Fitting pvc pipe is a pain where there are
a
lot of joints involved. You have to
measure the required distances, and then
allow for the amount of space taken up
by
the joint. If the pipe is not measured and
cut correctly, the angles are off, and the
seals are less sound.
I'm sure
there are a lot of tricks and
techniques to fitting pipe of any kind, but
for the occasional do-it-yourself kind of
guy, this is more of an investment of time
than it may be worth.
I would like some clamps that are
specifically designed to dry-fit pvc pipe.
This is how they would work:
The clamps would be so built that the
user could snap the pipe into it from the
side. They would have a cross-section
resembling a "C", and would be some 3
inches long.
Two of these clamps would form an
angle,
their openings directly opposite of where
they join. Thus, two pipes could be
joined
at right angles to one another, but
slightly
overlapping. The clamps come in an
appropriate variety of angles.
By getting an estimate of how long the
individual pipes must be, they pipes can
be generously cut at the outset, and then
dry-fit into the clamps to form the
desired
arrangement.
The clamps have small slots cut into
them
at the appropriate places relative to their
intersections that, once the appropriate
positioning is found, will allow you to
mark the proper places to cut the pipe.
This can be achieved with any marking
device, and because the slot forms a
stencil of sorts, could even be achieved
by
a quick spray of chalk paint.
Having thus marked the pipes, and
numbering the same sequentially, they
may be disassembled and cut to perfect
length. The type and direction of the
joint
being also stenciled in the same manner
as the cut-mark, the reassembly in the
traditional manner should found to
present little difficulty, as all can be laid
easily end-to-end before beginning.
Note that the claps hold well, but allow
for
some sliding in order to position the
pipes
to a certain angle. This will be useful
when the sides of the angle are very
large,
and the use of a square is necessary to
ensure that the angle remains true. It
may also do to have some such clips
made
such that they can be adjusted through a
range of angles, so that adjustments can
be made on the fly.
Note also that this would work on any
kind of pipe, but other types of pipe are
usually done by professionals who would
think that this idea is very silly.
Also, a laser pointer with adjustable
flanges that hold it inside of a piece of
pipe (with a little piece of string for
retrieval) would be useful in making
measurements for joints.