My Dad was a plumber in NYC in the 60s. Once did the molten lead and Oakum thing... there was still a little water in the pipes and molten lead splashed out onto his face and into his eyes. He and my Mom spent a tense 2 weeks while he was in bandages hoping he wouldn't lose his eyesight. Thankfully, he made a full recovery. Later moved to Florida and did tons of rough plumbing on new construction... with all of the waste piping in PVC.....he didn't miss lead and oakum a bit.
I worked in NYC for about 4 years and to this day still doing lead and oakum for underground in schools and city contracts. Most people don't realize how dangerous it is. Lead is so reactive I've had a lead pot blow up cause the pig was too cold. I had left the city as well and I don't miss it a bit either!
When there is water in a joint, fill the runnered joint with motor oil and then pour the lead into the joint, there will be a lot of smoke and smell, but no blowback. Learned this when I was working with an old plumber at a DuPont plant when we were leading a joint with water flowing through it.
@@sa-amirel-hayeed699 pretty sure the eye protection beck then was absolute crap that made the job harder and most guys probably didn't see the benefit.
Hello Roger, Thank you for making this great video. Just a few observations from an old NYC Master Plumber. 1. When you separate the oakum strands, wrap them so that where the overlap is, you start the next one right after so to avoid any uneven packing. 2. NEVER use a joint runner that has not previously been soaked in oil so the molten lead won't stick to it or burn it up. 3, Tap the runner tight against the hub with a hammer all around the pipe and pour INTO the joint with a full ladle. 4. NEVER pour a joint in stages. 1 pour per joint period. 5. Caulking irons are different from packing irons. They are smaller and only used for "trimming" the finished joint, which should be peaked in the center all around. 6. Lead depth is minimum 1" ONE POUR!! Thanks for demonstrating just some of the ways plumbers practiced their trade back in the day. When we were craftsmen. Crack open that joint and show how it looks finished internally. Now show people how to cut that pipe using a hammer and chisel, like we did back then. And, how to "wipe" a joint. Thank you again. Tony
Anytime i struggle in the field, i always remember how grateful I am to have propress, abs drains, pvc drains, pex and all that stuff that makes a job 10000x easier. If we still used lead and oakum today, I probably would be an electrician. I am so excited to see what future technology will makes its way into plumbing 30 years from now when im 50
Always have your ladle in your lead when melting. Ladles being cast-iron have lots of crevices that water can collect in. Putting a wet ladle in molten lead can lead to a trip to the burn unit. Ladles were often left in the lead pot as it cooled giving the lead a handle.
Leaving the ladle in the pot will cause the ladle to get hot, really hot. Pick it up with a bare hand and you will lose some skin when the blisters burst.
Dad was a master plumber as was his father, I remember working with him and him telling me that when he started that's how it was done. That guy was an artist. I miss ya ole man
I remember back In 2000 while I was beginning we used to use this method often as we worked in a historic area. We were required to keep all plumbing natural to the time period. This was a great blast from the past, thanks for the great videos.
I was following my dad at the age of about 12 or 14 and was pouring lead joints by the time I was 15, both vertical and horizontal joints. Now 65 years later I still have all the tools needed to melt, caulk, and pour those lead loints and would love to see all that equipment be bought by someone that might still put it all to good use, and yes some commercial jobs still use leaded joints though No-Hub has taken over much of the soil pipe landscape today. I have all of the horizontal lead runners, ladels, and caulking tools including the curved ones that allow you to caulk behind the pipe, along with all of the ladels and propane melting pot and burner. Purchased today, some of those caulking tools sell for $60.00 each. Lord was that XH cast iron heavy when you had to make up an assembly and then drag it under a building and lift it in place. The way that we used to tell if the lead was hot enough in the melting pot was to test it by inserting a small piece of pine into the lead. If the lead scorched the pine it meant the lead was hot enough. I'd sure love to see someone buy those tools soon because at my age they won't be around much longer. Great video.
My grandfather was a pipefitter for more than 35 years. I inherited all of his tools including these tools. I had no idea what they were for until I saw them being used on an episode of This Old House. This video went more into depth on their use. I work at the same company as my grandfather and look at some of the hubbed pipes and wonder if he installed them. Thank you for a great video
@@the_inquisitive_inquisitor I'm actually contemplating giving them to a friend of one of my son's who is a plumber. I know he would appreciate them and possibly put them to use. Hate to see tools not being used. I have hundreds of my grandfather's tools, so I wouldn't miss these few.
I'm in a similar position my grandfather was a plumber and ran a plumbing store from this era so there's an entire store's worth of tools, lead bars, pipes and other stuff in the garage.
As a Freshman in 1971 I had 2 weeks of Exploratory Training in all the Trades. We were taught how to connect cast iron soil pipe with lead and oakum. There were 3 lead pots always hot and we were warned not to spit in them. There were so many Houses built around the 1900's that it was normal to have cast iron pipe and lead joints. The house I owned in the '80's, built in 1950 had cast iron pipe and I once made a repair with Oakum rope and molten lead. I'm glad I learned the technique!
Great video. Oakum strand is a material/concept that has stood the test of time. I am a structural engineer who uses it to plug annular gaps around pipes through foundation and pool concrete walls/slabs. You soak the oakum in pre-catylized polyurethane resin, and it holds on to the resin while it cures and expands to seal. Not very different from this pipe joint is done, as neither the liquid lead or polyurethane resin will stay in the joint without the oakum.
Nice one, my dad is 95, started apprenticeship in 47, he taught us how to do it a bunch of years ago, and glad he did. 45 yrs myself in trade and started early enough to see a lot of this stuff. Nice one.
I remember when I was a boy back in the 1950’s watching my dad do that. Later, in the 1960’s, when I was in trade school they were still teaching the plumbing apprentices how to make up lead and oakum joints. So glad I was an apprentice electrician. 😊
A similar thing i've done not as a plumber but in the shipyard i work in. The commercial fishing vessels have lead bearing for their prop shafts which we melt out and pack and pour similar to this!
Man.. does this bring back memories! My dad ended his working career as the planning and zoning administrator for my home town, but started off as a pipe fitter and plumber, and worked his way up through the city water department. He was also a mason and when the local lodge got land and enough money to construct their own building, he was asked to do the plumbing. I was less then 10 years old, but I got to go to the site with him several times and got to see him sweat copper and do this type of packing for the sewer pipes. I never saw a horizontal one though. I have one of his smaller ladles hanging in my garage today!
