Want to start Pipefitting

Hi i have several questions about pipe fitting and how to get myself started in this trade. I want to know basically how to get started in this business? I live Just outside Calgary Alberta, Canada and am willing to go to school for an apprenticeship but i think it would be smarter to get on with a company who will pay for your schooling if you are staying with them after your school is done. And if there are any better companies than others? if there is a company willing to hire me and to put me through school or train me could you please contact me. Also post any comments that will help me out at all. Thanks

google united association of plumbers and pipefitters. from there you can find the calgary local. contact them.

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I hate to disagree with you Lee, But most pipe fitters are not in the union unless you live in New York or somewhere like that I suggest that you use indeed to search for pipefitter jobs and start applying for them there is such a shortage for pipefitters someone will hire you because you have a knowledge of pipe I am a pipefitter and work as a plumber all the time I learned plumbing as I went just as you will learn pipefitting as you go.
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Life is Good,
OleTom
ConstructionWorkers.US/

although some people think that pipefitting and plumbing is the same thing, most of the time they are sadly mistaken. pipefitters may have to understand complex routing system as you would find in prosessing equipment. plumbers mostly have to know that the hot gose on the left, and crap rolls down hill. in no way am i tring to discredet plumbers. all i am tring to say is that there is a reson why there are the two differnt titles.

Dr Sir
I looking for a positon in your company as a pipafitter ,I have had 20 years exseriance in steam and condence and oil and gas also useing all type,s of screwing machines uptill 10 inch diamater and also the use of verious fittings .

Thankyou

john robichaux in Thibodaux, Louisiana said: although some people think that pipefitting and plumbing is the same thing, most of the time they are sadly mistaken. pipefitters may have to understand complex routing system as you would find in prosessing equipment. plumbers mostly have to know that the hot gose on the left, and crap rolls down hill. in no way am i tring to discredet plumbers. all i am tring to say is that there is a reson why there are the two differnt titles.

What about an underground rough for a hospital? The best layout people I know carry a plumbers book, and I am in a plumbers and fitters combination local.

Mark Hamilton in Calgary, Alberta said: Hi i have several questions about pipe fitting and how to get myself started in this trade. I want to know basically how to get started in this business? I live Just outside Calgary Alberta, Canada and am willing to go to school for an apprenticeship but i think it would be smarter to get on with a company who will pay for your schooling if you are staying with them after your school is done. And if there are any better companies than others? if there is a company willing to hire me and to put me through school or train me could you please contact me. Also post any comments that will help me out at all. Thanks

books is how you learn the one i used was S.D. BOWMAN easy to understand you basicaly have to know everything about a right triangle and a circle a all pipefitting problems are worked by dividing the fit or the pipe or pipes into right triangles.if you noticed the take out on your 45s are repatitious 2 inche pipe the takeout is 1 and one qurter and 4 inch is twice that 6 inch is three times that and so on the math is the most important thing get to know it get to love it thats what makes a good pipefitter to know the math in his head without having to take the time to figure the math you should know it off the top of your head the key word to pipe is math learn it

Mark Hamilton in Calgary, Alberta said: Hi i have several questions about pipe fitting and how to get myself started in this trade. I want to know basically how to get started in this business? I live Just outside Calgary Alberta, Canada and am willing to go to school for an apprenticeship but i think it would be smarter to get on with a company who will pay for your schooling if you are staying with them after your school is done. And if there are any better companies than others? if there is a company willing to hire me and to put me through school or train me could you please contact me. Also post any comments that will help me out at all. Thanks

just go to local488 on googel

Why does everybody get on here and make complete fools out of themselves asking for jobs that they know nothing about. Here's a hint! If you cant spell then don't type messages on the internet asking for jobs! As far as the original post goes, I recommend you contact some companies in the area and ask if they have an apprentice program. They will usually hire you quickly as long as you can pass a drug test and then you can work and see if you like the career and you will also meet other people at work and you can pick there brain and see where they worked or want to work...

This way is a lot easier than going through the union! Nothing against the union but with them you have to apply then show proof of math classes, then take an assessment, then go through a lengthy interview process, then they put your name on a list and you have to wait till they have an opening. Who has time for all that waiting to get a low paying apprentice position!

Just my 2 cents!

Just like a scab to say something like that!! Union is the only way to go, when the scab gets laid he wont have anywhere to go, no health insurance!! In a union you have options all across the U.S and Canada with great wages and good benefites. Ask the scab how his pension is doing!!

