Free PVC pipe?!

[David of Doell]

I was talking to my friend who is an apprentice electrician and since I know they use PVC I asked about scraps. He said the biggest scraps they throw away are 5 feet! I thought, wow, that would be a perfect source of free PVC pipe. He's in school right now so he can't hook me up but it got me thinking. I could maybe stop by construction bins or something and see if I can find some PVC pipe. My family also knows some electricians so maybe I could get some scraps that way.

[Cib]

Wow, what would be fantastic for loaners and weapons build days to.

[Ruscfast]

Are you sure it is PVC, though, and not electrical conduit? The article on geddon.org says that the two look very similar but that the latter is unsuitable for weapon cores. Its worth double checking.

[David of Doell]

I could only find this article and it doesn't distinguish between two types(only different schedules): www.geddon.org/index.php/PVC I think my current sword in progress is from electrical that I found in my garage. It doesn't flex too much and feels fine so I can't see a problem with it. I'll find out more when I can actually get some from someone. Right now I have plenty of pipe though.

[Cib]

my first 2 swords were from electrical conduit, it looks right at first glance but is like a wip. It made dangerous weapons that flexed over 90.

[Ruscfast]

It's in this article: www.geddon.org/index.php/Weapon_Construction_Basics scroll down to "PCV Piping" under "Selecting a core."

[Cib]

Hmm... now that I am thinking of it, the stuff I was thinking of was PAX-PEX or something like that, the electrical PVC is more likly the stuff we used from canadian tire for the first year, it said PVC, but had no SCH# it worked ok on small swords but was not as strong as SCH40 and out bigger weapons didn't last as long. It had thiner side walls, was an off white and 1/2" was not actually 1/2" but a bit thinner. Maybe that is the stuff?

[David of Doell]

Hmm, well I looked at the two pipes I have and I see a temperature, one says 90 degrees celsius and the other one 75. I wonder if that's melting point. If so there's no way it's going to get that hot. They definitely don't fail flex. I don't like weapons with much flex. One pipe has a schedule on it so it must be the right kind but the other one doesn't.

[Ruscfast]

Different materials heat different ways; the air may not reach 75 or 90 because it can expand, but solid objects can reach surprising temperatures if exposed to direct sun. Also foam acts like an insulation, it will keep the core hot when it does heat up. However, if you don't leave you weapons in the sun for extended periods or in a hot car/truck--which do become ovens in the summer--they could be okay.

The one with the schedule rating is likely fine, the other you could make a simple test weapon with and see how it holds up over time.

[David of Doell]

Yeah, that's good to know. I'll keep an eye on it, see how it holds up and not leave it in hot vehicles.