Working with PVC pipe

[James]

Hello,

I had some PVC pipe left over from a project and my kids discovered it was fun to play with. Having cut it into a few segments and smoothed up the ends, I also had a spare T joint which I gave up.

It is a real hit, but, it turns out that it is difficult for little hands to pry apart 1 1/2" PVC pipe from fittings. Obviously PVC is meant to get glued together and stay together.

I was thinking of shaving down the diameter of the pipes for about 1" from each end, to make the fittings less snug. Does anyone have an alternative idea, or does anyone have a practical suggestion how to do this easily?

Thanks!

[Glenn]

Sure. A little sandpaper will do the trick.

[gfretwell]

Silicon lub will make them slide in and out pretty easy but it may be too messy. If you are not going to put a load on it you can also cut a small kerf in the couplings so they have some give to them.

[Joshua Putnam]

I've used PVC to make displays that knock down easily. Sanding the ends works well.

[AndyS]

Andy comments: When my kids were little I got an old lawnmower engine off the junk pile from a shop, took it apart and cleaned all the oil/grease, and took out the piston rings. I gave it to my son to use like an erector set. He could assemble and dissassemble it for fun without making a mess. A screwdriver and adjustable wrench was all he needed. He learned a good bit about engines, and so did I........ A cheap toy that teaches useful things....

[Bob Morrison]

Along this line you could try a silicone spray on the ends.

[CWatters]

Humm there's an idea. Lots of short lengths of pipe, some branches, forks etc ...and a bag of marbles or ping pong balls.

[HeyBub]

Google for "marshmallow gun" for even more fun.

[Judanne]

Or you and the kids could have a lot of fun by downloading free plans from here

Judanne

Humm there's an idea. Lots of short lengths of pipe, some branches, forks etc ...and a bag of marbles or ping pong balls.

Google for "marshmallow gun" for even more fun.

[anti-bush]

You need to give them something more useful in this day and age. In these days of war and terrorism you should be giving your kids some weapons of war to take apart and assemble. Remember, once they turn

18 Bush will send them off to war to be killed, so its good that they at least know how to make a bomb which could save their lives.

The next generation wont need plumbing or lawn mowers, they will only need guns, bombs, and nuclear war heads to survive.

[AndyS]

[e-mail] wrote:>

Andy writes: You have a point.... I'll give my grandkids my 9mm to play with.......

:>))))))))))))))))))

[Glenn]

My, aren't we up to date? All I have in that line is an old 38 special but I wouldn't advise anyone to try sneaking down my hallway around 3:00 AM

PS, aren't they about the same caliber?

[gfretwell]

About the same cal 9mm is .001 slammer but the 9mm shoots a lighter faster bullet. You could probably duplicate the ballistics with a 115 gr jacketed slug and 5 grains of Unique but you are better off with a real .38 bullet, 158gr or so. In a modern pistol you can make one move right along.