I'm not union and i have great benefits including company paid health, life, dental, vision, pension, & profit sharing. Never been laid off! I also get paid based on my abilities (merit shop) not on how long i've been in the union. Oh yeah did i mention the free college education too? Not hating on the union but just saying there are other options out there. Most guys I know in the union are laid off right now applying for work with our company. Just my 2 cents worth.

And a scab is someone who crosses a union picket line not a person who works for a living for a non union company. Get your facts straight.

okey, some large plumbing jobs such as skyrises,hospitals,waterparks,and zooes might seem to be a little more complex than your regular single faimly dewelling. howerver; production facilities, refineries, and proscesing plants usally have more feeds to worry about then just hot, cold, drain, gas, fire systems, and vents. you well have a utililty gas in which runs most of the equipment, you will have a instument system, cooling systems, raw product, seperators, ijection system, boilers, sales systems, pipelines, manafold stations,steam system, and still all the duties of a plumber. unlike a plumber though; pipefitter sometimes work with systems that will see 10,000 p.s.i... the normal working pressure of a oil production platform in the G.O.M. is somewhere around 1000 psi. to 1400psi. on 80% of all operating systems. i could be wrong, but it seems to be a little more than a hospital.

Mark Hamilton in Calgary, Alberta said: Hi i have several questions about pipe fitting and how to get myself started in this trade. I want to know basically how to get started in this business? I live Just outside Calgary Alberta, Canada and am willing to go to school for an apprenticeship but i think it would be smarter to get on with a company who will pay for your schooling if you are staying with them after your school is done. And if there are any better companies than others? if there is a company willing to hire me and to put me through school or train me could you please contact me. Also post any comments that will help me out at all. Thanks

Did you get anywhere with this posting? please let me know if you found any good companies?

Burton Poole in Bangor, Maine said: books is how you learn the one i used was S.D. BOWMAN easy to understand you basicaly have to know everything about a right triangle and a circle a all pipefitting problems are worked by dividing the fit or the pipe or pipes into right triangles.if you noticed the take out on your 45s are repatitious 2 inche pipe the takeout is 1 and one qurter and 4 inch is twice that 6 inch is three times that and so on the math is the most important thing get to know it get to love it thats what makes a good pipefitter to know the math in his head without having to take the time to figure the math you should know it off the top of your head the key word to pipe is math learn it

basically you can start out as a helper and catch the trade secrets as your earn. Find and trust a good craftsman to share his trade. Piping is mostly about math understanding the circle,learning trig and understanding how everything all ties in together with math. You'll need to know how to read a tape measure, use squares, levels, and a transit. There are more rules of thumb to pipefitting than probably any other trade. For instance on std. radius 90's the allowable takeoff is 1-1/2 times the pipe diameter,(6" 90 equals 9") the an easy way to compute the take off on a std 45 degree elbow is to take half pipe diameter, half it then half it again,or half of a half of a half, add the first and last togehter for take off.So an example using 4" pipe would be first half of pipe diameter would be 2" half again would be 1" half of that would be 1/2" add first and third halfs equals 2-1/2 " It is hard to ifnd reputable trade schools, I'd stay away from those that brag about journey man fitter/welder in 7 months or less. Good luck in your new career

Just say 5/8 lol

Aaron in Edmonton, Alberta said: Just say 5/8 lol

half of a half of a half ,adding the first and the third is not 5/8
the take off can also be done with a calculator you can figure the take -off by simply multiplying the radius of the turn by .414

Charles Jarrett in Moncton, New Brunswick said: Did you get anywhere with this posting? please let me know if you found any good companies?

there are a lot of good books on the subject, I wasn't going to endorse any of them. Some of the more common ones in the Midwest would be
Pipefitters Blue Book by WV Graves

Frankland

IPT by Robert A. Lee

you are so lucky nowadays there is the internet to search and locate information with

jerry toms in Fort Wayne, Indiana said: What about an underground rough for a hospital? The best layout people I know carry a plumbers book, and I am in a plumbers and fitters combination local.

Not trying to be mean or codesending, but more correctly the best layout people in your circle of knowledge cary a plumbers book. I have been in the trades for over 30 plus years and there are marvelous craftsmen in all of them, as well as some pretty sorry excuses.

scott in Racine, Wisconsin said: Just like a scab to say something like that!! Union is the only way to go, when the scab gets laid he wont have anywhere to go, no health insurance!! In a union you have options all across the U.S and Canada with great wages and good benefites. Ask the scab how his pension is doing!!

