When you crawl about 30 ft under an old house with a couple feet of clearance and you can see that someone took pride in their work doing it the hard old fashion way. It gives me chills and motivation to not slack off.

I am a retired plumber. I remember that process. Real tedious. Plumbers today have it alot easier.

Here in Chicago we still use cast iron all the time. It's all that's allowed in commercial plumbing. I work 99% of the time in high rises and that's all we use is cast iron. For under ground we use push gaskets and everything else is lead and oakum. That one iron you said was an offset iron that was set to 1" is actually a ceiling iron. It's used when you have a hub tight to the ceiling and can't get in there with regular irons

in USSR we had these same style bell and fitting cats iron pipes, but we never used lead we used tar soaked very sticky and malleable oakum, we would smash that in as deep as possible then pour molten tar into the fitting and that would be it. Sometimes the tar was in short supply so in order to finish the job plumbers would use cement powder and would make a very thick paste from pure cement, as it would cure to be very hard, and it would be mixed with oakum and stuffed into the hub and would cure on the next day. You can still find pipes in old soviet apartment blocks with cast iron pipes joint with cement and they still go strong, very little leaks. Its the tar that was leaking. it was much faster, much cheaper and much less labor intensive.... and yes, that is the reason why now all soviet pipes laid in 70s and 80s are now leaking everywhere they were installed because tar is not a long term solution as it gets brittle, and as the pipe moves from seasons or cold/hot water it crackles the tar and starts to leak after some years.

New England Plumber here- you know you are getting old when your skills are a novelty on KZfaq. I thought I was the last guy with a ceiling iron. 😀😀Great job Roger.

Just starting "plumbing" a few years ago in a shower remodeling business. It is humbling and fascinating to see what the masters of old had to do each and every day as they built America. Thank you for doing this Roger. And thank God for PVC!

I'm a plumber is Los Angeles I sincerely appreciate you sharing your experiences and knowledge, I have a far greater appreciation for the art of plumbing watching videos like this, respect to all the ones that come before us.

This video brings back a lot of memory. I started out this way. Love your videos.

I'm 75 years old welder, I've never seen this done, I love it !! THANKS

Love it! I have not poured a lead joint in 20 years. Thanks for the video, and remember, if it wasn't for plumbers, people would have no place to go.. LOL

Last time I saw this was on a commercial high rise in Miami in 1981. Job was union, I was a carpenter's helper on the formwork crew. The plumbers were great, taught me a bunch, they really wanted to help the young guys. Thanks for the video!

I’m an apprentice from Milwaukee. I worked with a couple old plumbers from Chicago years back and they would tell me about pouring let joints in the high rises downtown. I was always jealous that they still did them as it’s a part of plumbing history. Shout out to Jeff, Dave, Jake and Marty

Plumber from the UK. Lots of old houses over here. Cast iron pipes everywhere, regularly come across lead waste pipes and occasionally come across lead water mains. Surprisingly non of this old-school stuff was taught to me in collage, had to learn it all on the job or from KZfaq vids like this one. Thanks Roger 👍

That is incredible. I have worked with PVC to cast iron transitions for years and have always wondered how these oakum and lead joints were made. It's nice to see knowledge like this being passed on instead of lost.

Great lesson with this one, Roger!! I really enjoy learning about the history of the trade. You're not only a highly skilled plumber, but a great educator as well. Love the videos, my man 🤘

Alot of Lead & Oakum is still used in cast iron of New York & other East Coast old cities. A skill definitely still needed.

Thank you Roger that gave me a better understanding of the times when my Father would make such connections when I was just getting to the trade. he passed in 2007 and I wish I had more time to learn those skills before he died

That seems like a lot of very hard work compared to running PVC. I hope old school plumbers were paid well.

For some reason, I have found plumbing to be interesting since I was a kid making contraptions of pipe in the 60s and early 70s. I am also the weird guy who like to learn to do things "the old way". I took this to an extreme and still shave with a straight razor. I've read about and understood the principle of the lead and oakum joint but this was the first time I have ever actually seen one.THANKS!!

I happened to be in the right place at the right time and got to see how oakum is made at the factory.

Solid knowledge, solid joint. Grandfather described these to me years ago. Thank you for sharing .

Great video Roger. This video gave me even more respect than i already had for the old school plumbers.

