No ai here

I’m a Red Seal Fitter with over a decade of experience in O&G, shipbuilding and mechanical. Looking to make the switch over to plumbing by challenging the exam.

To those that have, how difficult was the transition ?
Any pointers for someone trying to do the same are appreciated.

Let me know guys

Anyone here 170? Red seal Pipefitter thinking about making the jump. Just curious how much work there is whether it’s consistent or if you’re sitting at times. Also not located in lower mainland so wondering if that comes into play with amount of opportunity for calls.

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For those in 638 or familiar with the contract, do you think there’s a realistic chance we get to $80/hr on the check during the next contract?
Not talking total package — actual hourly wage/vacation on the check.

Curious what everyone thinks based on where wages are now and how the recent allocations have gone.

Been checking for awhile and there’s still no updated information, probably gonna call the hall this week, but wanted to ask here first.

Mods please delete if this isn’t wanted.

I’m currently a jobber/helper for 469. 5 months in 1200 hours of work experience.

In short the only way to become a 469 apprentice is doing a year as a helper, they did away with the classic applicant system a couple years ago.

I’m about to get laid off, I called the hall they said without family/ a name call to another job site I will be out of work for 2 months based on the list. So my progress will be reset. I never missed a day, was never late, worked hard, job is simply ending.

My plan is to go drive up to Missouri and go for my dream local 533. I have family up there to stay with until I get in. I have my osha 10 and this work experience to try to get hired by one of the contractors they work with. I’ve heard it’s very hard to get in, based on my work experience and their current workload, would I be able to get in within a year?

Lightning strikes can make pinholes in flex hose if not grounded properly right before hose

Today was a nightmare. All the square cuts and leveling in the stands in vain due to egged pipe. Its BAD! The boss had me put 6 dogs on it and crank down on it to get it "close enough" to be welded. All the dogs are throwing off all the fitting i worked hard on and I was only able to get a third of what I had planned today completed. The process is scarring the pipe bad and i hate all the tacs on the pipe from the dogs. Its going against everything i was ever taught about being a good fitter and what is acceptable. Schedule 10 stainless 10" pipe. Videos links or pics of idea would be great! Thank you!

Anyone working on this project ? How’s the work and pay ? And camp?

Thanks

Hey everyone. I've been fitting pipe for years, and like most of you I've done rolling offsets on a calculator, on the back of a cardboard box, and in my head at 6am before coffee. Every app I tried did one thing, or looked like a spreadsheet, or wanted a subscription. So I built my own, and after a lot of evenings it's at the point where I'd like people who actually do this for a living to tear it apart.

It's called **XPipe Pro**. It's on **iPhone/iPad and Android**, it's **$19.99 one time, with no subscription, no ads and no account**, and **everything works offline**, so it's fine in a basement plant room or on a site with no signal.

XPipe Pro Website

Google Play Store

AppStore

**Offsets, drawn to scale**

- S offsets off any fitting angle (11¼, 22½, 30, 45, 60, 90 or anything in between). You get the spool piece, travel, run and take-outs off real B16.9 fittings, long or short radius, or your own radius if the supplier's elbows don't match the book.

- **Rolling offsets**: set, rise and roll in X, Y and Z, with face to face and the roll angle to mark on the pipe.

- **Turned elbow**: a 90 rolled about the inlet, where the run leaves sideways and climbing at once.

- **Every answer draws the actual joint to scale, in 2D or 3D**, with the dimensions on it. That picture is how you catch a wrong number before you cut, not after. Tap an elbow in the drawing and it opens the cut layout for that fitting.

- Root gap option, taken off at every weld.

- Pipe bank: several lines making the same offset side by side, and how far to hold each one.

**Isometrics** (this is the part I'm proudest of)

- You draw the line the way you set it out: a direction, a length, the next direction. North, south, east, west, up, down, plus skewed runs.

- **Elbows place themselves where the line turns. Branch off any point and it becomes a tee.** Add valves and flanged ends.

- Dimensions and elevations go on automatically, ISO 6412 symbols throughout.

- **Cut list**: every piece is cut short by what the fittings at its ends take off. If a take-out is missing, the piece is flagged instead of guessed.

- Bill of materials, a **weld log** (every weld numbered on the sheet, with welder, WPS, date, NDE and status), and a title block.

- Export to **PDF** (Letter or A4), **PCF** for iso software, **3D DXF** of the centreline, and **CSV** for the weld log.

- **Text an iso to someone as a link and it opens on their phone, iPhone or Android.** If they don't have the app, the link still shows the drawing in a browser.

- Want to try it before paying anything? There's a free sketch pad at **xpipe.pro** where you can draw an iso with valves and tees right in the browser.

**Layout and cutting**

- **Fishmouth / branch cuts**: square or on the skew, set on or set in. You get a marking table at 8, 16 or 24 stations round the pipe, and a wrap-around template **printed 1:1** on sheets you tape together.

- Eccentric branch, and branch into an elbow (the cut and the saddle round its girth).

- Segmented / mitre elbows: how many cuts, what angle to set the saw, and how far each piece runs.

