A wonderful tip for Do It Yourselfers like myself! I used the sand method to bend a 60-inch piece of 3/4-inch Schedule 40 PVC. Unfortunately I do have a thermometer that measures tempetures greater than 240 degress Farenheit. I started by putting about 1-inch of sand in a 12-inch x 8.5-inch baking pan in the oven at 350 degrees F for 15 minutes. That didn't work, so we put that sand back in over for 10 minutes at 400 degrees. That didn't work either. Back into the oven at 480 degrees F for 20 minutes. At that point, the PVC wiggled just like you showed on the your video. Thank you so much for giving us this information to get us started on our project.
Thanks for the advice! I was trying to figure out how to make a couple of bends and you really helped a lot. What I used was my little McCulloch steam cleaner. Put that steam nozzle in that PVC for a minute or so and BOOM I had a nice semi rigid noodle to go whichever way I wanted.
4.17.2022 - 4:00PM - In the shop. Very good. I was working with 7 foot thin wall 3/4 inch PVC. Only needed 20 degree bends every 10 inches (7 bends). I used a heat gun (slow) then preferred propane torch (fast), but that torch will burn PVC quickly. Didn't matter for my purpose. THEN I kept a wet rag near by and when done bending, I used rag to PRESS the angle slightly flat for strength, and also cooling it. I attached these 160 degree PVC arcs to 8 ft cane poles to make support arches for bird netting for a chicken coop. BRILLIANT. PVC is smooth, so netting does NOT snag. The wife was mildly impressed since she witnesses my brilliance daily, but regardless, she is MORE brilliant than I am. New things everyday. Mr. Brown North Central Florida
Thanks. Like the sand as it keeps it from kinking if you keep the sand inside the pipe. I built a big fire in the fire pit or used a charcoal grill. Lots of heat but not so hot so as to scorch the PVC. I could turn the pipe in a makeshift spit and move it lengthwise to heat a really long length to make a 4-foot long sweep elbow. Worked great. If you can find a long light-duty spring the diameter of the pipe (I have a spring manufacturer in town that keeps a "boneyard" of previous runs for noodlers such as me) you could slip it over the pipe just before bending it - like bending soft copper tubing with a spring bender. Your parking space puzzle got me for a couple of minutes and then I figured it out. Good one! (Careful to not post the answer so I don't ruin it for others.)
Put the sand in the pipe cold, with one end capped. Fill 6-12 inches past bend point. Localize heat from a heat gun applied 3-6" above and below bend center. Bend pipe. Spray with cold water from a spray bottle... go to next bend... DONE. Makes it much easier to hand bend and shape on the job without having to try and stabilize multiple bends while cooling... IMHO! But excellent vid on the various ways to heat the pipe! Thanks!
Buddy this was very useful. I’ve got projects on the go at moms where I need to bury pipe over some hilly terrain for dredging silt out of her pond for free by way of gravity, and also for a water hammer pump for the garden that’s all the way up the driveway at the street. She needs to drag 4 hose lengths up there every day it doesn’t rain. Soon she won’t have to water that by hand ever again!
Loved the sand method, to me it looked like total crazy to put sand on the skillet, now I wanna have some sand with carrots and rice, lol. Thank you sir.
I've been sitting around the last few days wondering how I'm going to make a bunch of 1" EMT connections between my new panel and a pull box about 18" away. The local big box stores don't have a 1" flex conduit and bending 1" EMT to those tolerances takes mad skills. I wasn't even thinking of using PVC conduit because I wasn't knowing it could be bent. You just saved me hours of aggravation! I'm going with the sand technique. Many thanks.
Most industrial heater for pcv.. just look like a tanning bed with 2 resistance heaters in them, and rollers so you can heat the pvc evenly.. the cheaper ones cost about 600$.. however, not sure why you cant throw it in the oven on broil for a few min..
I tried the sand method but the wife got upset. I instead used the exhaust pipe and capped the exhaust pipe as she revved the car up. Worked like a charm and it's a whole lot quieter around here.
Thanks! I've been diddling around with hot water which cools too quickly and doesn't get the pipe hot enough to mold into desired shape, it springs back. I knew I'd saved that play sand 10 years for something....
