SOLD – Lovely MacDougalls like these come up periodically, and I’m always pleased when they do, because they are all good. It’s difficult to date Duncan MacDougall’s pipes from this period, but 10 years on either side of 1890 is probably accurate.  The three wide cord guides, the distinctive ferrules and the elegant projecting mounts combine to make this a classic example of Duncan’s work.

The set came to me with some damage, almost all of it reparable. The only replacement pieces are the blowstick and blowstick stock. The stock is a poly-lined replacement with original mount; the blowstick is an old Glen with a Glen parrot’s beak mount and a copper sleeve in the bore. It’s a good match for the pipes. One stock ferrule has a crack that has been sealed and is visible in the photos. Being ebony of substantial age, there were a number of hairline and ‘beginner’ cracks in the sticks. We take no chances with ebony and these have been sealed and invisible whipped. One tenor projecting mount is not flush to the wood. Unfortunately even my reliable refurbishers at Dunbar Bagpipes could not get that mount loose, and that’s saying something. So the small gap visible in the pics is a permanent fixture.

The pipes were completely stripped and refinished and the tuning chambers were evened out.

The pipes played much like my own MacDougalls. They locked in with my Canning drone reeds and played me a seamless wall of sound for the 20 minutes I played them.