ith
oakum. The oakum is forced tight enough to make a water-tight
joint. If the oakum used comes in a bale, pieces of it will have to
be taken and rolled into long ropes about 18 inches long, the
thickness of the rope corresponding with the space between the hub
and the pipe. If rope oakum is used, the strands of the rope can be
used. After the oakum is well packed into place and the pipe is
lined up and made straight, molten lead is poured in and the hub
filled. When the lead has cooled, set the lead with the caulking
tool and hammer, making one blow on each side of the joint. This
sets the lead evenly on every side. If there is any surplus lead,
it can now be cut off, using the hammer and cold chisel. The
caulking iron is again taken and the lead next to the pipe is
tamped, striking the iron with the hammer at an angle to drive the
lead against the pipe. After this has been done all around, the
caulking iron is held in such a position that the lead around the
hub will receive the force of the blow. After this has been done,
the center of the lead is caulked and the joint should be tight.
With a little practice, this can be done very rapidly. The lead
should be poured in while it is very hot. The caulking must not be
done by hitting heavy blows as there is a possibility of splitting
the hub and thereby rendering the joint unfit for use.

CAULKING JOINT IN HORIZONTAL POSITION.--It is necessary in a great
many cases to caulk a joint in a position where the lead would run
out of the joint unless provision were made to hold it in. To
caulk a joint in a position of this kind, the pipe is lined up and
secured, then the oakum is put in and forced to the bottom of the
hub. Then a joint runner, which is an asbestos rope about 2 feet
long and about 1 inch in diameter, is fitted around the pipe and
forced against the hub where it is clamped by means of an attached
clamp. The clamp is put on the top of the pipe and so arranged that
a channel will be left in a V shape. This channel allows the hot
lead to run between the asbestos runner and the hub. When the lead
has had a chance to cool, the asbestos runner is taken off. Where
the clamp was, there will be a triangular piece of lead sticking
out beyond the face of the hub. This piece has to be cut off, but
no attempt should be made to do so until it has been caulked in
place and well set; also the rest of the lead should be set. Then
the cold chisel can be used and this extra piec