I value this information. My grandfather who was a plumber in Chicago showed me how to do this 20 years ago, good to remember

Nice to see traditional drainage from back in the day when plumbers where real tradesmen. I had to drive from Sussex in England to London to show a young plumber how to do a lead caulked joint on a 8' interceptor

Great video. Done a fair amount of commercial renovations, and I always respected the work that the older plumbers did before me. Plumbers back then were really amazing skilled hands. I myself have never needed to do this on a actual job, but it is a skill that must be taught, to have in your back pocket if ever needed.

I always wondered how the horizontal joint were done. Learn something every day!

I remember my Uncle doing this in the basement on a drain repair. It was probably the late 1980s. He became a plumber in the 1950s so he was very familiar with this obviously. I always thought it was a really cool technique.

Perfect video !!! Explained exactly how you should teach an upcoming plumber !! You don’t understand how many people your helping 👌👌

Torn a lot of cast iron on remodels, new plumber of 6 years, but never once seen or had it explained how it’s done. I guess because no one knows. I Love your channel very much and I use what you teach everyday. This video was definitely necessary!

I was taught how to do this in a horizontal Joint in water! My boss took threading oil and a copper pipe to that joint on a runner rope and poured the oil into that joint while I poured the lead...it kept it from exploding and popping. Blew my mind! So that is about as old school as you can get!

You forgot to mention the maximum your lead is allowed to be underneath the lip. In NC, you have to have a 1 inch pour and it cannot be more than 1/8th inch below the top of the collar. We mostly use bands, but government work sometimes requires lead and oakum.

As a young enough plumber (34)coming from New Orleans. Fell into it after Katrina. I’ve had to pack and pour a few years ago. My predecessor taught me how to de- lead and re install cast where pvc won’t fit. Lost art Roger.

Nice! Every once and a while here in Baltimore we will break out and replace a cast iron closet flange and pack with lead and oakum. Better than the plastic repair flanges in some cases.

I appreciate the fact you showing this! I have been plumbing for nearly 7 years now commercial construction, commercial service, residential construction, and residential service. I am very thankful for newer material and connections.

Just what I need a reason to buy even more tools🎉😂I'm learning a lot of plumbing now and I've seen some oakum joints and it's nice to know what's going on with them. Preciate the knowledge!

That's a nice piece of soil pipe work, sir. Cast iron toilet flanges are what I see a lot of newcomers struggle with in more recent days. I'd like to see you perform a cast iron offset toilet flange install on this channel. The flange that has a 2" offset is a bit of a bear. I had to do several of them over the years and struggled mightly as there was no one to properly train me on it. Had to learn from my own mistakes on call backs.

My dad made me learn how to do this when I was 8 years old. Haven't done it in decades, but I remember very well how to do it. Nice trip down memory lane.

Love the video Roger!! Those old timers sure didn't make excuses that's a lot of work for a single joint!

Another tip is to add a ball of plumbers putter under the triangle where your lead runner is clamped. Prevents lead from coming out. I’m 31 plumbing for about 13 years now. I pour lead joints whenever I can I enjoy the process. Also sometimes easier if the hub of cast is at floor level.

30 plus years ago when I helped load coal into barges on the Monongahela River out of a coal mine tipple, we used oakum, wooden wedges, and wood blocking to temporary seal holes in rusty 40 year old barges. We had to look in the gunnel openings of each loaded barge, put a pump in if there was water. Next climb down inside to see where the leak was and to try to plug it with oakum, wedges, and blocking. If the leak was major, call the boat to take it to get unloaded. Never lost one in the 10 years I worked out there.

Oakum is made from Jute and tar. I go one strand at a time first for about 4 times around. The final strands I'll twist together to force them down tight. If you twist all of them like a rope I figure it has very little space to expand. Keep your running rope in the box with oakum to soak up that oil and stay soft. You can use a little plumbers putty at the top of the rope to keep it from spilling out.

This brought back memories. Dad and I pouring lead in the CI plumbing, and dipping the electrical joints. I still have a couple of gasoline blowtorches and toolboxes full of obsolete tools sitting in my shop. Showing how to start a gasoline blowtorch or how to set leather anchors in holes drilled by a drilling hammer and stardrill makes people appreciate what it took to build years ago. Thanks for sharing this.

Thank you Roger for sharing this with us. Been plumbing for just over 30 yrs and have never done a lead and oakum joint.

I really like the sign in the background. "Education is important, plumbing is importanter." Couldn't help but get a chuckle out of that.

Great good old times of plumbing and it's still useful for retrofits.