Ahhh Good ol' Lead and Oakum. Started Plumbing in 2009. I was on lead and Oakum jobs as an apprentice. Heavy duty work. Unique work especially water testing with a 10foot head of pressure. Gotta love NYC.
I remember going to work with my Grandpa in the 60's, Olson &Barnes plumbing was his company name. He got the contract to connect the home's in Raytown, Mo. to city sewer. Lots of Oakum and lead was used. I learned a lot from him. And the breakfasts and lunches at the Copper Kettle were great. I sure miss him and my uncle.
in the 60s in UK we called the rope "gaskin and we used it on underground cast iron drainage with molten lead when the joint had cooled we tightened the joint with a caulking iron which was shaped like a chisel but offset so the joint could be tightened down .we also did external soil stacks in cast iron but we generally used lead wool in the joint which was put in cold and consolidated with caulking iron this was safer than using molten lead
This is possibly the BEST video on the channel! But that's only my opinion. This is up there with hand scraping metal mating surfaces on engines, silver soldering parts like push rod ends, lead loading body panels, wood working with manual tools. Did I mention I hate plastic? It might cut the mustard in the plumbing world, but us mechanic peeps are sick of it. Heat cycled plastic will become brittle and disintegrate on an engine when it comes time to service it.
I am an old school plumber. I just turned 74 and started in the trade in 1976. My dad started in the trade at age 21 when he came home from WWII. He did his last plumbing job for a neighbor at age 91. 70 years as a master plumber, 47 for me to date. 117 years combined. By the time I got into the trade it was No-Hub, ABS, PVC, and eventually PEX and flexible gas pipe. However, my dad taught me the old tech so that when I would run into old bell-and-spigot cast-iron and Durham I'd be able to either repair it or interface it with new tech. I no longer have my lead pot and array of irons but I know how to use them. BTW, do you know what was so unique about tapped Durham fittings? I do but I leave it to you to tell. It's a test for an "old school" plumber.
A few years ago I replaced an old cast iron drain system from under an old house that I inherited, the pipes were rotten. It was an old lead and oakum style, I replaced it all beneath the house with PVC and I thought that was difficult! Thanks for showing me how the old master plumbers did it back in the day!
I'm a plumber in Chicago we're doing a high-rise right now all lead and oakum joints we usually use white oakum but there is a shortage. So we're using the brown oakum wich is worse. Doesn't hold the pipe or fittings that good in place before you pour the lead. Also way more stickier makes which leaves your irons nasty.
In 1979 packing and poring a lead joint was part of the test in Oklahoma for your plumbing license. They had a 2 part CI hub and your lead had to be within and 1/8 inch of the 1" inch bead and your oakum was also measured. I still have my lead joint tools. Thanks for showing the way it used to be. I feel they have taken away some of the craftsmanship out of the plumbing trade. After you passed the test which included the shop portion of copper 45 offset and black pipe offset. You were a plumber, today I don't know. Thanks for this brought back a bunch of memories!
In canada at least its all written exams now. The plumbers are set up very similar to us electricians. Get enough hours working then take your red seal exam and you're good to go. Makes for a lot of book-smart but real-world-stupid people in the trades lol
I think in Austria it was some kind of cement-like material. Today's plumbers definitely use quick-setting cement when connecting plastic pipe to old cast iron, even oldschool ones like my uncle.
In England done this work on soil and drainage ( thicker pipe wall) into the late eighties then health and safety took over and we used mechanical joints only, what you call oakhum we called yarn and the furnace to melt the Lead was nick named the "roarer", these days on commerical build it is nearly all plastic fusion joints or melted butt joints on a high density black plastic pipe looks a sight but holds up well on test, a few years back i drained down some old plumbing that was done in the late sixties and had been closed up from use for a long time, all cast iron drains, stacks vents and floats and other perfectly done work, all in metal, the trade has changed in my time, like it did for the guy who taught me he started in 1933, Lead roofing, Lead pipework and cast iron for him when he started.
When I did this for a living up to 15” , the Irons actually needed: yarning iron, packing iron, inside and outside caulking irons and wide sharp flat chisel.
Started plumbing in the late 70s, still doing it, its an honorable profession, when doing a single lead joint Like a closet flange, no need to get the pot out, just melt the lead in the ladle with your torch. Been awhile since I seen the stuff but will never give up my lead caulking tools, ladle, pot ,caulking irons, they will probably be in my estate sale one day, lol
Really appreciate these types of videos when you do them. Showing how things used to be done, and how to do it. That mixed with sharing new technology in the plumbing industry has been really fun. Keep up the great work.
My father was an electrician and also did general building work, as he built his own home in 1948. We had a white gas fired lead smelter that I saw him use several times. Always wondered why he didn't clean out the pot when he was done-he said the lead he left there was ready to melt the next time. Also remember those "crazy bent chisels" as I called them- I forgot they were the irons for packing the oakum in the joint. Thanks for the reminder of how they used to do it when labor was abundant and cheaper, and people weren't afraid to work for a living! "Do it right, make it look good, and take pride in your work." Words to live by-wish more people did!
People in the 1940s - 1980s could run water lines with pressure rated ABS pipe, some ABS pipe in the early 1950s was threaded like galvanized and could be used on water lines and drains. Plastic pipe in Wisconsin started becoming popular in the 1960s.
Great video! I appreciate you showing everybody. This takes me back to 2010 in Nashville. Tennessee went in 2010. The city was flooded and there were some historical buildings downtown that we had to remodel and it was under strict historical code so we had to go back with the original DWV and so they sent us to school to learn how to do leading yoakam and let me tell you we got it made today compared to what they had it but I did learn how to do it anyway. I don't know if I could do it now real well because it's been several years but pretty cool video
Molten lead creates an inhalation hazard. Keep that in mind when using it. If your company uses lead, make sure that you're getting medical screening. The old plumbers learned these lessons for us the hard way, honor them by protecting yourself and your families.
My house in Poland had lead soldered plumbing all the way! (Built around 1902). It always took ages to find a plumber who could repair this. It also still features electrical installation in cotton insulation, RCD (GFCI) can't be used because the leakage current to walls is so big that it trips instantly. (Can't change this, city property).
I worked for a subcontractor of a water company tasked with replacing lead jointed cast iron piping. 100 years old and no leaks. I was gifted all the lead as I reload my own ammunition. That one summer netted me gobs of the stuff.