About the sandmethod: For a small project I first pored the sand in the pipe to have the right volume and then I pored the sand out of the pipe in some cleaned cans that I then heated. The cans were manipulated with a grab plier. The advantage of using these cans was a more secure poring into the tube… Anyway your sandpan also works 😀
If you get in a pinch and you need a bend where looks arent an issue. Wet the pipe with pvc primer and or glue. Light the primer and carefully make your bend. This will work on thick schedule 40 and 80 even big diameter.
I wonder if the sand technique will work to slightly bend big pvc pipe like 5"...to be used as canoe outriggers...or bigger pipe...10" for DIY catamaran like kayak
A big torch, like a weed burner torch works the best . Just have to move fast so not to scorch. An handy to have a sprayer with water to cool off quickly once you aquire the shape / bend you want. Have bent hundreds of thousands of pipe like that. 1/2" - 5" an grey electrical pipe bends better than white water pipe .
Great Video. Gave the steam trick a try, worked great, but I was working with a piece of PVC with an expanded end for coupling to other pipes. This expanded section shrunk significantly during the steaming process and I couldn't use it anymore.
yeah, you can control it a lot better with the sand. you can add room temp sand into it first to get coverage on the section that you dont want malleable, then dump the hot sand in on top so the ends are not affected.
Great video I'm going to try a variation on what you showed and fill the pipe with water then use a heat gun. Hopefully the water will stop it kinking. If not I'll try cool sand and a heat gun. Many thanks for the video
I have heated a 2" PVC pipe with a propane torch to get a slight bend. You need to keep moving the flame so it doesn't turn brown or black, but it does work good.
thanks for such brilliant ideas.. Just a thought....How about using a Hot Air Gun ? attaching the adaptor that can slot into the pvc. perhaps wrap the adaptor with a small strip of rag or it will just melt the pvc. in seconds.
I needed to take some of the bend out of a 90deg ELEC sched 40 (gray) elbow. I put on a pair of cheap flannel gloves and held it over sweetie's kitchen electric stove. rotating it several times without touching the stove top. It took about 90 seconds and didn't return to its original shape. I'm 80 yrs old, lazy and impatient. lol. Kentucky USA
With the steam method I had a thought, you could use a wallpaper stripper to heat up the pipe and that way you can have the pipe on your bending rack while it's still full of steam.
It looks nice methods! thanks for sharing!!!! I was try with a 60mm PVC pipe at 10 atm with heat air gun and filling with sand but the results was disappointed .....
Note: Heating sand from the yard or road will release a horrendous stink !!! Try to do it outside. If you can't get enough bend on the first try, you can pour out the sand and do it again until you have the amount of bend you want.
Cap off one end of the pipe, fill the pipe with sand, cap off the other end then heat the pipe with a hot air gun at the area you want the bend & shape it accordingly, the sand prevents the pipe from "kinking" or flattening at the site of the bend. Ensure that all the sand is removed before using the pipe!
I agree, the sand method is great! Steam has the same effect but it cools off too fast. With hot sand inside the pipe, there is a lot of time to form it however you want.
Do you know of a way to make rigid pvc connections when there is no room to bend or flex? Sometimes I also need to make multiple connections at the same time. I might be able to get 2 done but not 3 due to inflexibility and short time span for solvent to set. Is there an actual training video on how to do this?
I'm building a pvc frame for a space simulator cockpit and this will allow me to do bends and not spend as much on joints, as well as allow cooler shapes.
I like the tip! I'm gonna build a Didgeridoo with PVC pipe an have to make a few bends in the pipe. You mentioned the sand was about 400 degrees. Is that in Fahrenheit or Celcius? We use Celcius overhere 🙂 Thanks!
Really cool ideas! I’ve been doing a bit of tinkering here and there over the last few months. Mostly just getting a feel for crafting. Made a crude long bow from pvc and braided fishing line, though it might have been too long and the thread too thin. I’m thinking of trying to make a shorter recurve bow and experiment with some different cordage and designs. This certainly will help with making that! On a separate note I tried making a plaster and sand forge, but I think I put the metal tube for the bellows/hairdryer too high so now while the coals burn well at first, they will suddenly go out. I’m thinking that the airflow only reaches the top of the coals so the flames don’t reach the inner sections and it is extinguished once the top surface is used up. It’s all a matter of trial and error. Honestly, I’ve found the value in just jumping in to crafting by working with various materials and getting a feel for them. Cutting/melting plastic bottles into shape, whittling wood, braiding rope. Eventually I’d like to start working on forging iron and aluminum, as well as flint napping glass bottles. Even starting small and simple gives you a strong indication of just what you can do with a bit more finesse.
