J0() H.Vi-lKAX WATKR WORKS. — JOHNSTON. 



with the ])laiii pipe the process of joininji; lias not yet been 

 begun and n(vt^s-^itate> ('onsidefrahle labor and material beinij,- 

 employed to finish the w(n'k. To get the best results with lead 

 or wood joi'iits also requires a liighcr (dass of hdxir. The ])ipes 

 can be s]iruni>' around curves, but in this case should be caulked 

 with lead. 



Previous to the introduction of the turned and Ixn-ed pipes, 

 wooden joints were used extensively for pipes of U inches and 

 over. They have the merit of cheapness as compared with the 

 lead joint and are durable, but ])()ssess the defect of being liable 

 to be blown out witli a snchh'n increase of pressure, and most 

 of our trouble with dis<'OV(n*ed leaks has Iveen from this cause. 

 The faucets of the 2-i-inch and lo-inch for tliis kind of joint 

 were made tapering ^ inch inwards. Thi' joint is made as fol- 

 lows : — After the pipe is inserted in the socket it is raised up 

 by means of a toid called a raising iron and soft pine wedges 

 or staves, thoroughly seasoned and cut to the radius of the pipe, 

 are inserted on the lower side for aboiit .-j of the circumference 

 of the pij>e. The nipe is then lowered, and raising irons are 

 driven in the top and on each side of the joint, at intervals of 

 about 8 to 5 inches. The wedges are then driven in 

 with a sledge-hammer beginning from those already laid 

 and working up both sides, the raising irons being with- 

 drawn as the work proceeds. When all the wedges are in, keys 

 are drivc^i where necessary between them to tighten the joint. 



The wood joints i'n the ir)-inch main, where under the water 

 of the Chain Lakes, were strengthened by adding an angle strap 

 of wrought-irivn bolted closely to the ]upe in front of the wedges. 

 The difference in co'St of inrneil and bored, and jdaiii i)ipes, 

 has varied from 55 cents to $1.00 ])er ton, the former being 

 the difference in the tenders for the 27-inch and 24-inch pipes 

 laid in 1893. The 'net saving ovoi* lead joints in laying the 27- 

 incli man amounted to $."5,147. Taking the cost of turned and 

 bored pij^^s at 75 cents per ton more than })lain pipes, the fol- 

 lowing table gives the detailed cost of laying mains with 

 turned and bored, lead, and wood joints. 



