PVC and your shop, a wonderful combination
Having used PVC pipe in plumbing and other projects it was
only a matter of time before it became a staple in my shop. Here are some of
the most obvious uses. I would encourage you, dear reader to think up more ingenious
uses and tell me about them.
Used to center the weight during the glue up:
One problem I was
having was an unnecessarily wide glue line in-between my rings. I discovered
that often this was due to uneven weight distribution or placing weight (sometimes
I use my old workout weights instead of clamps) in the center of a wider ring
causing a push out or cupping effect making the glue lines noticeably wider
around the circumference of the rings. The solution was simple; distribute the
weight evenly and directly over the glue up area. PVC in the 6, 8 and 10 inch
come in real handy for this.
Used to lengthen your tool handles:
I love long tool
handles but they can be a pain to store, so I simple use one and a half or one
and a quarter PVC and jamb them into the handle ends and now your tool handle
is as long as your comfort zone. A dowel in the non tool end with a tap or two
and it is released and ready to be put back in the drawer. For this I would
suggest schedule 40 or the heavier PVC pipe as a means to reduce vibration.
As a storage device for face plates:
Face plates can be
difficult to store and work with off the lathe. 6 inch PVC 6 or so inches long
and you are no longer chasing them across the shop floor or scraping your
countertops with the threaded end of the face plate.
As tool storage on your lathe or counter top or wall area:
This is one I use
constantly. Using multiple lathe tools on a project can give you a mess or at
least spending too much time finding a tool you just put down. Attaching
different diameter lengths of 4 to 6 inches gives the storage right where you
need it. Believe it or not on some projects every one of these has one tool or another
in it. You will notice here that I also place weight on my lathe bottom. The
more the merrier as it is an eliminator of vibration to a lathe that is not
bolted to your shop floor.
As a storage area for drills and screw guns:
Organizing my screw
guns with PVC was one of the best and most productive things I did with PVC. I
picked it up off a woodworking mag and man am I thankful. The biggest benefit was
the mess it cleaned up and the counter top space it freed up. Here you see 10
to 12 inch 4 inch schedule 40 with the first 4 to 6 inches of its bottom in a 2
inch width cut away and mounted to the underneath of a counter area. The guns
or drills slip in like a holster. In between the guns I have mounted the
chargers so the batteries you see are recharging while being stored.
Finally, I use PVC as a dying chamber:
I have been using
wood dye as a means of getting different effects and accents in my projects. It
began with ‘ebony X’ a process of using vinegar and rusted metal to make veneers
of walnut and darker wood jet black. Since then I have been experimenting with
many colors, red, blue, green and yellow for example add highlighs to many
segmented projects with a huge wow factor. They are especially useful in my
game board work highlighting and distinguishing the boards. I will not take the time here to go over the
process but as you can see each color has a ‘dying chamber’ made from PVC. The veneer
is cut into one inch by 36 inch strips. Dates are used to determine the proper
exposure time to the dye and they are rolled every week or so to make sure the
dye impregnates the vineer uniformly.
Usally then are in the tubes for a couple of months at a minimum.
So there you have my
PVC extravaganza. Remember an organized but messy shop is better and safer by
far than an unorganized clean shop.
I look forward to
your feedback and responces.
Please feel free to
contact me at:
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comment on the blog.
