# Old Timer



## Dash Dingo (Mar 3, 2012)

Sorry guys, no pictures or anything but a interesting story.
I was working on the outside of a building putting up new service equipment when an old timer walking on the side stopped to talk. He looked about 90 years old. He said that was an electrician, but has been retired for about 30 years. 
So I started peppering him with questions. He started wiring in 1938. He said the first wiring method he used was pipe ( he couldn't tell me what kind). He said that the pipe was really hard to install. He then said after pipe, BX came out and he started using that.
I asked him if he installed k&t, he said that he only ripped it out, but never installed it. He must of been pretty close though.
Kinda neat.


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## Briancraig81 (May 25, 2007)

Cool story. I wish we could get some of the old timers on here at ET to post their stories. I love learning about the stuff of yesteryear.


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## wireman64 (Feb 2, 2012)

I love talking to the old timers, i knew an old electrician, whole family was in the trade. I remember him telling me how him and his father used to install knob and tube , and how he learned to solider splices and wrap with friction tape. He became a forman later on .


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## RIVETER (Sep 26, 2009)

Dash Dingo said:


> Sorry guys, no pictures or anything but a interesting story.
> I was working on the outside of a building putting up new service equipment when an old timer walking on the side stopped to talk. He looked about 90 years old. He said that was an electrician, but has been retired for about 30 years.
> So I started peppering him with questions. He started wiring in 1938. He said the first wiring method he used was pipe ( he couldn't tell me what kind). He said that the pipe was really hard to install. He then said after pipe, BX came out and he started using that.
> I asked him if he installed k&t, he said that he only ripped it out, but never installed it. He must of been pretty close though.
> Kinda neat.


Assuming that with just a few posts that you are fairly new to the trade I find it nice that you speak of him with respect.


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## Wirenuting (Sep 12, 2010)

The old pipe that I have seen and worked with was black pipe. It was the same as the old gas light piping. We just ran thru it. A pain to pull. We did have an old bender for it. And ya we had pump up gas torches and solder pots. Friction tape was the neatest stuff. LoL


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## RIVETER (Sep 26, 2009)

Wirenuting said:


> The old pipe that I have seen and worked with was black pipe. It was the same as the old gas light piping. We just ran thru it. A pain to pull. We did have an old bender for it. And ya we had pump up gas torches and solder pots. Friction tape was the neatest stuff. LoL


Black iron pipe should not be any harder to pull wire through than the proper conduit unless you were pulling through els that were not approved for the purpose.


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## Wirenuting (Sep 12, 2010)

RIVETER said:


> Black iron pipe should not be any harder to pull wire through than the proper conduit unless you were pulling through els that were not approved for the purpose.


The hard part was pulling thru existing pipe. It had been used for gas and not reamed. 
The newer pipe was bent and reamed. 
It wasn't listed because they didn't list that stuff back then from what I've been told. 
Besides, we only promise to follow the rules. We are not bound by them. LoL


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## RIVETER (Sep 26, 2009)

Wirenuting said:


> The hard part was pulling thru existing pipe. It had been used for gas and not reamed.
> The newer pipe was bent and reamed.
> It wasn't listed because they didn't list that stuff back then from what I've been told.
> Besides, we only promise to follow the rules. We are not bound by them. LoL


I know that you were only jesting about the rules...right?


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## Wirenuting (Sep 12, 2010)

RIVETER said:


> I know that you were only jesting about the rules...right?


Read the ruling on The Army Corps & the levies this morning. They were found exempt even though they knew there were problems. 
Shielded due to their being a federal agency.


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## HARRY304E (Sep 15, 2010)

Wirenuting said:


> The old pipe that I have seen and worked with was black pipe. It was the same as the old gas light piping. We just ran thru it. A pain to pull. We did have an old bender for it. And ya we had pump up gas torches and solder pots. Friction tape was the neatest stuff. LoL


The Friction tape was great for our street Hockey sticks...:thumbup:


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## Briancraig81 (May 25, 2007)

Wirenuting said:


> And ya we had pump up gas torches and solder pots. Friction tape was the neatest stuff. LoL


A bit off subject but my Grandfather was a plumber, started in the late 40's after he got out of service. I have one of his gasoline torches that is intact. Found it in his shop after he died. It appears that he must have used it in not too long before he died ('06), still had gas in it and even though it had the stale gas smell too it, I've smelled gas that was more older than that smelled. My Dad says he knows how to use it but refused to show me how to as he said these things were nothing but a firebomb waiting to go off. Anyone here ever used one? I also have a few of his lead casting pots and about 50lbs of lead that he left behind, which got me curious and eventually lead to me getting into the hobby of bullet casting.


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## TOOL_5150 (Aug 27, 2007)

wireman64 said:


> I love talking to the old timers, i knew an old electrician, whole family was in the trade. I remember him telling me how him and his father used to install knob and tube , and how he learned to solider splices and wrap with friction tape. He became a forman later on .


lol.. thats kinda funny because around here, I "install" and move K&T all the time. Solder the splices and wrap with super 88 or the like.