Mr Wakefield I appreciate your time and energy as a RMP 38199. Been independent since 07. Really this comment is to compliment your edit skills. Thank you Plumbers Rule the 🌍
Oakum used to be made by breaking down old hemp rope. As a rope works, internal wear breaks down the fibres into shorter and shorter lengths which accumulate in the core of the rope. Eventually the rope would be condemned and replaced. An old sailing ship had literally miles of hemp rope on it which needed constant replacement. The Navy would sell on this rope to people who would break it down and recover the oakum. It was hard, dirty work and was often done in prisons and workhouses as a punishment exercise known as "picking oakum". Oakum was used for all sorts of packing jobs. A major use was to seal the wooden decks of ships, a process known as calking. Oakum was rammed down between the deck planks with a calking iron and the final gap filled with molten pitch or tar.
Retired electrician here, just had to see how they did. My garage, built in 51', has leaded cast iron. By the way, many decades ago, they used lead for electrical connections. They were dipped and then wrapped with friction tape. My house still has some.
@@RogerWakefield The cast iron was bumped into before I bought it. It put a kink in it where there was a joint, I think they sealed it back up. The pipe must have been cracked because there was a wrap around it, can't remember what it was now, but I covered it with rubber tape, which chemically bonds to itself....so it's like one big rubber slab. Otherwise, it's fine. The leaded wire connections are solid, literally. Once they're dipped in lead they'd have to be cut off, there's no separating the twist.
I've poured a couple lead joints. Had to do it for my journeyman exam years ago. Had to do a 45° copper offset too. You had to bust open the tee so the code committee guys could inspect your work. Got a 99% on mine. Your yarning iron should have a mark ingraved on it about a 1/2" to 3/4" from the tip, if i remember correctly. The oakum i used had a whitish color to it. Cut in 42" lengths its perfect for a 4" lead pour. NO DOUBLE POURS
I remember doing lead and oakum joints years ago in school, and having such respect for the tough as nails plumber's that came before us. That being said.. we're so much better off. 😆
And this is really cool, I remember when my dad was teaching me how to solder copper when I was a kid and I asked him if you could solder other medals, and he told me that he used to solder drains together with moulting lead from a ladle, I thought he was pulling my leg.
Thanks for showing my Dad was in that era of cast and copper DWV and never grasped the concept how horizontal pours were done Me I started in mid 80’s of true PVC before the cellcore
@@virtueofabsolution7641 It is rated for it in most US building codes. I personally don't see the point, it's only advantages are that it's cheap and slightly more flexible (but really, why are you needing that much flex in the first place). The disadvantages are numerous. I guess I could see using it for vent pipe. But I would never trust running an auger down cellcore, even the baby 2in cutters would scare me.
My grandfather started taking me on plumbing jobs with him back in 1970 when I was five years old. I was his gopher he would send me down to the van. Tell me what to get and I’d run it back up to them along with a Coors beer.. Always like going to work with my grandfather cause. Every time he had another beer. I got to open it up and drink part of it on the way up into the house to deliver and drop off his parts.. My other favorite part was fire, melting lead for packing pipe, and soldering copper . I had paid off 20 years ago when my house that had led sewer pipes had a leak and a sweep from the toilet had to be replaced . I still have my grandfather’s tools he long passed away. And I still do all my sewer pipes in the old houses with lead.. Even though I never became a plumber myself . I spent about 10 years riding in the van after school or weekends, and working during the summer time with my grandfather.. And because of him, I always do all my own plumbing work, and I have pass it along to my three sons . My grandfathers knowledge lives on and now the fourth generation who made me a grandfather. He is turning five years old this year and it’s time for me to start teaching him.. minus drinking beers. 😂
When I first started my apprenticeship, my job was to crawl back to the waiting plumber while carrying a ladle full of lead in a 24” crawl space ! Man how things have changed.
They used to seal Railroads with Thermite and a mold. So I totally believe sealing pipes with liquid lead. Actually now that I think of it we still seal pipes the same way. Flux and Solder. Surface tension sucks in the solder and you get a seal. Here it's the same idea, but with more lead than we use now lol
I’m a splicer for the phone company for the last 23 years and up until about ten years ago I would have to open lead cases and re close them. I’m on a damage as I speak and now we replace the lead sleeves. Plastic is a useful material
My father shot Black Powder competitions in the North-South Skirmishing Assoc beginning in 1968 and getting lead to for casting bullets was always in high demand. He went up to the a range in the early 70's with a friend to a range in Ohio, and the friend found that a local hotel built in the late 1800's was being torn down. His friend borrowed my dad's truck to run over to the site on Sunday afternoon after the match was over to pick up some lead the demo crew was throwing away. His friend had put about 300 pounds of old lead pipe sections in the back of the slide in camper on dad's truck. It had a window between the cab and camper section that was permanently open and couldn't be closed. It turned out, the lead pipe was from the men's bathroom urinals in the bar that was on the first floor of the hotel, my dad said the entire ride home was horrific with the smell of the crystallized urine in the pipes. They get back to Savanah to drop of my dad's friend and as their unloading the pipes, my dad's friends looks funny at my dad when he won't stop unloading it. They had agreed prior to the friend borrowing the truck, that they would split the lead in half. Well my dad graciously told his friend that he really didn't need any lead at the time and made sure ALL of it went into his friends garage. He said the camper didn't stop stinking for month after that.
One thing that always work well for me, at least I never had it leaked, was that after the oakum which packed in I used lead wool. Looks just like steel wool. Hammer it in with the offset tool and it works just as well as a poured lead joint.
I did lots of lead and oakum joints, mostly on roof drains 30-40 feet up on top of staging with no safety rails or body harness. 2” - 12”, still have all 4 irons in my garage. Last joints I’ve done were with lead wool. I’m off to work on an old crust apartment building with old crusty bell n spigot drainage, have a good safe day.
My father , retired local 1 plumber… taught me how to do this … spent the summer of 1991 working with him at the Staten Island ferry maintenance depot pouring lead with him doing all the underground waste lines ….
Last time I was at a plumbing supply in the states and talking with a counter salesman we happened on to the cast iron drain pipes and how they were sealed with lead. Well at the time he informed me that it was no longer necessary to pour lead into the join over oakum. Instead they had lead wool in packages. You unwind it and place it over the oakum and start hammering down adding more lead wool as you go to fill in the joint with your tools. Back in the late sixties they were using copper drain lines in new construction. The big problem was the drain lines clogged easier than cast iron or pvc and with todays prices of copper, not worth the trouble.
Roger, love the videos. As a local 1 plumber here in NYC where we still do lead and oakum undergrounds in public schools I would love to come and make a video with you on how it is properly done!
