Did last month’s Question of the Month just “bowl you over” with curiosity? So just what did plumber’s use a bowling pin for? Well, I’ll give you three guesses: (1) to defend themselves against customers’ little dogs that supposedly didn’t bite; (2) to practice juggling while waiting for the inspector to arrive; or (3) to be prepared just in case you encounter someone in the alley?
Well, if you guessed none of the above, you’re right. For us “old timers” who did lead work, there were lots of things that were improvised for tools---bills of baseball caps were cut off and used for wiping lead (wiping cloths), for example. To bend lead pipe to make closet bends or offsets in lead runs, we used “hot” sand poured into the lead and a piece of cherry wood (lead dresser) to keep the lead uniform in thickness by hitting the lead with a glancing blow to push it toward the back of the bend.
Before the emergence of plastic pipe and fittings, running lead pipelines through the floor joist was a way of life. All the joints normally ran to the closet (lead) bend and was either joined to other lines (tub and lavatory); then the lead on the closet bend was cut just large enough to insert a one-half inch diameter tool designed to pull the lead out. The opening was just large enough when completed for the lateral line to be inserted. Before this took place, the bowling pin (which happened to have the exact same O.D. as the I.D. of the 4” lead pipe) was inserted and the lead bend was sized evenly to the bend. The pin was left in the closet bend and the lateral line inserted in the prepared hole in the side of the bend. The bowling pin also stopped the lateral from going too far. After the joint was wiped, the pin was removed and the end of the lateral line was flared out to prevent foreign objects from hanging up on the end of the branch line.
This was just one of the many tricks of the trade that plumbers used way back when. The “responsible plumber” on the job or in the shop taught these skills. We have come a long way over the years, and in reality, our greatest advancements have come about in the last forty years.
ABS and PVC pipe and fittings were trailblazers, and since then the list goes on and on. Some of it is good and, of course, some is not so good. Who would have imagined thirty or forty years ago that we would be relining sewer lines and water line with epoxy coatings How about the use of cameras as leak detection equipment? And let’s not forget the line detection equipment. To tell you the truth, these processes have been around for many years.
When and how did this technology wind up in the plumbing industry? That’s simple. The oil industry has used all of these techniques for many years to locate, observe, examine and repair their lines. Someone saw a need in the plumbing industry and introduced these techniques. We as an industry have embraced this technology and have carried it to the next level. Perhaps you have an innovative idea that could help the industry. Pursue it and possibly you will have helped to take another step in our advancement. Perhaps you may even “strike” it rich.
Question of the Month: How does a “water level” work on grade and bench mark?
From the corner,