Plumbing works 01-basic and power tools ~ Civil-Construction-World

The delivery of liquids from one place to another is most easily done through pipe lines. In cities or towns the water is supplied and the waste water is disposed through networks of pipes. In many industries various types of chemicals and liquids are conveyed through pipes. Thus pipe work plays an important role in the development process.

This makes the cutting and joining pipes through the use of appropriate special fittings a very important profession. A person engaged in this profession is called a plumber and the plumber requires a special set of tools to do his work properly.

The major tools used in plumbing work are as follows:

Hacksaw Used for cutting pipes. It consists of a frame, handle, prongs, tightening screws and nut. The blade is fixed in position and tightened by means of the tightening screw. Hacksaw blades should be selected with due consideration to the material to be cut. The No. of teeth per cm, type of steel in the blade are the considerations to be given.
Hammers Hammers are required in plumbing for use with tools like chisels, for nailing, riveting and for driving objects into position. Different types of hammers are used for different types of work. Claw hammers – for driving and removing nails. Ball Pein hammers – for driving objects and for riveting. Cross Pein hammers – For sheet metal work.
Tape measure Consists of a graduated thin steel tape coiled and spring loaded in a box. A lever operated button automatically retracts the extended tape after measuring. The tape is graduated in cm and inches. Mostly used tool for measuring in engineering work.
Spirit Level Used to check true alignment to level (horizontal) and plumb (vertical). Spirit levels come in various sizes ranging from 150mm to 1200mm. Aavailable in wood or metal, the metal ones are easier to keep clean as they are easy to wash to remove mortar.
Pipe Reamers. For steel pipe. Pipe Reamers are used to de-burr steel pipe before threading. The reamer cone is made from tool steel and hardened for maximum life. Unique cutting edge makes this spiral pipe reamer self-feeding and easy to start and operate. For PVC pipe - Designed to chamfer pipe edges before joining, clean out the old or broken pipe and leftover solvent cement from a fitting so the fitting can be reused. Plastic Pipe Fitting Reamers are available in 4 sizes and fit into standard ½” drills.
Spanners A spanner or wrench is a tool used to provide grip and mechanical advantage in applying torque to turn objects—usually rotary fasteners, such as nuts and bolts.
Portable heating equipment When working with plastic pipes, portable heating equipment are needed to heat the pipes for bending and jointing. A blow lamp or a blowtorch is a tool for applying heat for various applications. Earlier the fuel in the blow lamp was pressurized by a syringe or a pump. Present-day the pressurized gas containers have replaced the built-in and often dangerous pump. Present day the blowtorch is referred to in industry and trade as per the fuel consumed by the tool: · Gas: Propane , butane or LPG · Liquid fuel – kerosene, gasoline, diesel or biodiesel

Pipe benders Steel, aluminium, copper or most metal pipes can be bent using the manual pipe bender. It allows users to create sections of piping at the exact angle needed for a particular application. The pipe is bent by the force exerted by the user onto the small handle of the device. Pipe bender springs Pipes are also bent by the use of springs. Springs can be either external or internal, i.e. the spring can be inserted into the pipe or the pipe can be inserted into the spring. The presence of the spring prevents wrinkles when bending.

PORTABLE POWER TOOLS.

Power tools are those powered by:

1. An electric motor

2. Internal combustion engine

3. Steam engine

4. Compressed air or

5. Natural power sources like wind or moving water.

While power tools can be either stationery or portable, the scope of this lesson is limited to portable power tools only. Power tools are used for driving, drilling, cutting, shaping, sanding, grinding, polishing, painting and heating. Common portable power tools include the drill, hand saws, sanders, grinders and planers etc.

Power drill Just like the hand drill a power drill too has a chuck to fix the cutting tool or the drill bit, but rotating of the drill is powered. The on/off switch is located on the hand grip enabling emergency stoppages. To drill a hole the cutting tip of the drill bit fixed to the drill chuck is pressed against the target material and rotated by power. Power drills can be used not only to drill holes, but also to drive or remove screws, countersinking, grinding, brushing and buffing etc. For drilling into concrete or masonry some drills have a percussion effect in addition to rotation. These are called hammer drills. For electrical safety it is advisable to use portable power tools rated at low voltages e.g. 110V. Since the supply voltage is 230V a step down transformer has to be connected to the power tool. A better solution to achieve electrical safety is to use battery operated drills. These are usually rechargeable and extremely safe. Electric drills should be well maintained by: 1. Cleaning after use 2. Checking power cable for damages and prompt replacing 3. Checking electrical contacts regularly 4. Not allowing the tool to come into contact with water or liquids 5. Using on regular steady power supply 6. Proper storage after retracting or rewinding the power cable	Battery operated rechargeable drill
Twist drill bits Twist drill bits get their name from the twisted pattern of grooves on the bit. Commonly used for drilling wood, plastic or metal. Twist drill bits typically range in size from 1/16 of an inch to 1 inch in diameter (or even larger in commercial applications). Twist drill bits are used at high speed for woodworking, but are turned much more slowly when drilling in metal to keep them from heating excessively. 1. Bit Shank - The plain stem of the bit with no grooves is the shank which locks into the drill chuck. Point - The point of a twist drill bit is ground to form two chisel-like cutting edges extending out from the point at the center of the tip. For wood cutting bits, the point is usually at a steeper angle than on metal cutting bits. This allows the bit to cut more aggressively through the wood. Flutes - Deeply cut grooves that spiral upwards from the tip are flutes. The function of the flutes is to take the cut material out of the bore hole. Without the flutes, the drill bit will get stuck since it cannot eject the cut material.
Masonry drill Bits Masonry drill bits are a variation of the twist drill bit. The shank is made out of soft steel and the cutting tip has an insert of tungsten carbide brazed into it. Tungsten carbide is an extremely hard substance which can cut through concrete etc. Hammer drills are mostly used for masonry drilling and the drill bit is both rotated and hammered into the concrete or masonry. The hammer breaks the masonry and the rotating flutes bring out the dust. Masonry drill bits are available from 5mm to 40mm.