I was looking at an ad for step drill bits. In the ad it has a picture of someone drilling a hole into a copper pipe (not sure of diameter but I am thinking 1-1/4", 1-1/2"?)



I am curious what is the picture depicting? What operation will involve drilling a rather large hole in a rather large copper pipe? I have heard of piercing a small hole on a copper pipe for an ice maker line, and I have installed saddle tees onto existing PVC pipes for irrigation. This is neither.

That appears to be a 1/2" pipe into a 2" pipe. I would prefer to use a tee for this joint because you would have to Silver Solder and would have a rough surface inside the pipe with unwanted friction loss. IMHO.

at the navy yard we used to 'fishmouth' the end of the pipe to attach a branch when nothing else was passible.
it was then welded or silver soldered.
pipe on the left is 'fishmouthed'..

Interesting, I have never seen joints done this way before.

Is the resulting joint not as strong as one using a tee? Does it come apart easier if stressed such as being stepped or kicked on?

Could you also joint two same size pipe with silver soldering then? I mean no coupling, no sleeving a smaller pipe into a larger pipe, could one butt joint two same size pipes with just silver solder?

Also to the left of the picture there is a chain, is that a chain cutter?

the chain is part of the vise jaw which holds pipe in place


the 'jaws' are integral with the 'folding leg' tri-stand bench


real plumbing tool used primarily with steel piping



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"Measure Twice & Cut Once" - Retired U.A. Local 1 & 638

It appears to be a poor man's version of a "T-Turner".

It is a chain vise holding the copper pipe.

it IS, in fact, what I posted above

perhaps our posts crossed




[www.plumbingsupply.com]

Tripod vises features: •Heavy-duty design permits use with pipe up to 6" in diameter
•Easily folds up into a compact shape for out of the way storage
•Lightweight with a padded handle grip for easy portability
•Overlapping hinges on the lower tray and the adjustable tray clamp make the unit extremely sturdy
•Manufactured using heavy gauge steel for the ultimate in durability
•Rubber coated jaws provide protection against damaging plastic pipe and soft metal pipe
•Reversible double-sided bowtie jaws

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"Measure Twice & Cut Once" - Retired U.A. Local 1 & 638



Edited 1 times.

i take stock photos online with a grain of salt. guys probably never worked with his hands in his life, but since he has a mustache he “looks the part”. they took 50 pics all different angles and picked the best looking one. how about this one - girl has hands of steel


[static.boredpanda.com]



Edited 1 times.

jcrevz

I like her hands

My beloved daughter has hands like
that

Paramedic

Ya brains too!
Way more than your average male plumber?

Peace

plumbum

This is not a new concept, I've seen it done 40 plus years ago on large copper pipes using standard drill bits. The number one "problem"is that the connecting pipe's end that will be touching the larger pipe won't have the exact rounded shape of the larger pioe. In other words the smaller pipe's end will be flat and in order to have no flow issues needs to be perfectly shaped the same as the round larger pipe. I hope my explanation makes sense and you can envision the issue.

On top of that the brazing - welding unless done by a very experienced person most likely will have a weak area that down the road ... over time could produce a leak due to both turbulance, vibration, and so on.

Agreed, it's just a poorly-staged photo with some tenuous basis in reality.

1. Why does he have the other pipe stuck in there? With his hand on it?
2. The drill has a side handle. If it has enough torque to have a handle ... When that bit groove catches in the hole, won't the handle hurt? Shouldn't the hand that is on the pipe, be on the second handle?
3. A classmate in industrial arts picked up a soldering iron on the non-corded end. And it wasn't one of those little 25-watt electronics irons, it was a massive one with maybe a half-inch wide tip for soldering tin. He probably still has the scars.

Despite the fact that there are pipes in the background, my first thought was that he was building a railing.

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Links to the State of Wisconsin Plumbing Code:
[docs.legis.wisconsin.gov]
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I am not a plumber.
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They are making a railing for a deck. That way kids and dogs don't fall off. WE use a lotta copper pipe for railings down here.