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## chicken steve (Mar 22, 2011)

Briancraig81 said:


> > Anyone here ever used one?
> 
> 
> no, and now i'm fairly sure i don't want to...... ~CS~


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## Speedlimit190 (Apr 29, 2012)

Nothing makes your appreciate your trade like talking to a good 'ol boy that wishes he was still doing it.


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## Wirenuting (Sep 12, 2010)

Briancraig81 said:


> A bit off subject but my Grandfather was a plumber, started in the late 40's after he got out of service. I have one of his gasoline torches that is intact. Found it in his shop after he died. It appears that he must have used it in not too long before he died ('06), still had gas in it and even though it had the stale gas smell too it, I've smelled gas that was more older than that smelled. My Dad says he knows how to use it but refused to show me how to as he said these things were nothing but a firebomb waiting to go off. Anyone here ever used one? I also have a few of his lead casting pots and about 50lbs of lead that he left behind, which got me curious and eventually lead to me getting into the hobby of bullet casting.


Yes he is right about them being a bomb. But they were safe to use if you were careful. Somewhere in my shop I think I have instructions. I'll look later this winter when I clean the shop. It's over due for an over haul. 
Did you also have your grandfathers old lead working tools?. Learning how to work oakem and pour joints is an art being lost to ferncos. I learned some of it by an old timer back in 88. A guy names Will Pouler. He showed us the old tricks of many trades including how to sharpen hand saws and drill bits by hand, ect. Nice guy an I'm glad I spent the time with him.


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## JohnR (Apr 12, 2010)

My nephew, a lineman, was waiting in the truck for some rain to stop. They had been changing out poles and had to update the transformers as well, a delta - delta. They had 2 bucket trucks. This guy comes banging on the door. Said he put the last pole up himself, and those transformers, using some type of poletop crane, swinging off a belt!


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## ampman (Apr 2, 2009)

Dash Dingo said:


> Sorry guys, no pictures or anything but a interesting story.
> I was working on the outside of a building putting up new service equipment when an old timer walking on the side stopped to talk. He looked about 90 years old. He said that was an electrician, but has been retired for about 30 years.
> So I started peppering him with questions. He started wiring in 1938. He said the first wiring method he used was pipe ( he couldn't tell me what kind). He said that the pipe was really hard to install. He then said after pipe, BX came out and he started using that.
> I asked him if he installed k&t, he said that he only ripped it out, but never installed it. He must of been pretty close though.
> Kinda neat.


you should have asked him if he wanted to help -just for a little bit


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## Briancraig81 (May 25, 2007)

Wirenuting said:


> Yes he is right about them being a bomb. But they were safe to use if you were careful. Somewhere in my shop I think I have instructions. I'll look later this winter when I clean the shop. It's over due for an over haul.
> Did you also have your grandfathers old lead working tools?. Learning how to work oakem and pour joints is an art being lost to ferncos. I learned some of it by an old timer back in 88. A guy names Will Pouler. He showed us the old tricks of many trades including how to sharpen hand saws and drill bits by hand, ect. Nice guy an I'm glad I spent the time with him.


I do. I have his ladle, and inside and outside caulking irons. I also have a mold that he used to pour his own fishing weights with. He started doing that after he got older and (semi) retired. I never did learn how to pour a lead and oakum joint but I've got a good idea how it was done.


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## mbednarik (Oct 10, 2011)

TOOL_5150 said:


> lol.. thats kinda funny because around here, I "install" and move K&T all the time. Solder the splices and wrap with super 88 or the like.


Your supply house stocks knobs and tubes?:laughing: I was thinking about the k&t sections of the code yesterday. I ran into a house where someone had stripped out the romex and ran individual strands how ever they needed. They did have it tapped off of the k&t feed. Maybe i ripped it out for no reason.


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## Mrexplosive (Oct 6, 2012)

I'm from AUS seen some pipe wiring. Not sure if its the same there but it's like a small steel conduit. Maybe 16mm really thin and easy to bend/break. Looked pretty easy to feed wires through compared to the thin timber slats the cables were then run through!


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## denny3992 (Jul 12, 2010)

My great grand father was a sea bee in the navy (ww2) and union electrician he wire my uncles house (converted barn) all in emt! Ill take pics sometime! He ran a 8" trough the length o the house for all the feeders and piped it all himself! Around here thats unheard of!


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## Going_Commando (Oct 1, 2011)

My Grandfather is 91, and started in the trade in 1939. He worked for an electrician for a year, doing a lot of residential and refrigeration, while the utility was load building, so they were super busy. Then in 1940 he got a job as a shop electrician at a big gear making company. He learned how to work on machines and troubleshoot AC and DC systems. Then he joined the Army in 1942, and ended up in the Army Signal Corps. He went through radio school, so he learned electrical theory there, and repaired radios for B-24 (I think) bombers, first in England, and then in France. When he got out of the Army, he used his wages from the war to open up an electrical company in 1945. He gave me his first business ledger, which showed how much money he started with, buying his first truck, which was a Studebaker pickup with a wooden box on the back, and a bunch of other stuff. Really neat.