This really put things into perspective, your content is a joy to watch, I've never seen this done in my 18 years in the field, now I know what a hassle it must have been. This video will be forever in my mind when I'm struggling with a job saying, "It could be worse"... 🤩👌
I learned this in an "old" plumbing book. Now i thought it was quite fancy. It sure beats PVC if you have digging going on, you wont dig through a cast iron pipe easily. :) Greetings, Jeff
Always a joy to watch your videos. I watched several of your videos when I bought my first house in 2019 and started doing a full renovation. I knew a lot from my dad (who is still around and helped extensively with the remodel), but it was sure nice to use your videos as a reference for certain tasks. I've been a fan ever since. Keep up the good work, sir.
I come from a family of plumbers myself. Father, grandfather,uncle. I also chose the electrical thing. However, the Navy thought I’d make a better boiler technician. 😊
I got a set of those irons years back in a tool box always wondered what they were for then I found out recently what they were for ever since I`ve been wondering how do they do the lead on a horizontal pipe ,your video came up at the same time I wondered how. At least the mystery is solved now. Thanks
I just did one the other day. But I used pro proxy instead of lead. I prefer cast to plastic clamps. But the fittings were hub to hub and I didn't want to change everything out plus the owner wanted to keep it as cheap as possible. Nice job!!
Hundreds or thousands of meters of old iron piping and all the joints done like this. That's gonna take forever. Glad that this has been improved ALOT.
I live in Manchester , England. A lot of the old terraced brick houses still have cast iron soil pipes that were put together using this method. We take them down regularly and replace them with pvc pipe. The top section carried down the ladder on your shoulder is the apprentices job these days.
Lead Run Joints on Cast Iron Pipes; Last time I did this was in 1974 when I started my Apprenticeship. We called it Roping the Joint & used Steel Ropers & hammered it into the joint, the Ropeyarn went round it twice. Packed in tight, we then used an asbestos Running Rope that had a clamp on it, clamped it tightly around the pipe, then poured molten Lead into the joint. Lastly was used Stavers to hammer the lead tightly into the joint. We also repaired Cast Iron Heating Pipes, largely used to heat Greenhouses. The joints on them were Roped with Ropeyarn & finished with Pure Portland Cement. Thanks for sharing & love from Scotland 🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧
set up a laser level for a plumber for top of drain. hung around and watched him coming out of a stub out in the ground (this was floor level stuff) he did the white oakum (I kept saying Dwight Yokum) using molten lead. Never thought to ask why that way and not just a bolted on or glued deal. Looking back it may have had something to do with the stub out pipe schedule cast iron as opposed to pvc stuff.
Oakum feels like oiled rope - because it IS Oiled rope! Of course the rope is picked apart. In England, that's what the Workhouse (famously mentioned by Scrooge in "A Christmas Carol") "inmates" did - pulled apart old ropes to make oakum to to seal up the wooden ships of the Royal Navy. That "Running Rope" is phenomenal! I've seen many old hands use a heat-proof packing to pour Babbitt Bearings on old machines, but Running Rope would be a GREAT and MUCH EASIER alternative. I'm going to recommend it to several other channels - Starting with Kieth Rucker at Vintage Machinery! I bet he'd LOVE IT!
There are still CI gas mains in Manhattan from the 1870s in use, some at high pressure. As long as they don't get disturbed, and especially undermined, they operate just fine with no leaks. Crazy to think that systems installed by civil war vets are still functioning today over 150 years later. Don't knock the oakum
I love smell of oakum. Reminds me of hanging out with my Dad @Bruce Wigle P&H @the Grosse Point ,Mi the 50 s . I'm a second generation plumber. Remember when you cut soil pipe with a chisel & hammer on both service weight and extra heavy ,
As others have said, still done in some places pretty regularly! Now drill a bunch of 1/8" holes in the lead and dig it out with a small slotted screwdriver to make a repair :P
My Dad was a plumber in NYC in the 60s. Once did the molten lead and Oakum thing... there was still a little water in the pipes and molten lead splashed out onto his face and into his eyes. He and my Mom spent a tense 2 weeks while he was in bandages hoping he wouldn't lose his eyesight. Thankfully, he made a full recovery. Later moved to Florida and did tons of rough plumbing on new construction... with all of the waste piping in PVC.....he didn't miss lead and oakum a bit.
I worked in NYC for about 4 years and to this day still doing lead and oakum for underground in schools and city contracts. Most people don't realize how dangerous it is. Lead is so reactive I've had a lead pot blow up cause the pig was too cold. I had left the city as well and I don't miss it a bit either!
This is why you ALWAYS wear eye protection
You don’t know what you are doing, you pour the lead joint in one pouring, NOT TWO POURING.
When there is water in a joint, fill the runnered joint with motor oil and then pour the lead into the joint, there will be a lot of smoke and smell, but no blowback. Learned this when I was working with an old plumber at a DuPont plant when we were leading a joint with water flowing through it.
@@sa-amirel-hayeed699 pretty sure the eye protection beck then was absolute crap that made the job harder and most guys probably didn't see the benefit.
Hello Roger,
Thank you for making this great video. Just a few observations from an old NYC Master Plumber.
1. When you separate the oakum strands, wrap them so that where the overlap is, you start the next one right after so to avoid any uneven packing.
2. NEVER use a joint runner that has not previously been soaked in oil so the molten lead won't stick to it or burn it up.
3, Tap the runner tight against the hub with a hammer all around the pipe and pour INTO the joint with a full ladle.
4. NEVER pour a joint in stages. 1 pour per joint period.
5. Caulking irons are different from packing irons. They are smaller and only used for "trimming" the finished joint, which should be peaked in the center all around.
6. Lead depth is minimum 1" ONE POUR!!
Thanks for demonstrating just some of the ways plumbers practiced their trade back in the day. When we were craftsmen.
Crack open that joint and show how it looks finished internally.
Now show people how to cut that pipe using a hammer and chisel, like we did back then. And, how to "wipe" a joint.
Thank you again.
Tony
Anytime i struggle in the field, i always remember how grateful I am to have propress, abs drains, pvc drains, pex and all that stuff that makes a job 10000x easier. If we still used lead and oakum today, I probably would be an electrician. I am so excited to see what future technology will makes its way into plumbing 30 years from now when im 50
It's all we use in Chicago. It's code to have hub and spigot, lead and oakum joints.
@@Dave7820 wait.. what?
Pro press is Garbage. If someone attempted to use it in my house they would be thrown out on their ear! Do it right or don't do it at all!
