Lost skills?

[TheWeekendGuys]

Does anybody still bend s/w pipe these days?

I was quite impressed when I saw this on a job, Ive not been shown how to do it but it could come in handy now and then.
Most plumbing colleges have stopped teaching lead work for some years now, what other skills are we losing?

 

[ShaunCorbs]

led welding
led flashings
flue/drain pipe flashing
anything to do with lead
how to use a bender
how to solder
how to clip pipes

 

[Rickster123]

You can't beat the old high level cistern. One flush and it's gone!

We're losing the skill of cutting out balanced flue holes with a hammer and chisel. Not sure if that's a bad thing.

 

[Ray Stafford]

Does anybody still bend s/w pipe these days?

I was quite impressed when I saw this on a job, Ive not been shown how to do it but it could come in handy now and then.
Most plumbing colleges have stopped teaching lead work for some years now, what other skills are we losing?

Thats sold in kit form - its called a 3 piece sidewall flushpipe. Still available now.

 

[turnpin]

You buy them like that now pre formed 3 piece flush pipe ...used to be done in lead for high level cisterns had one in the house I grew up in with a cast iron well bottom cistern....was a while ago ..lol regards Turnpin

 

[hammers4spanner]

You can't beat the old high level cistern. One flush and it's gone!

We're losing the skill of cutting out balanced flue holes with a hammer and chisel. Not sure if that's a bad thing.

They aint a bad price either

 

[Rickster123]

Thats sold in kit form - its called a 3 piece sidewall flushpipe. Still available now.

Thanks for ruining the magic ray!

 

[Ray Stafford]

We sold exactly 4 in the last year!

Buzzin' !

 

[Chalked]

We sold exactly 4 in the last year!

Buzzin' !

Flying off the shelves!

We used to make them from 35mm copper. Then send them away for chrome plating.

 

[plumben]

i bend s/w pipe
when its overflow pipe

 

[stevetheplumber]

i hated making lead flush pipes

 

[Dan-HybridHeat]

They stopped lead work the year after I did it in college, not touched the stuff since apart from the pre-made flue slates

 

[TheWeekendGuys]

The pipe in the picture has definitely been done on site, the bends are good but slightly crumpled. Would they have fillled it with sand and heated it?

 

[TheWeekendGuys]

They stopped lead work the year after I did it in college, not touched the stuff since apart from the pre-made flue slates

Same here, It was one of my favourite modules.

 

[Dan-HybridHeat]

Same here, It was one of my favourite modules.

The most stressful

 

[TheWeekendGuys]

The most stressful

Yeah some people hated it, lead was the very last module on our two year course. One guy quit the course, he couldn't get past the first welding exercise.

 

[leethegasman]

Some times it's nice to bring the old stuff back to life. every other plumber just wonted to replace this one with plastic but the customer wonted to try and keep some of the original features. so they where happy when I said I could do this for them.

 

[Millsy 82]

I hated lead work at college. I could do the flashings etc it was just the welding I struggled with. I almost had my lead slate perfect and lost concentration for a split second and pop. In the end I pinched a mates slate and passed it off as my own lol.

Only ever done lead work once since college and I think I had to do it as the old boy couldn't carry it or bend over anymore. Apparently he used to do loads and was awesome.

 

[Millsy 82]

We're losing the skill of cutting out balanced flue holes with a hammer and chisel. Not sure if that's a bad thing.

Definitely not a bad thing! I'm still surprised that my left hand isn't seriously deformed from my apprenticeship.

 

[1Steven]

It was about thirty years ago that I wiped my last lead joint.

 

[Riley]

Copper work in general. I've not been in the trade for donkeys years but I like to see things done properly A nice offset or a decent clipped straight pipe is like plumber **** to me

 

[rpm]

Copper work in general. I've not been in the trade for donkeys years but I like to see things done properly A nice offset or a decent clipped straight pipe is like plumber **** to me

Mate you really need to find yourself a good women and get out more! lol

 

[Riley]

Noted. And you are 100% right

 

[quality]

Copper work in general. I've not been in the trade for donkeys years but I like to see things done properly A nice offset or a decent clipped straight pipe is like plumber **** to me

I get told off for that when out with the family but that's life

 

[zzzjim]

Not missing my child hood skill , stood on toilet rim , lifting steel lid , and jiggling float valve to get it to fall again to refill .
Can definitely verify gunky messy state they got in .
There's nothing flimsy about the OLD Bell flush !

 

[stani]

B

Some times it's nice to bring the old stuff back to life. every other plumber just wonted to replace this one with plastic but the customer wonted to try and keep some of the original features. so they where happy when I said I could do this for them.

Lee, classy looking job mate.
What did you spray the inside with?