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## denny3992 (Jul 12, 2010)

denny3992 said:


> My great grand father was a sea bee in the navy (ww2) and union electrician he wire my uncles house (converted barn) all in emt! Ill take pics sometime! He ran a 8" trough the length o the house for all the feeders and piped it all himself! Around here thats unheard of!


The best feelin was about 8 yrs ago on a school remodel.... My gr8 grandfather had been the general electrical Forman on the job when the built it new in 1968....really put things in perspective!!!

When he passed he gave me all his old theory and code books... Learned and helped with k&t wiring diagrams when first getting into the service resi part!


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## Vintage Sounds (Oct 23, 2009)

It's cool hearing about how the trade was back in the day. Imagine using a knife to strip every #14 in a house :blink: Granted maybe there were less of those 14s in the average house, but still.

Did anyone else think this would be a thread about a vintage Tork or Intermatic time clock?


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## Going_Commando (Oct 1, 2011)

I still use a knife to strip the sheath, but back then most sparkies used their lineman's on the conductors, and a pocket knife on the sheath.

I thought this thread was going to be about Old Timer pocket knives. :laughing:


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## dmxtothemax (Jun 15, 2010)

We should not under estimate the value of,
the experience and wisdom,
of the older generations of electricains,
it is a valuable resource.
And well worth persueing !
Can save much time and pain.


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## wireman64 (Feb 2, 2012)

denny3992 said:


> My great grand father was a sea bee in the navy (ww2) and union electrician he wire my uncles house (converted barn) all in emt! Ill take pics sometime! He ran a 8" trough the length o the house for all the feeders and piped it all himself! Around here thats unheard of!




Get those pics denny !!!


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## bobelectric (Feb 24, 2007)

I changed a service at a bldg. 1927,they sed. Those dudes must of has arms like Popeye to get the wire in the disconnects,that small.


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## poppy1019 (Oct 11, 2012)

I have done elect and machine for fifty years and still love it it been good
to me i have seen it all and my has it change .where are the all young 
popple


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## oldtimer (Jun 10, 2010)

poppy1019 said:


> i have done elect and machine for fifty years and still love it it been good
> to me i have seen it all and my has it change .where are the all young
> popple


 
pardon ??????


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## Ol timer (Jan 11, 2014)

*Ol days*

The founder of a company I used to work for started out stretching 1 circuit from the power poles to houses back in the 20s He said he would walk down the road and just ask country folks if they wanted electrics in their house. One morning after working a couple of hours, the old man of the house ask him in for breakfast as payment for the single light bulb in the kitchen. Sitting down at the table to a couple of extremely colorful egg yolks, the old timer says; maw, looks like I need to nail that draw board up on the outhouse again, the eggs are starting to get that orange to'em again. He never ate another egg again!


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## gnuuser (Jan 13, 2013)

the old fella i started learning from was an old italian electrician
he rewired our house one season and watching him test circuits would make the hair stand up on my head
he never used a meter or wiggy
he would take a shoe off and stand on the concrete floor and wet his fingers 
then touch the bare wires 
said if his arm didnt twitch then the power was off:laughing:
later he told me he had been nailed with high voltage quite a few times when he was younger


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## dspiffy (Nov 25, 2013)

It was probably black iron gas pipe . . . they used to run gas and electric through the same boxes, which is how the 1900 box came about . . . at least that's the legend as I was told!

My step grandfather taught electronics in the military. He's 97 and still sharp. He has told me a lot of stories. My favorite being, they used to charge up the biggest capacitors they could find, then toss it to an unsuspecting guy "Catch!"

The landlord for my shop has taught HVAC at the college here for 40 some years, I have yet to find a piece of equipment, no matter how new or old, that he doesnt know inside and out.

In Sauk Prairie WI there's an old blind guy who can fix ANYTHING electrical or mechanical (from HVAC to sirens to multi phase motors to old pump organs to cars) by sound and touch. His shop is piles upon piles of equipment from the 40s and 50s, he's had it there since then. I trip twice going from the door to the register, but he gets around fine. Amazing.

My favorite thing about the "old timers" is their familiarity with out of date equipment. Anyone currently working age sees a 20+ year old piece of equipment "junk it, replace it" one of these old timers sees it "oh you can get that working in 10 minutes, here's what you do" . . . the blind guy walked me through fixing a 35 year old rooftop unit using parts from NAPA Auto. Amazing.


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## denny3992 (Jul 12, 2010)

wireman64 said:


> Get those pics denny !!!


I will next time im over, ive since replaced te old murray ( main breaker was arcing to buss) with a new ite ad added a small ge genny panel


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## Ol timer (Jan 11, 2014)

*The Old Days*

Grandpa was a coal miner back in the days when mules were used to pull the coal out. They would string 2 bare wires along the roof of the mine and down the shafts for light and what little else could be powered up. Grandpa told stories of the old mules that knew to keep their ears pulled back to avoid getting them burnt. Also of times when it was really wet and short circuits would run the shaft like lightning. These were the days before unions and OSHA. 
Bless those that came before us, pray for those that follow!


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