Reddit reviews The Pipe Fitters Blue Book

I am a journey fitter. If I were you, I would invest in a Pipe Fitters Blue Book and a Pipe Fabricators Blue Book. These might seem like a different language to you depending on how much you know, but if you stay in the trades they will definitely benefit you, plus you can ask someone at your work how to use them. If anything they should be happy about the fact that you are proactive and went out and purchased a Blue Book, as that is scripture for a fitter. This will also show them that you are serious enough to invest in yourself and your craft.

The IPT Pipe Trades Handbook is an excellent book, as is the IPT Metal Trades and Welding Handbook, but they are almost triple the cost of the Blue Book. If you can afford either one (I would suggest the Piping Handbook as it will probably be more relevant to you), purchase it.

Good luck, Young Pipe Fighter. I hope my input helps and if you have any questions do not hesitate to ask. I enjoy sharing my knowledge and rarely get to do so, as this is technically a welding forum.

edit: if you decide to purchase the above literature and need help utilizing/understanding it, just ask.

You're going to need a copy of this for larger branch connections or saddles. Here is a video on laying out a "branch" for API code.

The Bluebook starts at 3" pipe and goes up. I've made some saddles using 3" measurements on 2 7/8" pipe and it came out okay. Also you might check out this site for 1"-10" templates for saddles.

There's also a Pipefitters Black Book by Frankland and a Pipe Fabricators Blue Book by W.V. Graves, both are available on Amazon. That being said, there is overlap between the three books. I refer to the Bluebook linked above most often.