lead pipes -aaaargh

[e/bourneplumber]

what is the easiest way to shave a lead pipe? today i had to renew a basin with lead hot and cold, and a lead waste. after draining a 40 gallon tank which only fed this whb, everything else on the main (basin in a bedroom). found that 6lb lead lock too big, 5lb lead lock too small, so spent over an hour shaving down the lead h+c tails with a stanley knife only to find that the waste needed shaving down as well. is there a tool or trick to that trims back the lead quickly and leaves the sides nice and smooth?

 

[ecowarm]

Shave hook, any good plumber should have one

 

[Guest123]

Agree with Ecowarm, a shavehook. A combination type is best as it has different edges. Any good decorating store will have one. A rasp is another good tool, especially for quickly getting paint off and a wire brush for general cleaning.

 

[stevetheplumber]

what is the easiest way to shave a lead pipe? today i had to renew a basin with lead hot and cold, and a lead waste. after draining a 40 gallon tank which only fed this whb, everything else on the main (basin in a bedroom). found that 6lb lead lock too big, 5lb lead lock too small, so spent over an hour shaving down the lead h+c tails with a stanley knife only to find that the waste needed shaving down as well. is there a tool or trick to that trims back the lead quickly and leaves the sides nice and smooth?

if it took you an hour to shave to bits of lead service id get a new blade un that stanley

 

[e/bourneplumber]

ive been thinking of investing in a new blade lol. the pipes were swept up from under the floor and tight to the wall, i didnt want to bend them out too much, and yer stanley was a bit on the blunt side

 

[glenno1]

I agree with a decorators shave hook they are ideal

 

[Bernie2]

Just a tip from an old lead pipe worker. Go careful how you move the pipes they have a habit of bursting further along the line if they are old. You might think because the lead is a bit flexible its okay often they aren't. Also they can go rigid and crack. So move them the least you can.

 

[WaterTight]

Or stay well away - my preferred option. Best left to those experienced with working with it.

 

[quality]

Talking of lead pipes I cut into a live one this morning. All three taps of at the front of the property no cold out of any tap. Obviously I got wet. I quickly nipped the end and froze it to get the job done. It turned that this 1800 property used to be one big place that had been split up over the years and had originally been feed from the rear which is the one I gut into.
At least there was plenty of tea to be drunk whilst I dried out

 

[e/bourneplumber]

i do try and stay away, in the 25 years ive been doing this, ive always tried to stay away! some times you just got to roll up your sleeves and un sheath the old blunt stanley! im looking forward to my next one tho - shiny new shave hook in the back of the van!

 

[secret squirrel]

i do try and stay away, in the 25 years ive been doing this, ive always tried to stay away! some times you just got to roll up your sleeves and un sheath the old blunt stanley! im looking forward to my next one tho - shiny new shave hook in the back of the van!

shiny new shave hook that'll never ever get used, by the time you need it next you will never find it or a year or two after never using it you'll throw it out into the back of the garage....

''where is my blunt stanley again''

 

[e/bourneplumber]

probably right there mate, or if i do find it, it will be covered in dried cement from knocking up!

 

[ecowarm]

See below a shave hook is a plumbers tool, not a decorators



shave hook [′shāv ‚hu̇k](design engineering)A plumber's or metalworker's tool composed of a sharp-edged steel plate on a shank; used for scraping metal.

+​

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shave hook
A scraping tool used to clean, shave, or cut lead pipe, prior to soldering.



​

 

[Bernie2]

You can still use lead waste pipe. Good old days of Bobbins, shave hooks, D type solder, bent bolts, tampins, bloc black, augers if you had one, screw driver if not, clamps, tallow, wiping clothes, petrol lamps and springs (same as for copper springs but the coils are round on the outside instead of flat like copper springs.) Mallets, lead knife, setting in sticks, bossing sticks, flat dressers, bending sticks, dummies, step turns, chase wedges and lots more.

It was hard go. The stuff came in 10' x 12' sheets like rolls of carpet and the scaffold bar would bend as you carried it. Yes sir you had a fair chance of a a hernia or two after a few of them. They weighed it by the square foot. So 4lb lead would be its weight per square foot, they then changed it to call it code 4, same stuff different name. Thankfully I seemed to get less and less of these jobs as time went on and more lead burning than bossing. But this was only one small part of Plumbing then unless you worked for a company that specialised in lead work.

 

[M.Joshi]

I always thought those shave hooks were for paint stripping with a hot air gun! They seem to be sold as a decorators tool by Harris.

Also, do plumbers now wear PPE when working with lead?

 

[secret squirrel]

I always thought those shave hooks were for paint stripping with a hot air gun! They seem to be sold as a decorators tool by Harris.

Also, do plumbers now wear PPE when working with lead?

:94::29:Of Course, every time I work with anything a bit iffy I tend to put a risk assessment together, including how to contact the emergency services and a list of local hospitals,.

I've got barrier cream somewhere, its probably next to the KY which I have on the odd occasion got mixed up with tallow.......

 

[Bernie2]

Ha! Ha! Supposed to but I doubt they do? Anyway lead poisoning makes you eventually go mad so you probably would not notice if you where wearing PPE or not. In all seriousness though, it needs careful handling and washing of hands when using,

 

[e/bourneplumber]

i think you've forgotten more than some new to the business will ever know. i was working with an old boy who was telling me about making up lead soil pipes for public toilet stalls with anti siphon pipes on a bench before they were loaded on to a lorry and taken to site to be fitted. all to exact measurements and if they got anything wrong it was a kick up the proverbials!
i did a bit of lead burning and dressing 20 years ago and thought i was quite good, but when i found i needed to do some flashings on my house recently, i got my mate round to do it cos he had worked on the roof of the cafe royale, had all the tools, and was a lot quicker than i would ever have been. i made him a nice cup of tea and a biscuit, job done in a couple of hours. would have taken me all day.