I'm having to make an 8' cannon/gun out of PVC for a costume. I also have to be able to transport this in my very tiny car, with four other people in the car. So, I'm needing to know - how can I assemble my gun and/or make it more portable without the use of glues or PVC cement?The canon will be carried around a LOT, and will have to stand up to considerable wear and some banging around. So I need something that won't fall apart.
The only way to hold PVC pipe together without glue and primer is with mechanical compression fittings.They are fittings with plastic/rubber washers that you tighten by hand. You would need to carry big channel lock pliers with you, to tighten when you assemble it. They are available in 11/2, 2, 3, 4. Good luck!
If you have time to experiment, try some rubber cement or silicone. Put 2 thin lines, in the direction of the pipe, 180 degrees apart. Let them dry before assembly. File or cut out the inside edge of each pipe (assuming you're going to use internal fittings) so you have a 30 to 45 degree angle all the way around. Apply some Vaseline or Crisco to the inside and fit the pieces together. If you're lucky, it will push together without pushing the cement off and the cement will act as a pressure fit. You should be able to take it apart with a little twisting. The only other suggestion I have is to use clear packing tape. It's like scotch tape, only it's about 2 inches wide.
Depending on your design you could wedge some kind of shim in the joints and it possibly would work. Other wise some kind of cement is it, as plastic shrinks and expands with the weather so even a real tight fit today may not be so tight tomorrow.