I have a question I'm wanting to bend a 3" 5' pvc pipe and I capped both ends already is it dangerous for me to use a heat gun just enough for me to Bend it a few inches 😅 I'm thinking not and probably need to jist buy new pipes but hopefully not
I was going to ask why not use water instead of sand... but then read the description and it sounds like you already tried that with worse results. I would've thought water would give a more even temperature and better surface area contact with the pipe. Just googled it to confirm - water has a higher specific heat than sand, which means water should both warm up and cool down more slowly than sand. This means that the water would release heat to the pipe more slowly than sand. Also a higher chance of leakage and being scalded with water than sand... so seems safer and better to use sand haha
I used to have a job burying electric lines in pvc pipe at an airport and we would use the exhaust from the backhoe. We would just hold the pipe over the exhaust so it heated the section that needed a bend. It didn’t get that bendy, just enough that we could navigate a curve in a trench.
Simply brilliant! Thank you so much for posting this!!!! 10 thumbs up!
I didn't know we could ACTUALLY bend pvc pipes. You are are genius! Gifted! Thank you so so much!
The wife will not be pleased with a. Sand in her pan, and b. Your pipe going limp after a few minutes. Your video is a life saver!
BEST comment 🤣🤣🤣
The sand trick was amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
A wonderful tip for Do It Yourselfers like myself! I used the sand method to bend a 60-inch piece of 3/4-inch Schedule 40 PVC. Unfortunately I do have a thermometer that measures tempetures greater than 240 degress Farenheit. I started by putting about 1-inch of sand in a 12-inch x 8.5-inch baking pan in the oven at 350 degrees F for 15 minutes. That didn't work, so we put that sand back in over for 10 minutes at 400 degrees. That didn't work either. Back into the oven at 480 degrees F for 20 minutes. At that point, the PVC wiggled just like you showed on the your video. Thank you so much for giving us this information to get us started on our project.
Thanks for the advice! I was trying to figure out how to make a couple of bends and you really helped a lot. What I used was my little McCulloch steam cleaner. Put that steam nozzle in that PVC for a minute or so and BOOM I had a nice semi rigid noodle to go whichever way I wanted.
4.17.2022 - 4:00PM - In the shop.
Very good. I was working with 7 foot thin wall 3/4 inch PVC.
Only needed 20 degree bends every 10 inches (7 bends).
I used a heat gun (slow) then preferred propane torch (fast),
but that torch will burn PVC quickly. Didn't matter for my
purpose. THEN I kept a wet rag near by and when done bending,
I used rag to PRESS the angle slightly flat for strength,
and also cooling it.
I attached these 160 degree PVC arcs to 8 ft cane poles to
make support arches for bird netting for a chicken coop.
BRILLIANT. PVC is smooth, so netting does NOT snag.
The wife was mildly impressed since she witnesses
my brilliance daily, but regardless, she is MORE
brilliant than I am. New things everyday.
Mr. Brown
North Central Florida
Thanks. Like the sand as it keeps it from kinking if you keep the sand inside the pipe.
I built a big fire in the fire pit or used a charcoal grill. Lots of heat but not so hot so as to scorch the PVC. I could turn the pipe in a makeshift spit and move it lengthwise to heat a really long length to make a 4-foot long sweep elbow. Worked great.
If you can find a long light-duty spring the diameter of the pipe (I have a spring manufacturer in town that keeps a "boneyard" of previous runs for noodlers such as me) you could slip it over the pipe just before bending it - like bending soft copper tubing with a spring bender.
Your parking space puzzle got me for a couple of minutes and then I figured it out. Good one! (Careful to not post the answer so I don't ruin it for others.)
I can’t tell you how helpful it is to see all the methods AND the other things tried. Thank you so much.
You're welcome! Glad to hear the video was helpful!
Put the sand in the pipe cold, with one end capped. Fill 6-12 inches past bend point. Localize heat from a heat gun applied 3-6" above and below bend center. Bend pipe. Spray with cold water from a spray bottle... go to next bend... DONE. Makes it much easier to hand bend and shape on the job without having to try and stabilize multiple bends while cooling... IMHO! But excellent vid on the various ways to heat the pipe! Thanks!