Some points to remember, not everyone needs to have someone else control their pension fund, some people do a very fine job of investing their money on their own! there is always the problem of corruption with large amounts of money laying around. (remember Granite City Steel Mills) Papers can say anything, what matters most is if it is there to be drawn on when you can draw your money.

Try checking out Local 496 in Calgary, which has the jobs Calgary and South, or Local 496 out of Edmonton which has most of the jobs from Red Deer North.

There are quite a few shops in Calgary and area. Check them out and see if they are hiring.

Good luck.

Tom, in Alberta most of the pipefitters that are working, and not facing layoffs, belong to the unions. Most of the companies in Fort Mac only hire union workers. A lot of the shops will hire non-union, but they are the first to go when they are laying people off.

simple, go work and see how quickly you learn! anybody can start out as a firewatch*

Step1Be a high school graduate or have a GED (general equivalency diploma) in order to work in pipefitting.
Step2Take courses in math and architectural drawing. Part of pipefitting training includes learning how to read blueprints and calculate and use measurements. You'll need to be able to follow instructions and pre-established guidelines.
Step3Get training in high school or at a technical school in welding, use of hand tools and machine shop. All of this type of experience will apply to your pipefitting training.
Step4Look for opportunities to work as an apprentice. Many companies who do pipefitting have apprenticeship programs that start high school graduates on the path to a good career. You can be earning a living while you are learning.

Mark Hamilton in Calgary, Alberta said: Hi i have several questions about pipe fitting and how to get myself started in this trade. I want to know basically how to get started in this business? I live Just outside Calgary Alberta, Canada and am willing to go to school for an apprenticeship but i think it would be smarter to get on with a company who will pay for your schooling if you are staying with them after your school is done. And if there are any better companies than others? if there is a company willing to hire me and to put me through school or train me could you please contact me. Also post any comments that will help me out at all. Thanks

The way I learned to pipefit was to just get jobs as a pipefitters helper. It helped a lot that my dad is a welder and I worked with him most of my life but I started as a helper. If you work with the pipefitter as much as you can you get hands on experience which is way better then any book can teach you. Get a couple years in as a helper and you'll pick up on it all. Then start collecting tools till you feel you are ready and go after it. Don't depend on any book to teach you everything. You can read 5 books and get on the job and feel clueless when you are handed a blueprint or an iso and you have to make that section of pipe. Get all the hands on you can get then consider moving up to a pipefitter.

Tom Beebe in Port Aranasa, Texas said: I hate to disagree with you Lee, But most pipe fitters are not in the union unless you live in New York or somewhere like that I suggest that you use indeed to search for pipefitter jobs and start applying for them there is such a shortage for pipefitters someone will hire you because you have a knowledge of pipe I am a pipefitter and work as a plumber all the time I learned plumbing as I went just as you will learn pipefitting as you go.
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Life is Good,

The man asked if there was a place he could work and learn the trade through training and yes Googling the United Association IS the best bet. Maybe you having to work as a plumber while your trade is pipefitting explains this. Yes Unions are all over the United States, including your area. Houston has a good Pipefitter's Union (211) that has a strong membership working. The fact that they all had proper training means most everyone of them will beat you out of a job every time. Not trying to be mean, just telling you the facts. I think also that you would get beat out for those plumbing jobs you are hustling up too if you were to go up against a Union Plumber as well. I think maybe you should research the information before you give it out. Thanks

john robichaux in Thibodaux, Louisiana said: although some people think that pipefitting and plumbing is the same thing, most of the time they are sadly mistaken. pipefitters may have to understand complex routing system as you would find in prosessing equipment. plumbers mostly have to know that the hot gose on the left, and crap rolls down hill. in no way am i tring to discredet plumbers. all i am tring to say is that there is a reson why there are the two differnt titles.

i fab my pipe plumb, level, and square for which a plumber cannot the pipefitter is more advance than a plumber in my book

gus in Laramie, Wyoming said: simple, go work and see how quickly you learn! anybody can start out as a firewatch*

thats the problem now we have firewatches trying to fit pipe now its hard to find a real pipefitter anymore there is only a few of us out there

