Something attached to a ground clamp

[Larry Schramm]

I got this piece in a bunch of parts and I have no idea what it is.  It is about 18 inches long plus the chain and clamp.

 

Can someone identify?  Thanks.

[Dave Mellor NJ]

It's for caulking and leading cast iron pipe. On vertical runs you just pour hot lead into the joint which has the oakum in the bottom of the hub or bell end . On horizontal runs you wrap this around next to the hub and pinch the ends together with the attached clamp. then you pour the lead into the opening near the pinch. I'm sure I've lost you by now but if you have an older house just go into your basement and look at the cast iron drain pipes running horizontally and try to figure how they got the lead in there

[bob staehle]

Dave can type faster than me. Be carefully it could be asbestos. Bob

[Studemax]

47 minutes ago, bob staehle said:

Be carefully it could be asbestos.

So what? It's not poison. It's not shedding fibers into the air. Get a grip.

[drwatson]

It's called a "joint runner" as Dave M. explained, a tool Plumbers are familiar with.

[sagefinds]

Well said Dave.We called it a "running rope" when I was an apprentice plumber nearly fifty years ago.

[30DodgePanel]

1 hour ago, sagefinds said:

Well said Dave.We called it a "running rope" when I was an apprentice plumber nearly fifty years ago.

 

I would imagine there were some (hhhm hhmmmm) running jokes about it over the years... ?

S*(% straw would be one of my guesses ...

 

Amazing what you find out there in parts lots

 

[JFranklin]

17 hours ago, Studemax said:

So what? It's not poison. It's not shedding fibers into the air. Get a grip.

Just give it to the kids to play with it couldn't hurt them.

[Larry Schramm]

If anyone wants it needs it, I will send it for the price of postage.

 

Thanks for the lesson.

Edited November 16, 2020 by Larry Schramm (see edit history)

[sagefinds]

I'm going to expound on this a bit in case some of the youngsters viewing it are losing sleep trying to figure out what we're talking about. In the picture below is a soil pipe tee which I sawed out of the stack in my storage bldg to lower a sink drain. If it's a vertical run you just do like Dave says and fill the joint with lead. On a horizontal run,like Dave says,you have to use the rope. In the picture is some of the oakum or jute packing. The two irons on the left are yarning irons to loosely pack in the oakum. Next is a combination yarning and outside corking iron. The next iron is the packing iron to pack the oakum tight. It helps if you stick it in the molten lead for a couple seconds before hammering it. The next five are different styles and brands of corking irons. After the joint is poured you pound the outside corking iron around the outside of the lead,then an inside iron around the inside of the lead. They are slightly pointed,inside or outside. They are also good to pound out a bearing race or bushing. The last iron on the right,well,it's the one you use for everything in a joint next to the ceiling. I thought I still had a rope but don't see it anywhere. When you use one you want to make sure it's tapped good and solid against the joint and a piece of oakum or plumbers putty is put at the top to seal where the ends come together. Molten lead has the consistancy of thin syrup and if there is a leak it will run out and splatter on any finished wall in the home or office you're making a repair in. Last note,other shops and locations may have different names for these tools but they all do the same thing.

[sagefinds]

P.S. Dave,AKA 30DodgePanel,don't be starting any trouble now. It may be S*(% to some people but it was my bread and butter.

[Dave Mellor NJ]

It should be "Caulking Irons", not Corking Irons

[sagefinds]

I rest my case.

[Larry Schramm]

On 11/30/2020 at 10:20 PM, sagefinds said:

I'm going to expound on this a bit in case some of the youngsters viewing it are losing sleep trying to figure out what we're talking about. In the picture below is a soil pipe tee which I sawed out of the stack in my storage bldg to lower a sink drain. If it's a vertical run you just do like Dave says and fill the joint with lead. On a horizontal run,like Dave says,you have to use the rope. In the picture is some of the oakum or jute packing. The two irons on the left are yarning irons to loosely pack in the oakum. Next is a combination yarning and outside corking iron. The next iron is the packing iron to pack the oakum tight. It helps if you stick it in the molten lead for a couple seconds before hammering it. The next five are different styles and brands of corking irons. After the joint is poured you pound the outside corking iron around the outside of the lead,then an inside iron around the inside of the lead. They are slightly pointed,inside or outside. They are also good to pound out a bearing race or bushing. The last iron on the right,well,it's the one you use for everything in a joint next to the ceiling. I thought I still had a rope but don't see it anywhere. When you use one you want to make sure it's tapped good and solid against the joint and a piece of oakum or plumbers putty is put at the top to seal where the ends come together. Molten lead has the consistancy of thin syrup and if there is a leak it will run out and splatter on any finished wall in the home or office you're making a repair in. Last note,other shops and locations may have different names for these tools but they all do the same thing.

 

Nice write up.