Whether a run of pipe is required to be mandreled before an inspector will sign off, or you are looking for a relatively cheap way to help ensure that your pull will go off without a hitch, there are a limited number of options when it comes to actually acquiring a proofing mandrel. Oftentimes, you are forced to have a mandrel custom-made and then usually out of wood. Wooden mandrels present a couple of problems, first, they expand and contract with humidity. This could mean that the mandrel you bought mid-summer is badly out of spec by mid-winter - or sooner. Also, the expansion and contraction, not to mention the general abuse from being around a jobsite, can lead to a wooden mandrel being distorted or even split. Wooden mandrels will function perfectly well for a while, but if you are looking for a lasting investment in a cable installation tool, you will probably need to look somewhere else.
A second option can be found by turning to some of the industry's specialty tool manufacturers. There are a few out there that produce proofing mandrels but the pickings are slim. The material of choice for them is usually aluminum. This is certainly a solid solution to the expansion and contraction problem but an aluminum mandrel can still get beat up pretty badly without any extraordinary effort. From dents caused by a simple drop, to scars caused by being dragged over pieces of gravel or poorly reamed joints in a run of pipe, an aluminum mandrel will show it's battle-scars.
Our answer? Northend Rental manufactures a line of proofing mandrels, which, while maintaining comparable cost, offer features that address the major shortcomings found in other mandrels. All of our mandrels are machined from Ultra High Molecular Weight (UHMW) Nylon. Like aluminum, UHMW is not subject to changes in humidity. Unlike aluminum mandrels, if you drop one of ours – it bounces.






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Proofing Mandrels