In 1891 Duncan was living and working his business at 29 Kenmore Street in Aberfeldy. Son’s John and Gavin are both heavily involved. John has been turning full-time since 1883 and does all the ivory turning. Duncan was more focused on turning wood. In the images below you will see a variety of profiles and details. It must be remembered that this was a time prior to hydraulic tracers or CNC. Each bagpipe was just a bit unique. Some of this may have been dictated by the paying customer, some by the size of the materials on hand, and some by the turner, either purposely or through accident.
The magic of MacDougall drones is within the various bores and tuning chambers. I believe that the wood also played a special role, although you can find excellent MacDougall drones that are lined with brass. Duncan avoided African Blackwood, saying that it wasn’t suitable for his instrument. I also believe that some MacDougall drones are superior to others, although I am not aware of any scientific studies or evaluations in this regard.