Super interesting - I'm not in the trade (controls engineer) but love seeing how they used to do things back in the day :)

Man that’s badass I’ve been wanting to know how that was done from day one going on about 9 years of plumbing and man that’s cool

I think knowing how everything works is a good idea, knowledge is power!!

Great video. I helped my father place cast iron pipe in our NY home back in the 50's. All Darin pipe was cast. He didn't have a super torch like yours, he used a blow torch that had a hook on it to hold the ladle. Tool lots of work. Watching you reminded me of those memorable days. Thank you.

2nd year apprentice from Canada here, I work in an older city so I come across a lot of this in service and it’s unfortunate I haven’t been taught to make a lead and oakum joint. Usually we slap a fernco coupling and change to ABS pipe

Hardly ever hear the old timers talk about that anymore. Video was badassness, love you bro. ‘Hook em’.

How cool! I’m a plumber in New Zealand and have never seen this done before and always wondered how the did galv stack work in the past! Thank you so much for this video!!

You don't know how much I love the old plumbing I love my cast iron and copper pipe I'm definitely old school when it comes to plumbing

Great video Roger. I really enjoy watching your videos. I am a plumber in NYC and we still do lead and oakum joints on jobs. Mainly, the underground piping in schools but sometimes it is on other jobs as well. Im currently working on one right now with lead and oakum joints. Its a great skill for all plumbers to know how to pack and pour lead and oakum joints. It shows the great craftsmanship in the work us plumbers do on the job every day.

Plumbers back in the day were hardcore man. The tech that I use on a daily basis just makes my job so much easier.

These videos are extremely watchable and sharable. This occupies the same space where people with combat experience in the military put out videos explaining and articulating doctrine and how systems are employed; where you are doing the same thing for people in construction and service. Thank you

Love this! Been waiting for a solid tutorial on how this is done. Thank you

Thanks for the memories, I helped my grand father do that 54 years

So Cool! I really like these plumbing history videos, it's very engaging because it gives a sense of belonging /identity.

holy crap. Something just now makes sense to me from my childhood. 1988-1989ish there was a commercial and I can't even remember what for, but it showed a pipe springing a leak and I always wondered why there was some weird rope or nest of some kind involved. Today, at 37 years old, I learned of Oakum

Lol im a 24 year old plumber and work in the big easy, already ahead of the game as I've poured and undone many lead joints! Great video!

Brought back alot of memories with the lead pot being fired and melting old lead water lines and drain lines. it was like making some molten lead in advance before using it made it easy to do consecutive joints one after another. By the way that stuff in top of the lead in the ladle is called Dross. Doing a horizontal joint will get you tons of reviews and don't forget to add some oakum behind your little triangle to stop some lead from spilling as you pour.

nice tutorial, i usually unwrap the oakum and use the thinner strands. retired after 49 yrs in the trade.

Fascinating. I often helped commercial plumbers when my HVAC department was slow and I never even heard of this before.

Old school plumbers worked very hard , but man i could only imagine how long it took to actually plumb these 100 year old houses or commercial jobs back in the day

I love your attitude! A part of my family emmigrated to Texas 4-5 generations ago and that part of my family here in europe still has that attitude of using a bigger torch just because you can.

Yay video! 🎉 Edit: This was ultra fascinating to watch, I have a new appreciation for the history of plumbing. Here’s hoping that soldering isn’t going away anytime soon.

They still teach this method in the military. Military plumbers working in other countries may encounter all sorts of plumbing technologies that are no longer popular here in the states.

I’m a plumber in Sudbury, Ontario. I’ve never used lead and plain to make a joint and probably never will do this is very nice to see. I’m 30 and I think I’m at the age where any plumbers that come after me will have only soldered in school. I prefer it over press because anyone can do press. Only a plumber can plumb a complete system and solder it.

That’s actually a good looking lead joint bro! Didn’t lose your touch

I have an old Clayton and Lambert plumber's furnace. It was used to melt lead before propane was available, and it ran on this stuff called "white gas" which was basically just the unleaded gas of that time, very much like today's Coleman fuel. The thing is a monstrosity, it's EXTREMELY loud when It's running, and it shoots out massive fireballs while it's preheating. But it's a really beautiful tool, even if it's obsolete

great video...this and soldering should always be taught to the new guys coming up......steve lav has good videos on replacding broken closet flanges doing this..

What a work of art.

