Everybody loves old tools

[pritch]

My dad gave these to me a few years ago. They were the tools of his trade. Any guesses?

[zeeklu]

Plumber? Chris

[pritch]

Yep. Old school plumbing. Those chisel looking things are for stuffing oakum in the bell and spigot joint on cast iron pipe, and then setting the lead once it's melted down and poured in. That's what the little laddle is for. I remember being 4 or 5 years old and tending the lead pot while dad made up joints. Those round rubber things would clamp around the pipe when it's horizontal, to keep the lead in. A couple Yankee screwdrivers-the big one is Yankee brand, but the smaller one is a Stanley. The brass tool is a faucet-seat reamer. Back in the day you had to ream the brass valve seat smooth so the new gasket would seal the valve. There are reamer bits there for like 20 different brands of vavles. The little pipe wrench is a Trimo brand, 8", for making up finish.

[TennesseeZ]

Yep. Those tools are old, I've done virtually every kind of pipe known to man for about 35 years, and have only seen or worked with those tools a couple times. Maintenance in older plants sometimes requires them, but plumbers who know how to use them correctly these days are scarce as hens teeth. Nice to see them thanks for posting! BTW, if I remember, the chisels are called "spoons" in lead and oakum work.