But ladies and gentlemen I beg to differ. Look at all the pvc that is arched and used for greenhouses. Also, lets not forget the birds made with pvc pipes. They are cut and heated and bent and stretched.

http://www.vickysbirds.com/index.html
I am looking for the directions I have somewhere.

I also found this site that has a lot of related items we might like to check out.

pvc hinges
http://www.pvcplans.com/hinges.htm

Someone made a form, plywood with nails outlining the shape, on both sides of where the PVC would go. They used a heat gun to get it pretty flexible, and pushed it down between the nails, and then when it cooled they took it out of the form and wa-la, a snow shoe shape ready to be strung up with leather lacing.

Unfortunately my husband can't remember exactly what kind of PVC, but then it seems most days he can't remember his own name!

The Scouts had a ball with these, and we ended up selling ours at a yard sale to a grampa who took up to his cabin.

Does this make any sense?

Lynne
who has a fried brain from the 25 degree plus over normal temps

Diane

Materials
-Kettle for boiling water.
-A large bucket with cold water.
-Leather Gloves or a pair of rags.
-PVC pipe, no longer than 7'

Put the kettle in the stove and boil the water. Once the steam starts to come out, put your gloves on and hold one end of the pipe directly on the sprout so the steam goes inside the pipe.
After a few minutes, it will start to get soft and pliable.
Work the PVC in the shape desired and put it into the cold water, that will make it retain the shape.
Reverse the pipe and work the other end.
If you need an extension longer than 7', bend several pieces and join them with PVC couplers.

A heat gun also works, but it's very common to "pinch" the PVC while bending since it's hard to heat the pipe equally on all sides and that will create an unsteady flow of water. The steam will give you a more uniform heating.

Hope this helps!

I'm not sure I understand "pinch" as you're describing, this is something that happens with poly pipe cannot fathom the same thing happening to rigid pvc

What a great idea for a trellis. If I ever move back up north I want to make a greenhouse using pvc.

Tropicalfreak

http://www.thepipeviper.com/ might be worth checking out, the price doesn't seem too bad

There was also a post a while back about someone who had a garden trellis for their kiwi plants but I can't see the picture.

Can anybody help me with these.

Thank you
Sandy
Florida

Here is what you can do to heat up the pipe first:
For larger diameter pipes you can make a quick wood trough so that the boiling water can soak the pipe thoroughly.
For small diameter pipes, you can wrap a thick towel around the pipe so that the boiling water can have time to heat up the pipe evenly.

dcarch

I made my pvc pasture gates with pre-molded pvc corner sections. Some people used these for their creations and I think some bent the pipe using heat. It should be mentioned (and is mentioned in this thread) that heating pvc releases toxic chemicals.

Remember the huge problem with silicone implants? which caused Dow to go bankrupt? Many lawyer got very rich, and many people lost their jobs? Later, it was found that silicone had nothing to do with any suspected health issues.

dcarch

I'm not up to speed on adverse health consequences regarding silicon implants, but many toxins once believed to be safe have proven otherwise. Asbestos and lead are good examples. They are both relatively harmless unless one disturbs them, ie by removing asbestos and thus releasing dust from this material into the air or by sanding lead paint, or unless one has persistent contact with these substances for instance workers in plants where these substances were used. Dangers of contact are heightened for very young children as well as unborn children.