PVC Gap Solution

[Experienced Noob]

Hey, everybody!

Ok, so, I'm trying to start a PVC saber build based off my old Anakin AOTC Hasbro saber, and I've finally gotten my PVC and found that the gap between the inner diameter of the 1 1/4" pipe and the outer diameter of the 1" pipe is quite a bit wider than I anticipated. I was wondering if any of you veteran builders had discovered a good solution to close up this gap and make it a tighter fit. Most of the research I've gathered didn't say anything about it and just had the pieces screwed together. Also, I watched one video where the guy actually cut a small bit of the larger pipe away, heated it until it was pliable, and formed it around the smaller pipe, using Bondo to fill in the cut mark. Am I missing something with the first method, or is heat-forming the most effective path? Any advice is greatly appreciated!

[grumblehound]

I am posting this from England so not sure this is the same in the US
over here we have two pvc waste pipe diameters 1 1/4" and 1 1/2" (these are approximations as we use the metric system ) to make matters worse we have two types of pipe .... push fit for push fit connections and solvent fit for glued connections now each type is slightly different in external diameter solvent fit larger push fit smaller so we have in effect four different sizes of pipe what I use is solvent fit 1 1/4 for the main hilt and push fit 1 1/2 for the outer
also we have pipes made from abs plastic easy to cut straight good for painting and thinner wall thickness and pp plastic thicker wall thickness
best idea is to try it in the shop test fit different sizes of pipe for a tight fit inside each other

good luck

[Kouri]

There's only about a 1/32" gap between the two if you're using SCH 40 pipe. 1" pipe has an OD of about 1.315", while 1.25" SCH40 Pipe has an ID of 1.380".

You could layer things a bit differently. 1.5" PVC sinktube slips over 1" pipe. It's still a loose fit, but tighter than the SCH40 pipe. The 1.5" tube has an OD around 1.5" (perhaps a bit under), while Class200 1.25" thinwall pipe has an ID of ~1.502". You might need to sand the sinktube down a bit, but it'll fit inside the thinwall pipe.