This set of circa 1960 Hardie full-ivories has been rebored with pre-1940s Henderson bores.

Bob Hardie’s pipes were well crafted and he used superb wood. They are favoured by pipers wanting a quieter pipe, and as a result aren’t as popular as pipes with a fuller sound. I asked the Henderson experts at Dunbar Bagpipes (Jack Dunbar worked at the Henderson shop in the 1940s) to rebore these Hardies according to the old Henderson specs. Only the internal specs of the bells were untouched. The bass bottom joint is a slightly smaller diameter than Henderson so it tunes a bit higher on the pin. The result has been as I’d hoped, with a much fuller drone sound, but still steady and easy to reed.

The set is mounted in full ivory that is in excellent shape but for a bit of staining and chipping on the caps. The sticks were were excellent condition and have been refinished. The blowpipe was missing, so a replica was made in poly-lined blackwood with an old matching ivory mount.

I’m pleased with how this rebore experiment has turned out, and will replicate it with other Hardie sets. It matches excellent aged wood with the resonating Henderson internal specifications.