Why does nobody talk about the math in the old pipefitter's handbook?

I was having a beer with my uncle, a retired boilermaker from the Pittsburgh yards, and he said something that stuck. He told me, 'Kid, we used to do all the trig for a 12 inch offset in our heads with that little red book. Now you just punch it into an app.' It hit me that I don't really know why the formulas work, I just trust the phone. So I bought a copy of the old 'Pipefitter's and Pipe Welder's Handbook' for 15 bucks online. Been trying to work through one layout problem a week by hand. Has anyone else gone back to the paper books to really learn the basics?

3 comments

3 Comments

oliver52327d ago

That's a great project. I've found that doing the math by hand makes you see the actual geometry of the pipe run. What's one thing the book explained that made you go "oh, that's why"?

jade_grant9527d ago

Totally agree about seeing the geometry. For me it was the book showing why you add the pipe size when figuring a 45 degree offset. I was always just doing it, but seeing the little right triangle they form made it click why the math works.

wright.drew4d ago

Actually had the opposite experience with a textbook. Seeing the triangle on paper never clicked for me until I was under a sink with a tape measure, messing it up a few times. The book made it look too clean, real pipes never line up that perfect. What finally made it make sense for you?