Do It Yourself : Building Furniture Is Easy as PVC

Back in the late ‘60s when I first started making furniture out of plastic (PVC) pipe, the idea was still in its infancy. I made a few sling chairs for the beach, a glass-topped coffee table that appeared in Popular Science, a system of circular shelves affixed to a center post and a few other projects. Then I went back to working with wood and pretty much forgot about pipe furniture.

Then, to my surprise, the stuff started showing up in some pretty fancy stores, at prices to match. Over the years the quality of the designs had improved, and so had the pipe. When I started out, the only thing available was the PVC used by plumbers. Now you can get special furniture-grade pipe, stronger than the plumber’s version with built-in UV (ultraviolet) inhibitors to prevent degradation from the sun, and with a smoother surface finish.

Still, plain old plumber’s pipe works well for a variety of projects, and if you’d like to experiment a bit with some of your own ideas, it’s the simplest and cheapest way to get started.

The stuff to look for is called Schedule 40 PVC pipe. It comes in a variety of diameters, but the most useful is 1 1/2 inches. This is strong enough for most work, yet still light enough to avoid a clumsy, overbuilt look.

You should be able to get this pipe at any plumbing supply house and at good hardware stores, building supply outlets and home centers. Wherever you buy the pipe, you can also buy the fittings you’ll need to make your joints, plus the cement to glue the joints together.

The most useful fittings are tees and elbows, but wyes and 45-degrees elbows can come in handy at times, too. Make sure the cement you get is formulated for PVC pipe. The stuff meant for other plastics, such as ABS may or may not work.

Design ideas: You can get these out of your own head or you can work from existing PVC furniture plans and how-to manuals. Two sources to get you started are:

Unique Designs, P.O. Box 0058, Syracuse, N.Y. 13215. The sling chair shown in the sketch is based on one of their designs.

P. E. Broncato & Associates, Box 237, Riverview, Fla. 33569. Broncato also is a source for furniture-grade pipe.

If you just want to get the feel of PVC furniture, however, you can start with your own designs, sized to fit your specific needs. To build a coffee table, for example, you can make a pair of PVC “goal posts” about 16 inches high, connected by a stretcher of pipe running from crossbar to crossbar. Top it off with a slab of wood or glass and the job is done.

Working with pipe: This is about as simple as anything can get. The pipe cuts easily with a back saw, and an ordinary miter box will help you make good square cuts. Cut out all the parts for your design, then test fit the whole thing together dry, without any glue, to check for any problems of poor fit.

Sometimes, as projects get more complex, you’ll have to work out a specific order of assembly ahead of time or you’ll “paint yourself into a corner” and won’t be able to get the last few parts in place.

Once you are satisfied with fit and assembly sequence, you can cement the parts together. To make a joint, simply apply a coat of cement to both fitting and pipe, then slip into fitting with a twisting motion until the pipe bottoms out.

Quickly make sure the parts are aligned. The cement softens the plastic parts so they melt together, then evaporates so the plastic rehardens to form a solid weld. You only have about 30 seconds to make adjustments before the joint begins to set up.

Finishing: To start, you may want to leave the pipe unfinished. It’s usually white or an attractive beige color. Simply wipe off any factory markings with a rag soaked in acetone, and your “finishing” is complete.

If you’d like to paint the pipe, aerosol alkyd or polyurethane enamels are a good, durable choice. Rust-Oleum makes a good alkyd finish, Varathane is a good choice in the urethane family. For best adhesion, sand pipe and fittings with 320 waterproof sandpaper before spraying. Use the paper wet, then rinse the project with clean water and let dry before spraying.

PIPE FURNITURE

The frames for the chair is made of 1 1/2 inch, Schedule 40 PVC (plastic) pipe. Parts include: 17 pieces of pipe, 8 elbows and 6 tees put together with cement.