Buddy this was very useful. I’ve got projects on the go at moms where I need to bury pipe over some hilly terrain for dredging silt out of her pond for free by way of gravity, and also for a water hammer pump for the garden that’s all the way up the driveway at the street. She needs to drag 4 hose lengths up there every day it doesn’t rain. Soon she won’t have to water that by hand ever again!
Loved the sand method, to me it looked like total crazy to put sand on the skillet, now I wanna have some sand with carrots and rice, lol. Thank you sir.
The sand is the best one so far. Very helpful video,thank you
A heat gun seems to work quite well for small bends
I've been sitting around the last few days wondering how I'm going to make a bunch of 1" EMT connections between my new panel and a pull box about 18" away. The local big box stores don't have a 1" flex conduit and bending 1" EMT to those tolerances takes mad skills. I wasn't even thinking of using PVC conduit because I wasn't knowing it could be bent. You just saved me hours of aggravation! I'm going with the sand technique. Many thanks.
You're welcome! Thank you for leaving a comment and good luck with the project!!
Same here we need more people like that instead making it harder to understand.
Most industrial heater for pcv.. just look like a tanning bed with 2 resistance heaters in them, and rollers so you can heat the pvc evenly.. the cheaper ones cost about 600$.. however, not sure why you cant throw it in the oven on broil for a few min..
Yu can try using the heat of a candle light/flame..
,
I like your style of presenting: clear instructions, good pace and also sharing the approaches that don't work as well and why.
Just buy a new/used heat gun and end this silliness. 😂
I tried the sand method but the wife got upset. I instead used the exhaust pipe and capped the exhaust pipe as she revved the car up. Worked like a charm and it's a whole lot quieter around here.
Haha
What does this do to the pvc? Does it damage its structural properties? Would you use that pipe for pressurized water line?
Don’t know if I’d live through it using the kitchen. Wife is badder than me. As for your demonstration I learned a great deal. Thanks
Thanks! I've been diddling around with hot water which cools too quickly and doesn't get the pipe hot enough to mold into desired shape, it springs back. I knew I'd saved that play sand 10 years for something....
Ha ha, I was searching this sand method for bending electrical conduit and I found your demonstration. I'll give the sand a try.
Useful for metal tube bending too, helps avoid buckling if packed with sand and duct taped on ends, built a roll cage once this way
Sounds like a cool project and good to know that it works well on metal too! :) Thank you for watching and leaving a comment!
Did you heat the sand first, or heat the tube with sand in it with a torch?
Excellent information!!! I also appreciate learning what didn’t work!! That was helpful!
Glad to hear the video was helpful, thank you!
Is there any pipe thickness that’s too thick and won’t bend? I’m looking at 1 1/4 in pvc
Lovely ideas. Thanks form South Africa
About the sandmethod:
For a small project I first pored the sand in the pipe to have the right volume and then I pored the sand out of the pipe in some cleaned cans that I then heated. The cans were manipulated with a grab plier. The advantage of using these cans was a more secure poring into the tube…
Anyway your sandpan also works 😀
If you get in a pinch and you need a bend where looks arent an issue. Wet the pipe with pvc primer and or glue. Light the primer and carefully make your bend. This will work on thick schedule 40 and 80 even big diameter.
I wonder if the sand technique will work to slightly bend big pvc pipe like 5"...to be used as canoe outriggers...or bigger pipe...10" for DIY catamaran like kayak
What a great idea, especially the sand technique!
Thanks for all the info you share!
Glad you liked it! Thank you for watching and leaving a comment!
Awesome idea, going to use these methods to slightly bend a PVC pipe for cosplay weapon build. Thanks!
A big torch, like a weed burner torch works the best . Just have to move fast so not to scorch. An handy to have a sprayer with water to cool off quickly once you aquire the shape / bend you want. Have bent hundreds of thousands of pipe like that. 1/2" - 5" an grey electrical pipe bends better than white water pipe .
