You still use that stuff? I had no idea.
I, believe it or not, spent a stint as a plumber's helper one summer. My main task was to, while lying on my side with just enough space under the floor joists for my shoulders, use a sledge hammer and star chisel to cut a trench for about eight feet in a concrete pad for the cast iron pipe. Gotta keep it sloped eh? I then installed the pipe, including the oakum and lead. I think I got good at it, but I went back to school before I heard anything.
I think the main reason I was hired in the first place is that I was small enough to chisel the trench. There is no way that the guy that hired me could fit under the floor joists. It would have been handy if the peeps that built the addition knew about sewer pipe needing to be sloped...
Being small came in handy on the sailboat I no longer have too. A remarkable thing how being small enough to work in confined spaces can be at times. A boating buddy came over while I was working in a really tight spot in the bow one day and was truly frightened that I might not be able to get out, never mind how in hell I got in. There was a particular move required in both directions. I promised him to take my cell phone so I could call for help. It was never needed.