Serious question, are we too quick to dismiss the old school pipe threaders?

I was talking to a guy named Frank at the supply house in Erie last week. He said he still uses his 50 year old Ridgid 535 for all his big steam line work, and that the new electric ones just don't have the same feel for when a cut is right. It hit different because I've been pushing for newer gear on my crew for years. Has anyone else found the old manual tools give you better control on high pressure jobs?

2 comments

2 Comments

taragrant12d ago

Get where Frank's coming from with the feel thing, but that chatter he's talking about is actually bad news. Feeling vibration means the die is starting to bind or the pipe isn't lined up right. Modern electric threaders with auto oilers and reverse stop that chatter before it happens, giving you a cleaner thread every time without the risk of a bad cut. The skill isn't lost, it just changes from pure muscle memory to setting the machine up right and knowing when to listen to the motor. You trade hand feel for a more consistent result that's just as important for high pressure.

reese_thompson7413d ago

My uncle swears by his old manual threader for gas lines, says you can feel the chatter before you see it. The new stuff just doesn't give that same feedback through your hands. There's a real skill to it that gets lost with push-button tools.

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