Great Video. Gave the steam trick a try, worked great, but I was working with a piece of PVC with an expanded end for coupling to other pipes. This expanded section shrunk significantly during the steaming process and I couldn't use it anymore.
yeah, you can control it a lot better with the sand. you can add room temp sand into it first to get coverage on the section that you dont want malleable, then dump the hot sand in on top so the ends are not affected.
Great video I'm going to try a variation on what you showed and fill the pipe with water then use a heat gun. Hopefully the water will stop it kinking.
If not I'll try cool sand and a heat gun.
Many thanks for the video
I have heated a 2" PVC pipe with a propane torch to get a slight bend. You need to keep moving the flame so it doesn't turn brown or black, but it does work good.
Thank you for letting us know that it's possible! :)
@White Rick I prefer an evenly heated noodle as well! :) Thank you for commenting!
@@WordofAdviceTV 🤣🤣🤣🤣
I am from tamilnadu,India I am also watching ur video for super idea
Use a propane torch. You need to keep moving it back and forth so you don't burn it. Done this a lot. Works great.
Had no idea you could do that to make a bend in pvc pipe! Once again a good video.
Thank you! Yeah, it's pretty cool to see how flexible those pipes get!
thanks for such brilliant ideas.. Just a thought....How about using a Hot Air Gun ? attaching the adaptor that can slot into the pvc. perhaps wrap the adaptor with a small strip of rag or it will just melt the pvc. in seconds.
so dang helpful! Thanks a million for doing this channel!
For potable water connections you can use salt instead of sand
Never tried using salt, thank you for the suggestion!
BRILLIANT !!!!! You are so smart !! Thanks.
I needed to take some of the bend out of a 90deg ELEC sched 40 (gray) elbow. I put on a pair of cheap flannel gloves and held it over sweetie's kitchen electric stove. rotating it several times without touching the stove top. It took about 90 seconds and didn't return to its original shape. I'm 80 yrs old, lazy and impatient. lol. Kentucky USA
thank you! i’m thinking of making a homemade rollercoaster but! prices are really high rn!
Brilliant.👍🏻
Great tips! Thanks 🙏
Great inversion man 😎
It’s 87 if you guys were wondering.. Just look at the parking spaces upside down and the numbers will be in order lol.
Thanks! I was wondering what it was. Great perspective observation.
its too funny
Thanks for your very helpful video! Wishing you all the best!
Just amazing!!! So pleased I found your video.
⚘ for all the wonderful wives out there that put up with their man in their kitchen. 😉👍🏻
With the hot sand method, does any sand melt into the inside of the PVC pipe?
Any issues with making cuts to the PVC pipe after bending it?
With the steam method I had a thought, you could use a wallpaper stripper to heat up the pipe and that way you can have the pipe on your bending rack while it's still full of steam.
Brilliant!! Thanks for sharing! Happy Holidays.. Be Safe and Be Happy
WOW! it's simple and brilliant!!!! Thanks a lot. Happy Holidays
Why does the Swedish navy have barcodes on their ships?
So when they come to port, they can Scandinavian.....
Lol, thank you for the joke Mr. Classic! :)
xD I love it.
Scan the navy in
You're brilliant.
It looks nice methods! thanks for sharing!!!! I was try with a 60mm PVC pipe at 10 atm with heat air gun and filling with sand but the results was disappointed .....
Well, 1 thing I'm not suprised about. Another Great Video.. 👍
Great video as always Jay!
take care
Thank you for watching and leaving a comment!
Can i use a regular pan to heat sand or has to be a skillet?
Any pan will work 👍
Note: Heating sand from the yard or road will release a horrendous stink !!!
Try to do it outside.
If you can't get enough bend on the first try, you can pour out the sand and do it again until you have the amount of bend you want.
A hair dryer works pretty well, just make sure you don't concentrate the heat in one area too long or it will discolor and even burn
Cap off one end of the pipe, fill the pipe with sand, cap off the other end then heat the pipe with a hot air gun at the area you want the bend & shape it accordingly, the sand prevents the pipe from "kinking" or flattening at the site of the bend. Ensure that all the sand is removed before using the pipe!
great solution!
Best part about using sand is that you won't get kinks in you bend. The sand help the pipe holds it's shaped.
I like the sand method seems to work great although the most expensive way to do it .
I agree, the sand method is great! Steam has the same effect but it cools off too fast. With hot sand inside the pipe, there is a lot of time to form it however you want.