@@Dave7820 Did not know that, im halfway through my second year rn, learning in california
@@Dave7820 just the underground? I assume
Always have your ladle in your lead when melting. Ladles being cast-iron have lots of crevices that water can collect in. Putting a wet ladle in molten lead can lead to a trip to the burn unit.
Ladles were often left in the lead pot as it cooled giving the lead a handle.
The things you don't think about until it's too late...
that using the ladle as a handle is a great trick im gonna use that one with casting
Leaving the ladle in the pot will cause the ladle to get hot, really hot. Pick it up with a bare hand and you will lose some skin when the blisters burst.
@@chrisgee5893 Just don't use your bare hands fullstop when dealing with molten anything 😅
Dad was a master plumber as was his father, I remember working with him and him telling me that when he started that's how it was done. That guy was an artist. I miss ya ole man
RIP Pops! thank for Teaching me to WORK and a Job done half assed, IS a Job done "TWICE!"
I remember back In 2000 while I was beginning we used to use this method often as we worked in a historic area. We were required to keep all plumbing natural to the time period. This was a great blast from the past, thanks for the great videos.
I was following my dad at the age of about 12 or 14 and was pouring lead joints by the time I was 15, both vertical and horizontal joints. Now 65 years later I still have all the tools needed to melt, caulk, and pour those lead loints and would love to see all that equipment be bought by someone that might still put it all to good use, and yes some commercial jobs still use leaded joints though No-Hub has taken over much of the soil pipe landscape today. I have all of the horizontal lead runners, ladels, and caulking tools including the curved ones that allow you to caulk behind the pipe, along with all of the ladels and propane melting pot and burner. Purchased today, some of those caulking tools sell for $60.00 each. Lord was that XH cast iron heavy when you had to make up an assembly and then drag it under a building and lift it in place. The way that we used to tell if the lead was hot enough in the melting pot was to test it by inserting a small piece of pine into the lead. If the lead scorched the pine it meant the lead was hot enough. I'd sure love to see someone buy those tools soon because at my age they won't be around much longer. Great video.
let me know if you are interested in selling some of your lead and oakum tools
Please come to local 130 in Chicago show you the correct way to do a hub and spigot connection 🙏
My grandfather was a pipefitter for more than 35 years. I inherited all of his tools including these tools. I had no idea what they were for until I saw them being used on an episode of This Old House. This video went more into depth on their use. I work at the same company as my grandfather and look at some of the hubbed pipes and wonder if he installed them. Thank you for a great video
That's really cool, take good care of those tools!
@@the_inquisitive_inquisitor I'm actually contemplating giving them to a friend of one of my son's who is a plumber. I know he would appreciate them and possibly put them to use. Hate to see tools not being used. I have hundreds of my grandfather's tools, so I wouldn't miss these few.
I'm in a similar position my grandfather was a plumber and ran a plumbing store from this era so there's an entire store's worth of tools, lead bars, pipes and other stuff in the garage.
As a Freshman in 1971 I had 2 weeks of Exploratory Training in all the Trades. We were taught how to connect cast iron soil pipe with lead and oakum. There were 3 lead pots always hot and we were warned not to spit in them. There were so many Houses built around the 1900's that it was normal to have cast iron pipe and lead joints. The house I owned in the '80's, built in 1950 had cast iron pipe and I once made a repair with Oakum rope and molten lead. I'm glad I learned the technique!
In Chicago we still do it on a regular basis, it might be a unpopular opinion but nothing like banging iron
Just saying the same thing -
Great video. Oakum strand is a material/concept that has stood the test of time. I am a structural engineer who uses it to plug annular gaps around pipes through foundation and pool concrete walls/slabs. You soak the oakum in pre-catylized polyurethane resin, and it holds on to the resin while it cures and expands to seal. Not very different from this pipe joint is done, as neither the liquid lead or polyurethane resin will stay in the joint without the oakum.
Nice one, my dad is 95, started apprenticeship in 47, he taught us how to do it a bunch of years ago, and glad he did. 45 yrs myself in trade and started early enough to see a lot of this stuff. Nice one.
I remember when I was a boy back in the 1950’s watching my dad do that. Later, in the 1960’s, when I was in trade school they were still teaching the plumbing apprentices how to make up lead and oakum joints. So glad I was an apprentice electrician. 😊
A similar thing i've done not as a plumber but in the shipyard i work in. The commercial fishing vessels have lead bearing for their prop shafts which we melt out and pack and pour similar to this!
"These are not gold bars..."
Reloaders: "Are you sure about that?"
We still do led joints in Philadelphia as it’s required doing it in the rain sucks
Man.. does this bring back memories! My dad ended his working career as the planning and zoning administrator for my home town, but started off as a pipe fitter and plumber, and worked his way up through the city water department. He was also a mason and when the local lodge got land and enough money to construct their own building, he was asked to do the plumbing. I was less then 10 years old, but I got to go to the site with him several times and got to see him sweat copper and do this type of packing for the sewer pipes. I never saw a horizontal one though. I have one of his smaller ladles hanging in my garage today!
Ahhh Good ol' Lead and Oakum. Started Plumbing in 2009. I was on lead and Oakum jobs as an apprentice. Heavy duty work. Unique work especially water testing with a 10foot head of pressure. Gotta love NYC.
I remember going to work with my Grandpa in the 60's, Olson &Barnes plumbing was his company name. He got the contract to connect the home's in Raytown, Mo. to city sewer. Lots of Oakum and lead was used. I learned a lot from him. And the breakfasts and lunches at the Copper Kettle were great. I sure miss him and my uncle.
in the 60s in UK we called the rope "gaskin and we used it on underground cast iron drainage with molten lead when the joint had cooled we tightened the joint with a caulking iron which was shaped like a chisel but offset so the joint could be tightened down .we also did external soil stacks in cast iron but we generally used lead wool in the joint which was put in cold and consolidated with caulking iron this was safer than using molten lead
This is possibly the BEST video on the channel! But that's only my opinion.
This is up there with hand scraping metal mating surfaces on engines, silver soldering parts like push rod ends, lead loading body panels, wood working with manual tools.
Did I mention I hate plastic? It might cut the mustard in the plumbing world, but us mechanic peeps are sick of it. Heat cycled plastic will become brittle and disintegrate on an engine when it comes time to service it.
My 66 Cadillac will probably still be around when the modern piles of plastic we are calling cars, and me, have been recycled.
