Coppersmith

Categories: Cleanup from May 2005 | Smiths

For other uses, see Coppersmith (disambiguation).

A coppersmith is a person who generally works with copper and brass. Coppersmiths lay out, cut, bend, and assemble pipe sections and pipefittings from copper. They also manufacture tanks, hot water systems, roofs and other sheet based items from copper, brass, and other ferrous metals.

Coppersmiths started to be phased out in the late 1970's early 1980's and the trade is now generally taken over by the sheetmetal trade, and the practises used can sometimes be close to the plumbing trade. There are very few coppersmiths left in the trade. Most have found other occupations and many have converted to sheetmetal workers.

Lay out full-scale floor drawings or makes templates, following blueprints of pipe assemblies. Builds framework on bending slab to use as guide for bending, shaping, and joining assemblies. Cuts pipe, using handtools or shop machinery, and packs it with sand, rosin, or other material to prevent flattening during bending. Heats bend area with gas torch to soften metal and bends pipe, allowing for stretch at outside radius and compression at inside radius, using pipe-bending machines. Reheats and hammers pipe to eliminate wrinkles resulting from bending. Solders or brazes flanges on end of pipe. Flares or bells pipe mouths, using belling and flaring tools and mallet. Bends tubing to form coils for parts, such as feed water or oil heater. Lays out patterns and templates on sheet stock, using knowledge of geometry. Bends, hammers, bumps, razes, and planishes sheet stock to fabricate such parts as expansion joints, tanks, heads, cowls, and air chambers, and install and bend pipes and fittings for LP gas installations (when licensed), using handtools, gas torches, and shop machinery. Sweats, rivets, solders, or brazes seams to obtain finished part. Coats parts by dipping them in mixture of molten tin and lead to prevent erosion, galvanic, and electrolytic action. Conducts hydrostatic tests to detect leaks in fabricated pipe. May install piping aboard ship. Manufactures copper tanks, basins, hot water services and roofs from sheet copper or brass in the same fashion as a sheetmetal worker.