JoeBobJr in Lolita, Texas said: The way I learned to pipefit was to just get jobs as a pipefitters helper. It helped a lot that my dad is a welder and I worked with him most of my life but I started as a helper. If you work with the pipefitter as much as you can you get hands on experience which is way better then any book can teach you. Get a couple years in as a helper and you'll pick up on it all. Then start collecting tools till you feel you are ready and go after it. Don't depend on any book to teach you everything. You can read 5 books and get on the job and feel clueless when you are handed a blueprint or an iso and you have to make that section of pipe. Get all the hands on you can get then consider moving up to a pipefitter.

yes like bob jr said this is the best way to learn to be a pipefitter but take your time as a helper and don't rush and remember what makes a good pipefitter is one that dose not take short cuts and works safe

how do i do a layout for cutting a 90 el down to a 65 el. i know the measurements, my question is how do you obtain the center of the outside of the elbow or the center of the inside of the elbow when transferring the cut measurements?

there are two ways that i would try, the 1st is to place the el in a vice and use a center finder, or a soft tape and the longest point between the two bevels is the top and the shortest is the inside

jwrobichaux in New Orleans, Louisiana said: there are two ways that i would try, the 1st is to place the el in a vice and use a center finder, or a soft tape and the longest point between the two bevels is the top and the shortest is the inside

lay the 90 down on it's side,on a smooth work table, work it back and forth on both sides, the table will put rub marks on the 90 sides measure betwee the 2 sides mid point should be your center.
or use square and level or center finder. Center finder most accurate way, they don't cost that much and help you to add a professional touch to your layout technique, you are going to always need one, depends on the type work you are doing. If you have got one you'll find ways to put it to use! :o)

how do i do a layout for cutting a 90 el down to a 65 el. i know the measurements, my question is how do you obtain the center of the outside of the elbow or the center of the inside of the elbow when transferring the cut measurements?

Level elbow on its side, find top dead center @ each end, i.e. level & square, or centerfinder, O.D. pipe x pie = circumference / 4 = quarters, use soft tape to measure distance on cutline,

Level elbow, find top dead center, take a roll of adding paper and wrap around fitting, cut to exact length, fold in half, fold in half again, and now you have the length of you quarters. Works very well and I have used this many times,

THis is something that I picked up on the job years agao and I doubt any training module will teach you this.

Bob in Lake Jackson, Texas said: Step1Be a high school graduate or have a GED (general equivalency diploma) in order to work in pipefitting.
Step2Take courses in math and architectural drawing. Part of pipefitting training includes learning how to read blueprints and calculate and use measurements. You'll need to be able to follow instructions and pre-established guidelines.
Step3Get training in high school or at a technical school in welding, use of hand tools and machine shop. All of this type of experience will apply to your pipefitting training.
Step4Look for opportunities to work as an apprentice. Many companies who do pipefitting have apprenticeship programs that start high school graduates on the path to a good career. You can be earning a living while you are learning.

Good call and The Marine world has excellent oppurtunities for pipefitters also.
Northrop grumman is always taking apps for pipefitters

im working in shipyard at moment and im hoping to be in canada soon if i can get help with finding companies to employ me 22 years in pipefitting method used hear is simple get square draw lines off out line of square on floor or table, find angle you want ie 65 de on protractor /line of cords rule or even template wire /weld rod bend to 65 de lay at bot of square were lines meet draw line so it passes the arc of bend aprx same lenght of square lines lay bend on side within the square lines so its in line with and touching vert line and horiz line put square on 60 line and draw line were meets throat of bend and same on back so should end up with line at 60 d in throat and on back put in saw or cut across the points , sounds harder than it is but find me a job in shipyard or ref in halifax area and i will come and show you ha ha cheers tinker

That's helpful, using a square to lay it out on a flat surface would be a good way to do large fittings. That square does need to be plumb side to side when it comes up to make that mid line measurement/mark. Also by laying it out with a square on a flat surface, it would be possible with the right formulas to create the angle line without having a protractor.
Also that trick using the cash register tape to put quarter marks on it might be useful. I've often wondered about a way to put marks on the "sides" of the fitting in order to keep the cut line straighter. It seems I have trouble with my cut trying to fish mouth on the sides because the width of the wrap around doesn't always fit good because the fitting is curved, and using a narrower straight edge like a broken porta-band blade is hard to get straight all the way around with only two points (one in the throat and one on the heel) to line up. But anyways this would take some more thinking to ever get it in my head. Later.

the pipe doctor in Houston, Texas said: i fab my pipe plumb, level, and square for which a plumber cannot the pipefitter is more advance than a plumber in my book

i knew a guy in montgomery alabama who called himself the pipe doctor.ever been to montfgomery ?