 

[rocketmanbkk]

All they tried to teach us was h&s

It was overkill

 

[leethegasman]

B


Lee, classy looking job mate.
What did you spray the inside with?

Hammeright smooth metal paint then just did the lettering by hand in black tried to not over do the lettering so it was not to in your face.

 

[plumben]

i never did any lead work in college, ive dabbled in lead flashing but only when working with someone who knows what there doing,

i hate lead pipe work though, if i come to a job with lead its not a good day for me

 

[stani]

I hated bending steel pipe with sand

 

[Billy Bob Bob]

i did lead welding,was fun,dont do much now though,very seldom

 

[ShaunCorbs]

I hated bending steel pipe with sand

better than bending with lamp post tho

 

[newcastle phill]

Never do lead work. About as useful learning that as it was learning matrices in maths at school

 

[spanner]

Lead has gone discontinued. Now they just make plastic looking chimneys on new builds with roof angles and the good old slated roofs I think it's tin now in place for sheet lead weathering.

 

[afgew]

I also hated lead work at college!

 

[spanner]

I quite enjoyed the leadwork although it was being discontinued in the times of 6129 plumbing.

 

[Ray Stafford]

We still sell shed loads of lead. There are still some proper leadworkers about.

 

[Unregistered]

Don't see nothing wrong with using the conventional leadwork. It won't surprise me if it'll be back. Has some very good properties and I think most definitely a lost skill. But just don't forget to wash the hands before eating smoking and the wearing of proper PPE gloves

 

[spanner]

Don't see nothing wrong with using the conventional leadwork. It won't surprise me if it'll be back. Has some very good properties and I think most definitely a lost skill. But just don't forget to wash the hands before eating smoking and the wearing of proper PPE gloves

As above

 

[12poi]

Anyone else had to learn using Bobbins for thin wall lead waste and soil pipe bending - up to 4"?

Accessible lead flashings are nowadays obviously gone - but high lead flashings on stacks etc is still the way to do it.
Lead burning is still a useful skill.
So is lead bossing. Instructor "You have 120 mins to boss that Code 5 16" x 16" piece of lead into a hopper head. Do not use a wedge chase or a mallet or hammer, only use the bossing & dressing sticks. The bossed lead must be of an even thickness all round."

Lead wiping and rolling are well gone, but silver/hard soldering and cup brazing are still around for specialty uses.

We were also taught to safely use Oxy-Acety for lead burning and steel cutting and basic gas welding for frames etc.
And, surprisingly enough, we had to weld sheet copper for a back gutter.

 

[spanner]

Talking of lead. What is the method of measuring diameter of lead pipe with the bit of string to give the LB size equivalent . ??
If I remember you wrap around twice with piece of string and that's all I remember!!

 

[buckley plumb]

You can't beat the old high level cistern. One flush and it's gone!

We're losing the skill of cutting out balanced flue holes with a hammer and chisel. Not sure if that's a bad thing.

i bet you still use bits of wood instead of raw plugs lol

 

[spanner]

i bet you still use bits of wood instead of raw plugs lol

Lolz no I prefer the spit plug.. ;0D

 

[stevetheplumber]

i did lots of lead as an apprentice we had a massive roof to do along picadilly which had bossed four way roll caps there was only one old plumber who could do them perfect so we kept moving the ones he had dome and covered the rest wih sheets or rolls of lead when ever the clerk of the works came up for an inspection
my first morning as an apprentice was watching the plumber wiping in a new lead bend into a stack he said then it was a waste of time me watching and he was right never ever saw another

 

[stevetheplumber]

I hated bending steel pipe with sand

inch and a half copper with a spring was bad enough

 

[Ric2013]

And now college tells us guttering isn't really a plumber's job either. My reply was that that would explain a lot of the guttering you see, especially the ones where there is an uphill bit before the outlet.

Still, some textbooks (Treloar) suggest using Plumber's Mait to joint cast iron gutters - what!? And City and Guilds textbook suggests using linseed oil putty, and no mention of putting any under the roofing bolt head itself. Sad.

 

[stevetheplumber]

you dont need anything under the bolt head with putty

 

[stevetheplumber]

we had to do a back gutter in four matierials copper lead aluminum and nuralite that was a fecker burnt fingers and the black tar took ages to get of your fingers probably full of asbestos as well

 

[stani]

I'm glad lead has now become a specialist trade, some of the quality is excellent, I'm glad also that gutters and glazing is now not a plumbing remit, can't think of any other parts that were "plumbers jobs" that should go as well.

 

[Ric2013]

I'm glad also that gutters and glazing is now not a plumbing remit, can't think of any other parts that were "plumbers jobs" that should go as well.

What's wrong with a plumber doing gutters, or do you just not like doing them?

Ric