That pipe alignment took me 7 hours on a job in Gary last week

I was working on a 12 inch steam line at the old mill site near the lake. Every time I thought I had the flanges lined up, something was off by a quarter inch. Ended up having to cut out a 3 foot section and re-fit it from scratch. Any of you guys run into that where the existing pipe just fights you the whole way?

2 comments

2 Comments

jones.brooke1mo ago

Man, that sounds about right for old mill work... those pipes have been settling for decades and they don't want to cooperate. I tried using a come-along once to force a stubborn flange together and just ended up breaking the bolts. Sometimes you gotta admit the pipe is smarter than you are and just cut it out.

graym491mo ago

Actually a come along would work better if you use a snatch block to change the angle and double the pulling force. The trick is to pull slow and steady so the bolts don't snap under sudden strain.