Post #156646 by WillTiki on Wed, May 4, 2005 8:07 AM

I have a didgeredoo (Australian Aboriginal musical instrument)made from PVC pipe that was made to look like bamboo. The joints and bends were made by heating a small area of the pipe with an heat gun (if you are not familiar with these, its kind of like an industrial strength blow-dryer capable of setting hair paper etc. on fire) and either bending for bends (duh) or slightly stretching and then pushing back together for joints. While it is still a little soft, a putty knife or similar tool can be applied circumfrencially to make the goove in the joint. Lonitudinal grooves are made by heating and applying a tool. This is definitely out-door work due to the fumes and danger of fire. Wear gloves and shoes and go easy with the heat until you get a feel for the working range for heating the pipe. Too little heat and it is cooled before you can bend it and too much and it just sags. It helps to work on a reasonably large flat surface that you can use to hold the pipe while you heat and turn it to make joints. The order generally is joints first, then bends last so it can still roll on a flat surface while being heated for the joints.
Finish with primer and longitudinally apllie streaky wood finish. This was for a musical instrument not a structural application; I used the thinner walled PVC; the thicker would be harder to heat but stronger. Also, I am not sure how much it weakens the pvc to heat bend and stretch it but rest assured it will weaken it. Remember, if you still want to join the ends using pipe joints etc to keep the heat away from them or you will distort them to the point that they will no longer fit.