp positioned just below (not over) the O-ring — a system that has never failed or leaked for me.
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Build Your Bagpipes: The Ultimate Step-by-Step Guide to Assemble Your Pipes Like a Pro (Part 1 of 2)
39m · Full class available to Inner Circle members
04:17control moisture Dri-Flo Installing system the🔒
06:25Choosing bag: hybrid a Gore-Tex, and leather, pipe🔒
09:52the drone into stocks the bag Installing🔒
11:43water Setting trap the stock blowpipe and up🔒
12:18lacing vs. hemp nylon tape Wax🔒
15:26an chanter and hose stock the O-ring with clamp Installing🔒
19:49tape Sealing with every electrical joint🔒
22:35valve and mouthpiece a Choosing🔒
24:22protector rubber a Adding mouthpiece🔒
26:35Blowpipe The Positioner Angle Perfect🔒
29:55Attaching spacing drone cords the and🔒
33:48off tying the and Hemping joints tassel🔒
35:58Part preview Recap 2 of and🔒
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About this class
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