[TheForge] Re: lead seal removal or the nightmare...

Tue Jul 22 11:55:01 2003

The pipe seal was probably made typical of any lead seal, the two pieces of
pipe were pushed inside each other, then a layer of Oakum was used as a seal
to prevent the molten lead from draining down the pipe.  Molten lead was
then ladled into the remaining gap to seal the void.  Typically we
mechanically remove them by cutting them off short, and using a pair of good
vise grips to "tear"  the copper pipe to small pieces.  Be sure to wrap a
piece of newspaper and tie a string around it and then use it to plug the
pipe, to prevent pieces of anything getting down the pipe.

Got a digital picture?

----- Original Message -----
From: "Mike Spencer" <[email protected]>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, July 22, 2003 8:26 AM
Subject: [TheForge] Re: lead seal removal or the nightmare...

>
> > ...the shower drain is lead sealed to the 2inch copper drain pipe.
>
> Is it possible that the lead seal is not fused to the copper?  I.e.,
> that it was put in as lead wool and hammered into the pipe/Pb/concrete
> space with a sewer pipe tool?  If so, you might loosen it by finding
> or making a mandrel that fits the pipe snugly and sticks up a foot or
> more, then attaching some kind of rig that vibrates the mandrel fairly
> furiously -- say, a hammer drill or small air hammer.  A few minutes
> or a couple of hours of vibrating might deform the lead enough to free
> the pipe.  (The copper should work harden from such treatment but the
> lead wouldn't.)  That might work even if the lead *is* fused to the
> copper, provided that it isn't keyed into an annular or helical groove
> or very rough surface in the concrete.
>
> Or stuff some packing down the pipe to below the lead, pour in some
> parafin wax to seal it and then fill the leaded part of the pipe with
> nitric acid.  (Of course, you lose the top of the copper pipe that
> way, and may make a bit of a mess.)
>
> Or find a piece of steel pipe that fits over the copper but inside the
> concrete.  Work up the end of the pipe with a chisel and file to be a
> crude milling cutter. Weld it to a shank, put it in your 1/2" drill and
> chew away the lead a bit at a time.
>
> Easy!  (It's *always* easy when it's sombody else's drainpipe and all
> I have to do is think up hair-brained ideas. :-)
>
> - Mike
>
> --
> Michael Spencer                  Nova Scotia, Canada       .~.
>                                     /V\
> [email protected]              /( )\
> http://home.tallships.ca/mspencer/   ^^-^^
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>
>
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