Mephisto Forever
- Thread starter Mephisto Forever
- Start date
PugetDude
ALLIANCE MEMBER
OK....
john.k
Well-known member
For caulking cast iron water pipe bell and socket joins with lead wool and lead pellets............also a poured in concoction mixed up with sulfur ,pitch ,lead and whatever else that was caulked in ................Lotta years ago I worked for an Italian contractor who did a cast iron pipe job on a mile long bridge ......all the joints leaked ,even after multiple caulkings ...............so his old father in law came out from Italy to solve the problem ......the cure was a slurry of horse manure ,rotten potatoes ,and who knows what else pumped through the pipes and left sit for a week...........this was a drinking water main ...............incidentally ,now they use rubber rings .
RegeSullivan
Well-known member
My dad had a set like that but it also had a thick oily rope band with a clip you put around the joint to pour lead for horizontal joints. You would pack the joint with oakum rope packng it in tight with one of the longer chisels, pour the lead, wait for it to cool then pack the lead down tight with a chisel and hammer.
john.k
Well-known member
Yes the cast iron joints were designed so they could move and still be watertight to 50-70 psi..............i believe the caulked cast iron was also used for gas distribution ............marvellous old technology .
Private Lugnutz
Well-known member
Yes. Apparently. Maybe?
There is a place called Wallace Metalwork in Kempton, PA, apparently re-using the Mephisto trademark. Their website is linked here.
OP is in D.C., though, so who knows.
The original Mephisto (in Wallingford, CT from 1909 to c.1937) and the relocated Mephisto (in Hudson NY from c.1937 to at least 1980's) did sell caulking irons that were "guaranteed to be made under the hammer", and, I have to admit, it's a cool idea (irrespective of business sense), but obviously not cool to be slapping ads in a vintage tools forum with no explanation.
If the OP is hoping to generate interest among antique tool collectors for new caulking irons made the old way for modern prices, I think a better approach might be to start a discussion, preferably in the Mephisto thread, or even up in the Fabrication forum, or both, talking about his passion for smithing and attempts to revitalize the name and methodology.
EDIT: I didn't see this until @PugetDude bumped it. Very odd.
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Yeah, I took the first response to be a polite version of "what's your point?" and the response after that to be explaining what caulking irons were for as if that was the question. pretty sure I wasn't the only one thinking that. Glad you weighed in.
RTM
Well-known member
I was thinking the same thing. Most Mephisto stuff catches my eye.
His only other 2 posts are here.
Mephisto Tools
zero results within IA Catalogs Collection https://archive.org/details/catalogs?query=mephisto I was just ‘splaining my error - apparently does not include the Tools Catalog Collection EDIT - Maybe I’m being too cryptic. I mean that I thought the Tools Catalog Collection was a child directory...
www.garagejournal.com
Private Lugnutz
Well-known member
Glad you noticed the price!
One reposting an @WisJim post linking a bloggers' article on Mephisto history and another that looks to be a modern ad with modern pricing for bespoke/reproduction augers bits carrying the Mephisto brand. Whether the OP is affiliated with the makers or just a fan, his profile is no longer available as an active GJer.