I am an old school plumber. I just turned 74 and started in the trade in 1976. My dad started in the trade at age 21 when he came home from WWII. He did his last plumbing job for a neighbor at age 91. 70 years as a master plumber, 47 for me to date. 117 years combined. By the time I got into the trade it was No-Hub, ABS, PVC, and eventually PEX and flexible gas pipe. However, my dad taught me the old tech so that when I would run into old bell-and-spigot cast-iron and Durham I'd be able to either repair it or interface it with new tech. I no longer have my lead pot and array of irons but I know how to use them. BTW, do you know what was so unique about tapped Durham fittings? I do but I leave it to you to tell. It's a test for an "old school" plumber.
A few years ago I replaced an old cast iron drain system from under an old house that I inherited, the pipes were rotten. It was an old lead and oakum style, I replaced it all beneath the house with PVC and I thought that was difficult! Thanks for showing me how the old master plumbers did it back in the day!
I did okum and lead my first year of plumbing back in 2013. Massachusetts still does old school plumbing in commercial aspects
Plumber Steve Lavimoniere still does it old school with lead on his channel.
I'm a plumber in Chicago we're doing a high-rise right now all lead and oakum joints we usually use white oakum but there is a shortage. So we're using the brown oakum wich is worse. Doesn't hold the pipe or fittings that good in place before you pour the lead. Also way more stickier makes which leaves your irons nasty.
Local 130 👍
@@NoName-yr1jvPlumbers LU 130 UA. Third generation here
In 1979 packing and poring a lead joint was part of the test in Oklahoma for your plumbing license. They had a 2 part CI hub and your lead had to be within and 1/8 inch of the 1" inch bead and your oakum was also measured. I still have my lead joint tools. Thanks for showing the way it used to be. I feel they have taken away some of the craftsmanship out of the plumbing trade. After you passed the test which included the shop portion of copper 45 offset and black pipe offset. You were a plumber, today I don't know. Thanks for this brought back a bunch of memories!
In canada at least its all written exams now. The plumbers are set up very similar to us electricians. Get enough hours working then take your red seal exam and you're good to go. Makes for a lot of book-smart but real-world-stupid people in the trades lol
Rather interesting to see how its done. Over here in Europe it was similar, but tar was used instead of lead.
I think in Austria it was some kind of cement-like material. Today's plumbers definitely use quick-setting cement when connecting plastic pipe to old cast iron, even oldschool ones like my uncle.
Lead joints here in Scotland in my house on all the none vertical joints. The vertical waste joints have all been done in cement.
In England done this work on soil and drainage ( thicker pipe wall) into the late eighties then health and safety took over and we used mechanical joints only, what you call oakhum we called yarn and the furnace to melt the Lead was nick named the "roarer", these days on commerical build it is nearly all plastic fusion joints or melted butt joints on a high density black plastic pipe looks a sight but holds up well on test, a few years back i drained down some old plumbing that was done in the late sixties and had been closed up from use for a long time, all cast iron drains, stacks vents and floats and other perfectly done work, all in metal, the trade has changed in my time, like it did for the guy who taught me he started in 1933, Lead roofing, Lead pipework and cast iron for him when he started.
When I did this for a living up to 15” , the Irons actually needed: yarning iron, packing iron, inside and outside caulking irons and wide sharp flat chisel.
My grandfather was an old school plumber. Loved this video, thank you for doing this justice to build respect for what built this country.
Must’ve taken forever back in the day to rough plumb a house pvc or abs is so much easier great video Rodger
Imagine having to make a repair underneath a house like this
Install pvc wasted and vents are faster but not easy I know what's I talking about
@@alejandroc7357 I done many repair in leaking drains very cold winter in Chicago Illinois old building small crawlspace a real nightmare
@@TeslaBoy123 🥶
The editor is too funny glad he’s enjoying himself
Started plumbing in the late 70s, still doing it, its an honorable profession, when doing a single lead joint Like a closet flange, no need to get the pot out, just melt the lead in the ladle with your torch. Been awhile since I seen the stuff but will never give up my lead caulking tools, ladle, pot ,caulking irons, they will probably be in my estate sale one day, lol
City of chicago left the group...
🤣
We still use it in 2023
Once he pulled out the brown oakum I was laughing. Nupak white all day.
Those were the good old days Mr. Wakefield!! Rough waste and vents with lead and oakum were my specialties!!!!
Really appreciate these types of videos when you do them. Showing how things used to be done, and how to do it. That mixed with sharing new technology in the plumbing industry has been really fun. Keep up the great work.
Thanks 👍
My father was an electrician and also did general building work, as he built his own home in 1948. We had a white gas fired lead smelter that I saw him use several times. Always wondered why he didn't clean out the pot when he was done-he said the lead he left there was ready to melt the next time.
Also remember those "crazy bent chisels" as I called them- I forgot they were the irons for packing the oakum in the joint. Thanks for the reminder of how they used to do it when labor was abundant and cheaper, and people weren't afraid to work for a living!
"Do it right, make it look good, and take pride in your work." Words to live by-wish more people did!
People in the 1940s - 1980s could run water lines with pressure rated ABS pipe, some ABS pipe in the early 1950s was threaded like galvanized and could be used on water lines and drains. Plastic pipe in Wisconsin started becoming popular in the 1960s.
Great video! I appreciate you showing everybody. This takes me back to 2010 in Nashville. Tennessee went in 2010. The city was flooded and there were some historical buildings downtown that we had to remodel and it was under strict historical code so we had to go back with the original DWV and so they sent us to school to learn how to do leading yoakam and let me tell you we got it made today compared to what they had it but I did learn how to do it anyway. I don't know if I could do it now real well because it's been several years but pretty cool video
Molten lead creates an inhalation hazard. Keep that in mind when using it. If your company uses lead, make sure that you're getting medical screening. The old plumbers learned these lessons for us the hard way, honor them by protecting yourself and your families.
It was always good in the winter the lead pot always kept you warm
We used clay for a running rope
My house in Poland had lead soldered plumbing all the way! (Built around 1902). It always took ages to find a plumber who could repair this. It also still features electrical installation in cotton insulation, RCD (GFCI) can't be used because the leakage current to walls is so big that it trips instantly. (Can't change this, city property).
Seems like your editing has gotten better very entertaining!
And this old way is very interesting!
Glad to hear that!
My grandfather in the 1950s did all the lead flashing and guttering on roofs as well. That was the plumbers job also back then.
I remember my Dad doing a wiped solder joint on the outside tap for the hosepipe, we had a tin of oakum and plumbers linseed oil putty.
I worked for a subcontractor of a water company tasked with replacing lead jointed cast iron piping. 100 years old and no leaks. I was gifted all the lead as I reload my own ammunition. That one summer netted me gobs of the stuff.
Old school - I attended that school too! Too bad it closed.