I've been waiting to see one of these videos been in this trade for almost twenty years now and my boss is old school and when I say old I mean old he has fifty plus years and packing and leading a joint is one of the skills I learned from him that I am honestly the most proud of and still use to this day if your in service and work in older homes having knowledge like this and being able to replace cast iron flange will save both you and the customer time and money no one wants to cut holes in walls or ceilings if they don't need to

Thanks man! Mr Fernco needs to be sainted!

Well, I for one am thankful and glad this is now a historical technique.

My uncle and I did excavation for a bunch of plumbers when i was young. We would dig and then help with repairs, tie ins or new installs. For years it was all lead and oakum and then we were allowed to use rubber gaskets. What a game changer that was but that innovation was the end of craftsmanship and skill set. Any monkey with a digging bar could lay pipe in minutes after that. Thanks for the trip down memory lane.

My Grand Pa was a plumber in the ship yards in Portland during WW2 and I have his old gas fired lead smelter and I still use it

I’m an excavator. A lot of our work is replacing old cast iron water mains. I always wondered how the joints were actually done. I had an idea but not the full extent. Thanks for the lesson!!

I am the last guy at my shop who knows how to do this. Brings back memories.

I have some of these tools that came from my grandfather, had no idea they were for lead pluming joints.

Reminds me of the days of lead shower pans or hot mop shower pans I've seen. No one would probably mess with that but you have to appreciate how far we've come with technology that makes these hard jobs more convenient.

Iv kept a old set of these offset chisels and never knew their real purpose- now here I am learning a new trade

An old school plumber taught us how to pour lead joints in apprenticeship school. I’ve never had to pour one in the field, but I at least know the process of I’m in a jam. Better question, how do I get the lead out If I’ve got a hub at the floor, and maybe I need to put a tie seal gasket in and transition to pvc. Much appreciated. Thanks. Much love from Ohio.

Awesome! I found a few packing tools in a box that my Dad gave me... I had no clue what they were. Know I know.

I've always wondered how horizontal joints were done. I've only done a few cast iron flange installations with lead and oakum. Neat video!

Sorry for my bad english. In Russia old plumbers used to poure a sulfur instead of lead. Or they used to put an oakum tar impregnated. So many times I needed to take apart the joints and had a big problems with sulfur. You have to heat a joint while a sulfur became a liquid. Then it evaporates and you have to inhale it long time.

I just got done renovating a bathroom in 1950's craftsman home that copper and galvanized sewer pipes that had lead joints.

Great video, Roger! I remember as a boy, in Philadelphia (South Philly), I’d see the lateral/street trap done this way… It is a legacy, hands-down!

We still pour joints in and around Philly!! Not a lot but fun to take it old school

Very interesting video. Being in demo, I have seen many cast systems, but I have never known how it was done. I had no idea that many tools were needed, but it makes sense. I always try to remediate the lead, as it’s great soft lead that can be used for many things. One thing I know is that it’s easier to get out than it is to put in, lol. It’s also interesting to see the craftsmanship, and many times LACK OF when they come apart. I have also seen the difference of the lead when it’s poured all at once, verses in “layers”. I feel for the old school plumbers. One of the latest tear downs was a three story, that had all cast, including 5” vents to the roof…crazy amount of pipe…and the house had 52 window weights as well, so we all got some extra beer money when it was over, lol.

You really have to give the old school plumbers a lot of credit having to do the job the hard way.

Great demo! I've wondered how this was done exactly.

Just ripped out about 2k lbs of cast under my house to replace with PVC. Perfect timing as I was curious the whole time how these joints worked.

we were up on a suspended access cradle , manually operated, doing the cast iron soil pipe joints, and the surplus rope was in the cradle, the paraffin / Kerosene roarer melting the lead, cause the rope to catch alight, the a ball of flame made its way up to the flat roof, on the rope, luckily it extinguished, we watch it, while we were 60 feet above the ground, this was back in the early 70's, in was because the rope was new, and external threads.

I pour lead and oakum joints when I connect plastic pipe to a cast iron hub with a manoff sleeve.

Thanks for doing this.. never seen it done before kind sir.

This was refreshing thank you! ❤

Many sites don't allow hot work or have extensive hot work permitting requirements now. One of the criteria for permitting is that it won't be granted if an equivalent non-hot work process complies with code and engineering requirement, which in most cases press connect and compression fittings do.

You can also use soil-seal instead of lead or to join cast and pvc using a no-hub adapter. You could also use a compression coupling.