I took my 3D printed practice set to Swannanoa and, other than some reed problems and my general inability to play, it worked quite well. Despite a few people being curious about it, and a handful recognizing its worth, I realize most folks aren’t going to think much of it until I can play it well. My next major step is lots of practice and playing!

Parts

I need to make my own bag and my own reed, but I have replaced every other part of my original practice set with 3D printable parts and things you can buy at the hardware store.

• Bellows
• Blowpipe hose
• Blowpipe
• Blowpipe stock
• Bag
• Chanter stock
• Chanter cap
• Reed
• Chanter

I’ve been successful with heat-sealing little strips of TPU: this is looking like the right material for the bag. That leaves reedmaking, which is probably going to take another 3+ years.

Cost

So far the total cost of materials is well under $50. You can’t sell things without a markup, but I’m pretty sure someone could ship out kits and fully assembled practice sets for a fraction of what you’d currently pay. And that includes the ones on Amazon, why by all accounts are much worse than mine.

I’m an inventor, I don’t want to sell things. But maybe someone who likes promoting and selling (and dealing with unhappy customers) will come along and try to market this once I’m done. That would be awesome!