Mr Wakefield I appreciate your time and energy as a RMP 38199. Been independent since 07. Really this comment is to compliment your edit skills. Thank you
Plumbers Rule the 🌍
Oakum used to be made by breaking down old hemp rope. As a rope works, internal wear breaks down the fibres into shorter and shorter lengths which accumulate in the core of the rope. Eventually the rope would be condemned and replaced. An old sailing ship had literally miles of hemp rope on it which needed constant replacement.
The Navy would sell on this rope to people who would break it down and recover the oakum. It was hard, dirty work and was often done in prisons and workhouses as a punishment exercise known as "picking oakum". Oakum was used for all sorts of packing jobs. A major use was to seal the wooden decks of ships, a process known as calking. Oakum was rammed down between the deck planks with a calking iron and the final gap filled with molten pitch or tar.
I have no idea why this was recommended for me, but I watched every damned second. That rope gasket is pure genius.
Retired electrician here, just had to see how they did. My garage, built in 51', has leaded cast iron. By the way, many decades ago, they used lead for electrical connections. They were dipped and then wrapped with friction tape. My house still has some.
So cool! Have you had any problems with it?
@@RogerWakefield The cast iron was bumped into before I bought it. It put a kink in it where there was a joint, I think they sealed it back up. The pipe must have been cracked because there was a wrap around it, can't remember what it was now, but I covered it with rubber tape, which chemically bonds to itself....so it's like one big rubber slab. Otherwise, it's fine. The leaded wire connections are solid, literally. Once they're dipped in lead they'd have to be cut off, there's no separating the twist.
I've poured a couple lead joints. Had to do it for my journeyman exam years ago. Had to do a 45° copper offset too. You had to bust open the tee so the code committee guys could inspect your work. Got a 99% on mine. Your yarning iron should have a mark ingraved on it about a 1/2" to 3/4" from the tip, if i remember correctly. The oakum i used had a whitish color to it. Cut in 42" lengths its perfect for a 4" lead pour. NO DOUBLE POURS
I remember doing lead and oakum joints years ago in school, and having such respect for the tough as nails plumber's that came before us.
That being said.. we're so much better off. 😆
And this is really cool, I remember when my dad was teaching me how to solder copper when I was a kid and I asked him if you could solder other medals, and he told me that he used to solder drains together with moulting lead from a ladle, I thought he was pulling my leg.
Thanks for showing my Dad was in that era of cast and copper DWV and never grasped the concept how horizontal pours were done
Me I started in mid 80’s of true PVC before the cellcore
Bro pls tell me you don’t use cellcore on drainpipes.
@@virtueofabsolution7641 It is rated for it in most US building codes. I personally don't see the point, it's only advantages are that it's cheap and slightly more flexible (but really, why are you needing that much flex in the first place). The disadvantages are numerous.
I guess I could see using it for vent pipe. But I would never trust running an auger down cellcore, even the baby 2in cutters would scare me.
My grandfather started taking me on plumbing jobs with him back in 1970 when I was five years old. I was his gopher he would send me down to the van. Tell me what to get and I’d run it back up to them along with a Coors beer..
Always like going to work with my grandfather cause. Every time he had another beer. I got to open it up and drink part of it on the way up into the house to deliver and drop off his parts..
My other favorite part was fire, melting lead for packing pipe, and soldering copper .
I had paid off 20 years ago when my house that had led sewer pipes had a leak and a sweep from the toilet had to be replaced . I still have my grandfather’s tools he long passed away. And I still do all my sewer pipes in the old houses with lead..
Even though I never became a plumber myself . I spent about 10 years riding in the van after school or weekends, and working during the summer time with my grandfather..
And because of him, I always do all my own plumbing work, and I have pass it along to my three sons . My grandfathers knowledge lives on and now the fourth generation who made me a grandfather. He is turning five years old this year and it’s time for me to start teaching him.. minus drinking beers. 😂
When I first started my apprenticeship, my job was to crawl back to the waiting plumber while carrying a ladle full of lead in a 24” crawl space !
Man how things have changed.
I had no idea this is what plumbers used to have to do. Thats pretty cool! Thank you for sharing!
Thanks for watching!
I really enjoyed watching this. I was wondering how you were going to do that horizontally.
Thanks for watching! Did you see the video I did pouring a vertical joint?
They used to seal Railroads with Thermite and a mold.
So I totally believe sealing pipes with liquid lead.
Actually now that I think of it we still seal pipes the same way. Flux and Solder.
Surface tension sucks in the solder and you get a seal. Here it's the same idea, but with more lead than we use now lol
I’m a splicer for the phone company for the last 23 years and up until about ten years ago I would have to open lead cases and re close them. I’m on a damage as I speak and now we replace the lead sleeves. Plastic is a useful material
My father shot Black Powder competitions in the North-South Skirmishing Assoc beginning in 1968 and getting lead to for casting bullets was always in high demand. He went up to the a range in the early 70's with a friend to a range in Ohio, and the friend found that a local hotel built in the late 1800's was being torn down. His friend borrowed my dad's truck to run over to the site on Sunday afternoon after the match was over to pick up some lead the demo crew was throwing away. His friend had put about 300 pounds of old lead pipe sections in the back of the slide in camper on dad's truck. It had a window between the cab and camper section that was permanently open and couldn't be closed. It turned out, the lead pipe was from the men's bathroom urinals in the bar that was on the first floor of the hotel, my dad said the entire ride home was horrific with the smell of the crystallized urine in the pipes. They get back to Savanah to drop of my dad's friend and as their unloading the pipes, my dad's friends looks funny at my dad when he won't stop unloading it. They had agreed prior to the friend borrowing the truck, that they would split the lead in half. Well my dad graciously told his friend that he really didn't need any lead at the time and made sure ALL of it went into his friends garage. He said the camper didn't stop stinking for month after that.
One thing that always work well for me, at least I never had it leaked, was that after the oakum which packed in I used lead wool. Looks just like steel wool. Hammer it in with the offset tool and it works just as well as a poured lead joint.
Wow, what a PITA. Thanks for showing how it was done. Glad we have some modern seals to help us out.
I did lots of lead and oakum joints, mostly on roof drains 30-40 feet up on top of staging with no safety rails or body harness.
2” - 12”, still have all 4 irons in my garage. Last joints I’ve done were with lead wool. I’m off to work on an old crust apartment building with old crusty bell n spigot drainage, have a good safe day.
PS,,, spray the lead runner with WD-40, so it doesn’t burn.
I 'm 71 . I have a ladle that belonged to my grandfather and it still has lead in it.
