nicktheplumber
In reply to message posted by thunderchild:
One thing that I’m not sure about is what a cauking iron is? Is this a heavy duty electric iron? Thanks again for any help.
Caulking irons are beveled chisels that are used to tamp the lead into the hub. There are 2 types, “inside” and “outside.” There is also a “yarning” iron that is a flat edged chisel, that’s used to tamp in the oakum “yarn,” which goes underneath the lead. If you don’t want to pur molten lead, you can use malleable “lead wool.” It’s expensive, hard-to-find, but works pretty good.
BTW, I haven’t bothered to pour lead for almost twenty years, though I still have my old lead pot and furnace and some other nifty antique gadgets that let you do horizontal joints. The fact is that with compression fittings you can make just about every joint in drainpipe, including retrofits to bell-and-spigot without having to resort to oakum and lead connections.