Play sand is cheap IMHO.
Do you know of a way to make rigid pvc connections when there is no room to bend or flex? Sometimes I also need to make multiple connections at the same time. I might be able to get 2 done but not 3 due to inflexibility and short time span for solvent to set. Is there an actual training video on how to do this?
Excellent sir
I need to bend 6" PVC tube in into various shapes for a new series of sculptures I am planning. Any advice for me?
Good presentation, very helpful.
First step is very easy thank u
Thanks you ❤
Thank you! this is going to help me big time! :D
Can it be done to the larger thicker ones?
It should be possible though I haven't tried it myself.
Does the cap also get warped ... with the ability to work as a cap with its new shape?
87 The numbers are inverted… finally my dyslexia came up useful!
The sand looks like the best option…
Fantastic! Very good!!
I'm building a pvc frame for a space simulator cockpit and this will allow me to do bends and not spend as much on joints, as well as allow cooler shapes.
Superb idea👌
Im about to try the sand method on a short one inch pvc pipe, I wonder if itwill work 😂😃👍
That is genius! Love your show. Thank You
Glad you liked the video! :) Thank you for watching!
Those are pretty cool ideas ...even though i have been using a heat gun but those ideas are great like survival thing 👍👍👍
This is so cool!!
I like the tip! I'm gonna build a Didgeridoo with PVC pipe an have to make a few bends in the pipe.
You mentioned the sand was about 400 degrees.
Is that in Fahrenheit or Celcius? We use Celcius overhere 🙂
Thanks!
That was in Fahrenheit. 🙂
Very good idea
Really cool ideas! I’ve been doing a bit of tinkering here and there over the last few months. Mostly just getting a feel for crafting. Made a crude long bow from pvc and braided fishing line, though it might have been too long and the thread too thin. I’m thinking of trying to make a shorter recurve bow and experiment with some different cordage and designs. This certainly will help with making that!
On a separate note I tried making a plaster and sand forge, but I think I put the metal tube for the bellows/hairdryer too high so now while the coals burn well at first, they will suddenly go out. I’m thinking that the airflow only reaches the top of the coals so the flames don’t reach the inner sections and it is extinguished once the top surface is used up. It’s all a matter of trial and error.
Honestly, I’ve found the value in just jumping in to crafting by working with various materials and getting a feel for them. Cutting/melting plastic bottles into shape, whittling wood, braiding rope. Eventually I’d like to start working on forging iron and aluminum, as well as flint napping glass bottles. Even starting small and simple gives you a strong indication of just what you can do with a bit more finesse.
Check out Backyard Bowyer! He makes all kinds of bows, crossbows, etc out of PVC!
He normally uses a heat gun and a DIY sort of heat reflector
Thanks for this idea. I used to make wrinkles and spoil pipe and it's hydraulics 😅
Excellent Idea.
I have a question I'm wanting to bend a 3" 5' pvc pipe and I capped both ends already is it dangerous for me to use a heat gun just enough for me to Bend it a few inches 😅 I'm thinking not and probably need to jist buy new pipes but hopefully not
Wow! Thank you 😊👏!
HOT SAND!!!!! THAT WAS THE COOLEST THING EVER
Do you think the customer would mind much if I fire up their cooktop with a skillet full of sand? lol Neat stuff
Thanks.
Good idea.
In case of kettle steam, make a small hole on the end cap.
So you get waste steam flow out, replacing some new super heat.
I was going to ask why not use water instead of sand... but then read the description and it sounds like you already tried that with worse results. I would've thought water would give a more even temperature and better surface area contact with the pipe.
Just googled it to confirm - water has a higher specific heat than sand, which means water should both warm up and cool down more slowly than sand. This means that the water would release heat to the pipe more slowly than sand.
Also a higher chance of leakage and being scalded with water than sand... so seems safer and better to use sand haha
I used to have a job burying electric lines in pvc pipe at an airport and we would use the exhaust from the backhoe. We would just hold the pipe over the exhaust so it heated the section that needed a bend. It didn’t get that bendy, just enough that we could navigate a curve in a trench.
Thanks so much very helpful
Will the sand stick on the inner walls of the pvc
plz do replay
Have u tried this with grey PVC conduit? Is it the same as this white plumbing PVC
I have not tried it myself but have seen others do it and it works the same.