| Narwhal
Ivory |
Narwhal
is a species of white whale.
The male Narwhal grows a
very long incisor (tusk)
that grows up to 10 feet.
Narwhal ivory is known as
the most beautiful and rarest
of the ivories. The cementum
(outer layer) of the tusk
has a stunning complex pattern
not found on other ivories.
The tusk grows in a left-handed
helix pattern. It is this
twisted tusk that gave rise
to the legends of the unicorn.
This particular tusk was
legally imported into the
U.S. from Pond Inlet, Nunuvat,
Canada, by the James L.
Houston company in the early
1960’s. Because importation
took place prior to 1972,
this tusk is legal to own
and sell within the United
States.
Duncan MacDougall favored
sea ivory. He used walrus,
sea lion, narwhal ivory
and the blade of swordfish.
He thought highly enough
of narwhal that he made
an entire set of drones
and a chanter from this
ivory. It is rumored that
narwhal was so precious
that an entire war debt
was paid off with just two
tusks.
This
tusk is available for bagpipe
mounts on D.M. Atherton
bagpipes.
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Another cross sectional view
of a Narwhal tusk. |
Narwhal ivory on the left,
and elephant ivory on the
right.
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A Narwhal tusk section showing
the distinctive left-handed
helix.
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A cross sectional view of
a Narwhal tusk. Note the beautiful
pattern of the cementum, and
the absence of Schreger lines
in the dentine.
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| Palm
Ivory |
Palm
ivory grows as a tropical
nut in the South Pacific.
It is incredibly hard and
dense and not brittle at all.
It machines/turns exceptionally
well and will accept a thread
just like elephant/mammoth
ivory. It smells somewhat
like sugar cookies when turned.
I whacked a piece of it with
a claw hammer to test it's
brittleness and the hammer
just bounced. I also stood
on top of a bored ferrule
with one foot to test it's
strength. I weigh 265 and
the piece didn't even give
way. It looks fantastic when
polished, with a color very
similar to aged elephant ivory.
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A bass ringcap showing 32
tpi threads. This type of
workmanship is totally hidden
by the time a set of pipes
is finished.
"Quality means doing
it right when no one is looking."
- Henry Ford
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Palm ivory on the workbench.
All parts are precision threaded
for a lifetime fit.
Workmanship like this separates
the quality makers from the
rest. |
A chunk of palm ivory that
will become a bottom mount.
Note the 24 tpi internal threads.
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A
finished MacDougall bottom
mount. Classic lines and proportions.
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A close-up of the 26 tpi threads
in a palm ivory ferrule.
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| African
Blackwood |
These
are premium 16" billets
of seasoned, instrument-grade
African Blackwood. This is
high-end wood that comes from
the supplier having already
been seasoned for 3 to 5 years,
some of it more. Wood like
this is readily available,
though it is costly. Very
few pipemakers will invest
in wood like this.
The billets shown here are
longer than we use for pipes
because they were cut for
other instruments. The billets
are examined by the wood dealer
and graded for quality. Only
the best will be called 'instrument
grade" and very few billets
make the cut. Rejects will
be sold for carvings, brushbacks,
etc.
I purchased a few of these
billets for testing. After
I discovered how good and
how well seasoned this wood
was, I purchased the dealer's
entire stock of these billets.
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A beautiful bottom mount in
the Glen/MacDougall tradition.
This is the "parrot's
beak" style of projecting
mount often seen on higher
quality sets from the 1800's.
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A side view of the bottom
mount showing the perfectly
proportioned lines.
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A
set of African Blackwood
stocks in the beginning
stages of making.
My wood is sorted for age,
figure, grain and color.
This is what quality blackwood
looks like.
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Castello
Boxwood
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A
set of boxwood mounts, threaded
and ready for turning. |
A side view of the bottom
mount. |
A
boxwood mount showing 24 tpi
threads. |
A
finished projecting mount
made from Castello Boxwood.
|
A bottom mount in the Glen/MacDougall
tradition. Note the complete
lack of any tool marks and
the exceptionally fine grain.
Boxwood looks fantastic when
contrasted against African
Blackwood. |
Some select billets. Only
the best grain, and straightest
figure, are good enough for
use on
my instruments.
|
Close-up of the grain and
figure. The figure is as straight
as the ruler. |
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| Ebony |
24" billets of aged,
premium ebony. This wood will
be sorted and "bookmatched"
for a set of pipes. What this
means is that the tenor tops
and tenor bottoms will be
cut from the same billet.
At the point where they are
cut in half, they are then
turned right-side up and will
remain that way through the
entire making process. The
bass drone gets the same treatment.
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Billetts
of ebony after it has been
cut and bookmatched. A lot
of care and effort go into
the making of an ebony bagpipe,
but the sound produced by
this wood is well worth the
extra work. |
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| English
Boxwood (Buxus Sempervirens) |
|
A
nice billet of English Boxwood.
Perfect for projecting mounts. |
Cross-sectional
view of the quarter sawn end-grain. |
| Sterling
Silver |
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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