April/00 All I needed was 16 degrees, why should I waste a 90 to get that? Many times the angle that we need to miter from a weld fitting is less than 45 degrees. If you have the type of boss who is going to question the merit of using a 90 degree weld fitting to make a fitting less than 45 degrees, here is tip that will let you use a 45 as your base to miter a fitting when the angle is less than 45 degrees and keep the boss and the bean counters happy:

Next Month; How do I change decimal feet and decimal inches into something I can find on my tape measure?

March/00 Scoring with the "three point method". Sometimes when removing a close or shoulder schedule 40 nipple from a valve, or fitting, the pressure exerted by the pipe wrench on the nipple is enough to "egg" or even crush the nipple making removal even more difficult.

One method that I've found to help prevent this crushing action is to "three point" the pipe wrench on the nipple, as noted in the diagram:

Sometimes depending on the force needed to remove the nipple, it can be salvaged for later use. Next Month; All I needed was 16 degrees, why should I waste a 90 to get that?

February/00A Question From Hawaii.

Hi A.J., I've been wrecking my brains trying to figure out a formula for making odd angle fittings from a 90 degree lr. ell. I have an offset of 6 inches for an 8 inch pipe I know that two 45 degee ell's offsetting, is 7.25 or there about. After reading many pipefitters manuals, asking many of my co-workers, and even our detailer, I got no answer. Frustrated I left it in the hands of my foreman. But I just couldn't leave it at that. Then it dawned on me that I have access to the "information highway", so I logged on, keyword pipefitting and picked your site, and now life will be easier Thanks.

I was hoping you could share with me a formula on how to figure out the degree of the parallel offset using 2 odd angle fittings. I would also like to know any tricks for getting the correct fit-up, any information shared is very appreciated. Duane from Hawaii

Duane, Thanks for the question, since your e-mail, I've re-done my offset selection chart. I hope it is a little easier to use. Here's the formula your looking for: (Take-off of 90 - 1/2 the offset) / (take-off of 90 )= cosine of the angle (Arc cosine)I.E. 2nd or Inv. cos = the angle of the offset (12 - 3) / (12) = .75 : Inv.cosine = 41.4096 degrees is the angle for your offset. My fitting layout page on the site will walk you through the layout of the fitting. Here are a couple of rough sketches of how to make the fit-up go easy.

A.J. Gest

Next Month; Using the three point method, and I'm not talking about a shot from half court!

January/00"I've leaked checked that @$#%&~%! line four times, and I still can't find the leak". Maybe the pressure loss that you are seeing is'nt caused by a leak, but rather a drop in the temperature of the compressed gas in the line! This happens most often when pressure testing in the afternoon and then checking the pressure gage early the next morning.