Raw materials used in bagpipes

Scottish Great Highland bagpipes dating from the 1700s had pipes made of bog oak. With imperialism and the rise of the “three corner trade” among Africa, America, and Britain, tropical hardwoods became available and have become the woods of choice for constructing pipes. African Blackwood and Brazilian rosewood are ideal for pipes. A brown hardwood called cocus wood is mentioned as a wood for pipes; this was true until the 1920s, but cocus wood is not used now. Many of raw materials used in the manufacture of bagpipes are dictated by the humidity of the region where the bagpipe is to be played. Some tropical hardwoods used to make the chanter and drones, particularly ebony, are ideal for the dampness of the climate in the British Isles but don’t work well in the drier parts of the United States.  Other woods such as olive farm wood have been used in the past. Plastics, particularly acetyl homopolymers, are used by some makers for pipes to avoid the complications of climate.

Bags also require consideration for climate. They must be air-tight and water absorbent. Sheepskin is used in Great Britain, but it is not as durable in drier regions. In the United States elk or cow hide is used, and Australian pipe makers use kangaroo hide. Gortex is a modern material that is sometimes substituted for native hide.

Reeds are the constant in pipe production since the earliest known bagpipes. The water-reed was originally used for pipes as well as the reeds. Today, it is used to make both single and double reeds. Plastics such as polyvinyl chloride (PVC), metals, and brass are source materials for reeds for some manufacturers. Ornamentation on bag-pipes may have experienced the greatest changes because of concern for preservation of endangered species. In the 1700s, ivory from elephants, walruses, and narwhals (an Arctic-dwelling whale species) was the most common material for ornamentation because it can be worked and turned into beautiful artwork. Animal horn was also a source. Today, antlers from elk and moose are commonly used as is imitation ivory. Celluloid was an early manmade material to be carved for decoration, but plastics are generally worked now.

The bagpipe maker purchases wood and antler in log form. Plastic is supplied in sheets or rods, and metal for ferrules (bands that are put around the shafts of the pipes to support and strengthen them and caps that protect the pipe ends) is received as metal tubing or castings and may consist of aluminum, brass, nickel, or sterling silver.