Ridgid 65-RA (A for "ancient"?)

SteamFTW

Can anyone shed some light on the "RA" version of Ridgid 65-R (receding threader)? I see them at tag sales now and again, and they always look "older than dirt". Of course, that might be only because they're usually old and dirty. Is the "RA" a vintage tool (i.e. restore it and look at it, but don't expect to use it)? It wouldn't surprise me to find out that when Ridge came out with the "RA", they added the "A" to differentiate it from their then current "R" model, which (perhaps?) wasn't "Adjustable".

ChrisJ

SteamFTW said:

Can anyone shed some light on the "RA" version of Ridgid 65-R (receding threader)? I see them at tag sales now and again, and they always look "older than dirt". Of course, that might be only because they're usually old and dirty. Is the "RA" a vintage tool (i.e. restore it and look at it, but don't expect to use it)? It wouldn't surprise me to find out that when Ridge came out with the "RA", they added the "A" to differentiate it from their then current "R" model, which (perhaps?) wasn't "Adjustable".

Just a guess.
The current one is a 65R-C and there's the 65R-TC which is what I have.
My guess is there's also a 65R-B and a 65R-A.

I've seen a few 65Rs with no additional letters and they look very very old.
I seem to recall TC meaning true centering, but who knows if the C alone meant centering.

EBEBRATT-Ed

One had a "cam Lock" (TC) to lock the threader on the pipe to make it "true centering" on oversized or undersized pipe. The other one had a t handle set screw to lock it to the pipe to allow cutting (drip thread, crazy thread etc) for pitching pipe with the thread.

As far as I know they are all the same family of threaders and use mostly all the same parts. Nowadays they are considered obsolete by many (to heavy to pick up)

Me, I would use one every chance I get especially on 1 1/4 and up

mattmia2

i hand threaded around 50 ft of 3/4' and 1" pipe and the tendons around my elbow weren't happy for several weeks.

ChrisJ

mattmia2 said:

i hand threaded around 50 ft of 3/4' and 1" pipe and the tendons around my elbow weren't happy for several weeks.

SteamFTW

@EBEBRATT-Ed Yep. From a conversation I just had with a font of wisdom at Ridge, the "A", "C", and "TC" differ in how they hold the pipe, not how they thread the pipe. They all use the same dies, and the older versions were designed in the era of "drip" threads. Oh, to have been a fly on the wall when one of the Dead Men did that!

@ChrisJ According to Ridge there is no "B" version. I was with you, thinking they indicated revisions. It turns out there was a "P" version, but I've only seen it mentioned in old instructions, where it's listed as "discontinued". From what I could tell, its only difference was superficial: the top ring was flat like a "plate".

ChrisJ

@mattmia2 I'm surprised you never responded to my meme.
It was only a friendly joke.

SteamFTW

@ChrisJ Isn't this the appropriate response to your meme? "I didn't have a vise. I was holding up the pipe stick in one hand and the 65R in the other."

ChrisJ

SteamFTW said:

@ChrisJ Isn't this the appropriate response to your meme? "I didn't have a vise. I was holding up the pipe stick in one hand and the 65R in the other."

That could work.

Kaiser

I love my Rigid 65. I use it all the time to install oil tanks. All you need is the 65 and your pipe vise. And oil of course. Never jams . Cuts beautiful threads

Mad Dog_2

I've had completely rusted up and seized 65s that I dropped in a barrel of #2 for a month. Got it working. All Ridgid tools are Atom Bomb Proof. Mad Dog

AJCimino

An old discussion, but info on the 65 r and its variants. The 65 tc was the one according to Ridgid was used for "crooked threads." https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/153145/ridgid-2a-cutting-crooked

ChrisJ

https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/comment/1840668#Comment_1840668

The TC cannot do crooked threads.

It's True centering.

EBEBRATT-Ed

The 65R is bomb proof and the dies last a long time. Having one thing that cuts 1"-2" is nice.

They also cut easier than the 12R dies and put a lot less strain on the pipe machine. And they are easier to thread with by hand. They last forever.

But……..they are heavy if you thread with it all day.

delcrossv

Isn't it better practice to put in a swing joint to get pitch than "cocking" the threads?

More$ for fittings, but…

ChrisJ

https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/comment/1841001#Comment_1841001

Yes.

But there's probably 10,000 different reasons you'd want crooked threads. One guess is you don't have room for a swing joint. Someone more seasoned like @Mad Dog_2 may have some input.

EBEBRATT-Ed

Think about the old days with wall hung pipe radiators built out of regular pipe and fittings.

The pipe is hung on the wall one under the other in a zig zag or z configuration, so all the pipes need to be pitched.

You pitch the top pipe left to right going down you get to the far and the next pipe coming back has to pitch right to left going down.

So you cut a crooked (or drunken) thread to get the pitch.

I like Drunken better than Crooked.

Sounds cool

Never seen anyone in my 46 years in the field cut any of those threads too time consuming and in most cases, you use a swing joint to save time if you have the room

Come to think of it I have seen them cut crooked by accident when the apprentice didn't have the rear collar snugged up tight.

ratio

If you want to start your apprentices young, I know for a fact that a 10yo can thread 2" with the 65R, and an 8yo can turn it if you 'rest your hand' on the handle while he's jumping up and down on it.

Intplm.

I would not use that threader because "Quagmire" used it last and who knows what he was using it for. As you can tell, he is left handed and not ambidextrous as previously reported. Gigadee-Giggadee???

ChrisJ

https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/comment/1841239#Comment_1841239

Yes, the 65-R can even survive Quagmire.
Just hose it down in brake kleen first and give it a fresh coating of threading oil. It'll be absolutely fine.