THE GASFITTER.

GASFITTERS AT WORK.

As there are now few large houses which are not lighted by gas, the trade of the Gasfitter is one of considerable importance; and though the materials used are generally bought ready made from the Brassfounders, the glass-works, the Ironfounders, or the lead warehouse, considerable skill is required, as well as some taste in properly adapting thechandeliers and burners, and skilfully adjusting the tubes and pipes so that they may easily be repaired, or any escape of gas quickly detected. The various tools used by the Gasfitter are simple enough, but careful practice is necessary for their proper use; and, as any flaw or imperfection in the work may lead to very dangerous consequences, all the operations should be thoroughly tested, and every joint and fitting in the various parts made sound and strong.

Before the gas is taken into a house, or as it is called in the trade “laid on” in the house, it is of course necessary to obtain the permission of the Company to whom the works where the gas is made belong, and to agree to pay for the quantity that is burnt, which is charged by the thousand cubic feet, and varies in price according to the cost of the coal from which it is made, and the difficulty of conveying this coal to the works.

Spade. Crowbar. Rammer.

The first operation is to take up the roadway in front of the house, in order to connect the pipe which is to convey the gas to the meter with that which conducts it from the works to the different streets of the neighbourhood. For this purpose thespadeandcrowbarare necessary, whilesometimes the pickaxe also has to be used; and therammerserves to beat the earth down more closely after the pipe is laid.

Brick Bit. Brick Auger.

The pipe which is joined to the larger pipe, ormain, is generally of iron, and is made with a screw and socket, that it may not be easily displaced by the pressure of the roadway or footpath, and this, passing into the basement of the house, supplies the gas to themeter. The meter is a mechanical contrivance, which is so constructed that the quantity of gas passing through it is registered by a plate something like a clock face, with a hand to point to the figures which represent the number of cubic feet consumed. There are different kinds of meters, and the construction of them varies very considerably, but they all answer this purpose: so that when the inspector visits the house once a quarter he may directly see what quantity is to be charged for. The pipe leading from the meter is fitted with a strong tap, by turning which, all the gas may be shut off from the tubes that convey it to the different burners in the house, and from this pipe the smaller pipes (made of a sort of solder or of lead) are taken to the various rooms. In order to carry the tubes through a wall, it is necessary to use thebrick bitand thebrick augerfor boring a hole to receive it, while to support it against a wall or along the top of aceiling the Gasfitter useswall hooks, thehammerand thetongsfor holding and bending the pipe to its proper direction. In kitchens and basement rooms the pipe is generally carried from the meter up the wall and along the ceiling to the place where the burner is to be fixed: but in upper rooms the pipe is taken up the house wall, and carried under the flooring of the room above to the centre of the middle joist, where a hole is bored quite through the ceiling of the room below. For this purpose thetwisted augeris generally used; and for the preliminary work of taking up the floor and cutting a groove in the joist to receive the pipe, that it may not be injured by the pressure of the boards above, thesawand thehammerare required.

Wall Hooks. Nuts. Grease Pot. Hammer.

Twisted Auger. Saw. Blowpipe. Tongs.

Waxed Rushes. Rasp.

Of course one length of pipe is not sufficient to go to any great distance, and a joint has frequently to be made, the solder used for this purpose being so easily melted and so readily combining with the pipe itself, which is of almost the same material, that the flame from preparedtowblown to an intense heat by theblow pipeis sufficient for the purpose. The rasp is used for filing the surface at the ends of the pipes where they are to be joined, and thewaxed rushesto try the joints in order to see that there is no escape of gas through some small hole. When the pipes are all laid and brought to their proper positions the fittings are fixed. Those which descend from the centres of ceilings are generally called chandeliers, and consist of a tube of metal fastened to the gas pipe, the end of which coming through the ceiling is furnished with an iron screw to fit the end of the tube. This tube is placed within a larger tube, from the bottom of which a still smaller one passes within the first. The gas therefore descends the tube from the ceiling, and enters the smallest tube, which communicates with theburnersthat spring from the largest. The larger tube is intended to receive water, in which the end of the first tube rests, so that the gas is prevented from escaping, while by a nice adjustment of weights running over pulleys attached to the larger, the burners can be raised or lowered, as one tube slides within the other (see large cut). Thetapsare placed at the burners to turn on or turn off the gas as it is required, and in order to fix and screw these, aswell as to fasten joints in the fittings by means ofscrew nuts, thepliersand thewrenchare used.

Wrench. Tow. Tap. Rimmer. Clamps. Pliers. Drill Stock.

Theclampsare a sort of vice with grooved holes, for holding the taps and metal joints firmly while they are filed or otherwise prepared; thedrill stockis used for boring small pipes in order to make a branch to some other direction, and thedrill braceis intended for boring the main pipes, under which the large hooks are placed while a stock and bit attached to the upper screw makes the hole; the ordinarybracesare fitted to aratchetor cog wheel atone end, and are also used for making incisions by being worked backwards and forwards.

Drill Brace. Braces. Stocks and Dies.

The several kinds ofburnersare pierced or cut in such a way as to make the flame from the gas of different shapes, such asfish tail,cock spur,star, orargand, the names of which tell pretty well in what shape they appear. Small rooms are sometimes fitted with “telescopes” instead of chandeliers, the telescope being one tube sliding within another, and the space carefully filled with a properly adjusted cork or some other flexible and impervious substance.Bedrooms, and apartments where light is required at the walls or chimney pieces, are furnished with brackets, which either simply project from the wall, or are made with an arm moving on a ball and socket joint. The manufacture of the various portions of the apparatus used in gas fitting will be mostly found described under the trade of the Brassfounder.

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