ECN Forum Forums General Topics of the Trade General Discussion Area Tricks of the Trade

Rewired, I've found a piece of 1/2" CPVC water pipe generally works better, it's smaller and more fexible, but still has enough rigidity to fish across joists etc.

_Will

One trick for wiring old houses is to stick a small lightbulb or LED on a wire up a hole.

Will:
Thanks for the tip! I will try CPVC next time and see how that works!
A.D

I like to use 1/8" metal ball chain for fishing walls from above. I retrieve it with a 18" long flexible magnet. Both are sold at Ace. I can fish into an old box easily this way, eliminating the need to rip it out then replace it. There are 2 styles 1/8 ball chain that will stick to a magnet, one sticks way better and is stronger, the dull one I think. They are both gold colored.

Also, I always keep a roll of #12 solid green on the truck for short pipe runs. I just tape it on to the stranded conductors, strip the end bend it over then push them in. Quicker than using fish tape.

measure & make a mark on the (wood) stud to the top of a panel, then measure down to where the bottom would be, hammer a nail in at the mark and set the panel on the nail to support it while you fix it to the stud with drywall screws. Use a level to set the depth of the panel (most torpedo levels are exactly 5/8" thick- same as a sheet of drywall) For steel stud a long tek screw will give the same result as a nail in wood but it is a bit trickier.

PS I was surprised to learn that 2 guys I work with who each have 20+ years experience in the trade never once took out their tape measure to discover that a torpedo level is 5/8" thick!

Another one-handed trick I learned from watching steel stud guys-

anvil-footed vise grips

steel stud guys carry about 6 or so of these, I just carry 2 small ones on steel stud jobs and they are great for holding 2 thin stud pieces tightly together while you screw them, or for hanging those awful recessed florescent cans in a stud bay, or as a third hand to hold up panels or whatever. I have found 100 uses for them and they're really great if you are have to fabricate mounts for lights, or if you are up a tall ladder and need the light to stay in some position contrary to gravity while you switch hands and grab your drill and a tek screw

I use PVC glue when running EMT and set-screw fittings...I swab the pipe and fitttng before they go together, the glue sorta seals up the air gap and its easier to pull lines thru using as vac afterward..

I also used a small womans compact mirror and flashlight like a periscope when fishing walls for old work

and I have glued a cheap watch onto the inside of my hardhats so some people wouldn't think I was doggin it till breaktime

And here's your tip:
Stay in School

My trick? My hands cramp easily, so using a pair of wire strippers or an NM Ripper gets painfull. I take a hint from my father and use the utility knife. I haven't knicked a wire for months.

Ian A.

I haven't checked cause who would of thought, but anyway I doubt that pvc glue is listed for that use. And I am also wondering if that would interfere with the bonding of the emt pipe.

One day a few years back I was fighting to get a ko open in a flush older 4" square outlet box in the wall. It was one of those ones where the ko die process must have been good and dull because no amount of screwdriver hitting would loosen it. So then I had an inspirational flash. I drove a self tapping screw into it and used the head of the self tapping screw to grab with my linemans pliars, and pulled inwards and got the ko loose. I put the idea out on another code site and sure enough about 3 months ago another poster repeated the idea and then claimed it as his.