It's one of my favorite possessions.
Chicago here. We still have lead and oakum as mandatory code. It’s what makes us licensed and professional.
do you still use 1.5 or 2 inch lead waste pipes these days
@@alanm2842 1" chaulked lead joint on the oakum.
My father , retired local 1 plumber… taught me how to do this … spent the summer of 1991 working with him at the Staten Island ferry maintenance depot pouring lead with him doing all the underground waste lines ….
Last time I was at a plumbing supply in the states and talking with a counter salesman we happened on to the cast iron drain pipes and how they were sealed with lead. Well at the time he informed me that it was no longer necessary to pour lead into the join over oakum. Instead they had lead wool in packages. You unwind it and place it over the oakum and start hammering down adding more lead wool as you go to fill in the joint with your tools. Back in the late sixties they were using copper drain lines in new construction. The big problem was the drain lines clogged easier than cast iron or pvc and with todays prices of copper, not worth the trouble.
Why was the copper clogging easier? Smoother surface vs rough surface? or because of corrosion?
Roger, love the videos.
As a local 1 plumber here in NYC where we still do lead and oakum undergrounds in public schools I would love to come and make a video with you on how it is properly done!
I still install lead and oakum till this day for NYC SCA Projects.
My house is 70 years old and still has this piping in the main drain. It's been holding perfectly all these years
the old cast iron was a good product, the stuff they were using in the 1970's was cheep junk, i have replaced a lot on that 1970 junk
Gotta love still doing it in the Chicago land area
This really put things into perspective, your content is a joy to watch, I've never seen this done in my 18 years in the field, now I know what a hassle it must have been.
This video will be forever in my mind when I'm struggling with a job saying, "It could be worse"... 🤩👌
I learned this in an "old" plumbing book. Now i thought it was quite fancy. It sure beats PVC if you have digging going on, you wont dig through a cast iron pipe easily. :)
Greetings,
Jeff
Always a joy to watch your videos. I watched several of your videos when I bought my first house in 2019 and started doing a full renovation. I knew a lot from my dad (who is still around and helped extensively with the remodel), but it was sure nice to use your videos as a reference for certain tasks. I've been a fan ever since. Keep up the good work, sir.
That is awesome! Thanks for sharing
I will NEVER need to do this, but somehow watched and enjoyed every minute of the video.
I come form a family of plumbers (I did the electrician thing) My dad and uncle would tell me about doing this. Definitely a skill and lots of time.
I come from a family of plumbers myself. Father, grandfather,uncle. I also chose the electrical thing. However, the Navy thought I’d make a better boiler technician. 😊
I got a set of those irons years back in a tool box always wondered what they were for then I found out recently what they were for ever since I`ve been wondering how do they do the lead on a horizontal pipe ,your video came up at the same time I wondered how. At least the mystery is solved now. Thanks
I just did one the other day. But I used pro proxy instead of lead. I prefer cast to plastic clamps. But the fittings were hub to hub and I didn't want to change everything out plus the owner wanted to keep it as cheap as possible. Nice job!!
Great grandpa had some oakum in his shed. Hadn't thought about that in 45 years. Thanks for that. Miss you papaw.
Hundreds or thousands of meters of old iron piping and all the joints done like this. That's gonna take forever. Glad that this has been improved ALOT.
The way I learned to d it , I enjoyed packing and lead joints never had a leak..
Thanks for posting this, I always was curious how these types of connections were made.
We usually saturated, our runners with motor oil and removed the excess. This kept them soft and flexible.
Still doing this day to day in Chicago.
I live in Manchester , England.
A lot of the old terraced brick houses still have cast iron soil pipes that were put together using this method.
We take them down regularly and replace them with pvc pipe.
The top section carried down the ladder on your shoulder is the apprentices job these days.
Thank you roger love your videos! There making my apprenticeship much easier.
Lead Run Joints on Cast Iron Pipes;
Last time I did this was in 1974 when I started my Apprenticeship.
We called it Roping the Joint & used Steel Ropers & hammered it into the joint, the Ropeyarn went round it twice. Packed in tight, we then used an asbestos Running Rope that had a clamp on it, clamped it tightly around the pipe, then poured molten Lead into the joint.
Lastly was used Stavers to hammer the lead tightly into the joint.
We also repaired Cast Iron Heating Pipes, largely used to heat Greenhouses. The joints on them were Roped with Ropeyarn & finished with Pure Portland Cement.
Thanks for sharing & love from Scotland 🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧
Thanks, Roger you’re the best. This was a great video. I really appreciate your work and you really taught me a lot.
Wow, I (as a DIY homeowner) have not had to deal with lead and oakum since the late 80s. Thanks for the video.
very interesting, makes me appreciate the advancement in technology I get get to benefit from as a newly graduated journeyman
set up a laser level for a plumber for top of drain. hung around and watched him coming out of a stub out in the ground (this was floor level stuff) he did the white oakum (I kept saying Dwight Yokum) using molten lead. Never thought to ask why that way and not just a bolted on or glued deal. Looking back it may have had something to do with the stub out pipe schedule cast iron as opposed to pvc stuff.
Installing lead joints in a crawlspace are very fun Mr Roger 🥵
Roger this is very interesting and interesting I love it keep up the amazing work Roger.
Thank you kindly
Oakum feels like oiled rope - because it IS Oiled rope! Of course the rope is picked apart. In England, that's what the Workhouse (famously mentioned by Scrooge in "A Christmas Carol") "inmates" did - pulled apart old ropes to make oakum to to seal up the wooden ships of the Royal Navy.
That "Running Rope" is phenomenal! I've seen many old hands use a heat-proof packing to pour Babbitt Bearings on old machines, but Running Rope would be a GREAT and MUCH EASIER alternative. I'm going to recommend it to several other channels - Starting with Kieth Rucker at Vintage Machinery! I bet he'd LOVE IT!
There are still CI gas mains in Manhattan from the 1870s in use, some at high pressure. As long as they don't get disturbed, and especially undermined, they operate just fine with no leaks. Crazy to think that systems installed by civil war vets are still functioning today over 150 years later. Don't knock the oakum
I love smell of oakum. Reminds me of hanging out with my Dad @Bruce Wigle P&H @the Grosse Point ,Mi the 50 s . I'm a second generation plumber. Remember when you cut soil pipe with a chisel & hammer on both service weight and extra heavy ,
As others have said, still done in some places pretty regularly! Now drill a bunch of 1/8" holes in the lead and dig it out with a small slotted screwdriver to make a repair :P