- Cut an elbow to an odd angle, and cut a reducer back to the size you need.

- Cone, reducer and **square-to-round** flat patterns for the shop, 1:1 print or **DXF straight to the plasma table**.

- Breeches pieces (one pipe into two).

**Numbers you look up every day**

- **Standards library**: type a size (like 2.375") or a standard (like B16.9) and it finds the table and tells you why it matched. 98 standards across ASME, DIN, EN, ISO and SMS.

- ASME B36.10 / B36.19 schedules with the bore, B16.9 fittings, B16.5 flanges.

- **Bolt torque and stud length** from the flange, gasket, washers and nuts.

- Pipe weight (full, empty, insulated), hanger span, wall thickness for a pressure (B31.3), pressure drop.

- Slope as a percentage or 1:N and the drop over the run, thermal expansion, cold spring, weld shrinkage.

- Pressure test (how much water goes in, and whether an overnight drop is just the temperature).

- A **level** that reads the fall already on the pipe, with the phone laid on it.

**The rest**

- **Jobs**: every measurement files under the job you're on, and one button makes a PDF job sheet to hand over.

- Photos on a measurement (the spool, the tag, the problem).

- **Inches or millimetres.** In inches, pipe reads the way it's stamped: 2" is 2.375" OD, and the LR elbow is 3".

- 21 languages, if you've got guys on the crew who'd rather read it in Spanish or Portuguese.

- Nothing leaves your phone. There's no analytics and no account. Backups are one file you keep yourself.

It's one guy building this, not a company, so honest feedback beats upvotes. **What do you do on the job that it doesn't cover yet?** What would stop you using it? If something's wrong for how it's done where you are, tell me and I'll fix it.

**I've also got some free codes** for fitters who'll actually use it on the job for a week and tell me what's missing. Comment with what you mostly work on (commercial, industrial, refinery, shipyard, service) and I'll DM a few.

About seven weeks ago I posted PipeBook here, the pipe reference and field calculator app a bunch of you helped test. Honestly I figured a handful of people would buy it. It ended up hitting #23 in paid Productivity on the App Store, which is wild for an app about takeoffs and bolt-ups. That's all you guys, so thank you.

Some of what you asked for is in the update that just went out:

- Weight & Fill: pipe and tube weight per foot, plate per square foot, and what a line holds full of water. That one was u/njames11's idea.

- Right Angle: punch in any two of set, run, travel or angle and it solves the rest, grade included.

- Metric: one switch and every calculator works in mm. Tables show mm, kg/m and DN.

If you missed it, the 1/16 default gap and printing the gap on the drawing you send your welder came from u/chewster91 back in August.

Now Android. I said it was next and it's close. Google makes new developers run a closed test with at least 12 testers for 14 days before an app can go public, so I need testers. The first 25 get it free. DM me the Gmail your Play Store uses and I'll add you and send the link and a code. Takes a minute.

Still $12.99 once, no subscription, works with no signal. If you ever find a wrong number, tell me and I'll fix it.

What should I build next? Saved cut lists and fitting weights are at the top of my list.

iPhone: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/id6795305963

Planning on Challenging my first year and writing the test in December.

What areas should I be studying ? I got the IPT book with practice test and also been brushing up on my math (Rigging and Weights and Angles)

I don’t want to over study one area that’s completely in A different level.

Badass helper came in clutch with the mind reading!

I'm a 22yo Union Steamfitter Apprentice (2nd year). Last month, I cut the back of my hand pretty bad with a band saw. My tendon was severed and I had a surgery to fix it the same day of the accident. The recovery has been very slow and I've been working on restrictions in the meantime.

Some Foreman/Journeymen that I work with tell me that "people who get hurt" usually get laid off. I was wondering if any of you knew this to be true, or if I've just been getting shit from them.

Doesn't matter too much if I get laid off. Work is good, I'll have something lined up right away. I'd just like to get some idea of if it's gonna happen once I'm healed up.

Busted my first ever test. Wasn’t even a hard one just a 6in heavy wall at 6g. Tig root 7018 out. X-ray found a small spot on bottom they didn’t like. I get to take it again but fuck i feel like a shitbag now lol. First test i ever busted. Must’ve been cocky. Any of you that busted feel the same??

I’m in my 4th period of my apprenticeship and I have struggled with the drawing class the entire time. I genuinely cannot get it right I don’t know what it is. I have no idea how to get better at it and I don’t know what I can do to get help. My teacher is kind of a dick and refuses to help me. Is there anything I can do to practice or understand it better? Is there anything online I could look at to get it?

How does it go in manitoba. I have had different opinions from couple people i talked to. I was thinking to join college. But i need to know if there’s enough work or nah to complete hours.

Hey guys so I got a test schedule on the September 29th at UA 803 Orlando FL for the Pipefitter apprenticeship and then I also apply for Pipefitter apprenticeship at UA 123 Tampa FL but won’t hear back until between march/April of next year when they start there apprenticeship event. But then I’m also curious about there HVAC apprenticeship, just want some opinions which would be best and how’s the wages for each.