leaping arches are falling down falling down

**keebler** · 09-15-2010, 10:51 AM

I'LL HAVE TO TRY THAT
THANK YOU

sorry bout the caps, didn't realize they were on

**dirknerkle** · 09-15-2010, 09:14 PM

Originally Posted by CrazyG

I've had good luck with feeding a rope through the pipe, using the rope to pull the pipe into an arch and laying this out in the driveway for summer sun to warm. Once its warmed up you can gradually pull the arch tighter with the rope until you reach the arc you want then a bit more and let it cool before taking the rope off. Most of the curve is retained. If you live in a cooler climate, aren't making them in the summer or in a hurry, piping hot air (like from a hair dryer) through the tensioned pipe to warm it works well too.

Wow. That's brilliant! It's always the simple stuff that's schmartttt!!!

**keebler** · 09-16-2010, 02:08 AM

i tell ya, it is amazing the sheer talent on this board.
no wonder this is the best place to celebrate the blinky flashy season all year round

**kychristmas** · 09-16-2010, 08:42 AM

I'm going to trumpet the "sectioned" method that's in the wiki. I think the joints help with the bending. I had no problems with cracking. Of course, I will be a bit nervous when I get them out and put them up.

I have 6 12ft arches stored in a single cheap Garbage can. It also makes them much easier to do.

One downside is that its a bit more expensive because you only use 3ft of each 10ft piece of conduit. You could use couplers, but those now cost as much as a full 10ft section. Although I threw some out, I use the remaining 7ft for other things.

Heres a thread I posted on my wrapping process
http://doityourselfchristmas.com/for...ad.php?t=10236

**keebler** · 10-05-2010, 06:19 PM

well here is what i did.
i took 6 pieces of 3/4" gray electrical PVC
and laid them out in the sun for a day, then the next day connected them and stood them in my garden at a 12' arch.
after 2 days i compressed them into 9' (still in the garden)

now i have 3 arches that are formed VERY well.

i will take some 1 1/4" gray electrical PVC and cut them into section about 12" long and wrap lights around them. i need 8 sections per arch (4 for each side - 8 per arch)
the larger PVC will allow me to replace defective sections without taking the whole arch down to make repairs.

and make storage quite easy...

any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

thanks y'all

**rstehle** · 10-05-2010, 07:08 PM

If I might make a suggestion, instead of wrapping 1 1/4" gray PVC, I strongly suggest wrapping 1" black poly pipe (160 psi). You can buy it in 100' rolls at Lowes and H/D, or by the foot at H/D (I bought some this summer for $.26 per foot). Since it comes in a large roll, it already has a nice bend to it, and works great as a sleeve on arches. The ends actually line up quite well. I start with a piece about 6" longer that I want to end up with, so I have something to hold on to when the wraps get close to the end. I then cut it (very carefully) to the exact length of the wrapped light on my miter saw. Be careful with that step, it is very easy to nick a wire. :oops: (hmm, how did I learn that............)
(1 1/4 gray conduit will bend, but pieces that short won't bend easy........)

Just my .025

**keebler** · 10-05-2010, 08:06 PM

i appreciate that.

i'll go look at that stuff tomorrow. the 1" tube however will NOT fit over the 3/4" PVC though

**kychristmas** · 10-06-2010, 01:17 AM

IMO, you are over-doing it. I use the 3/4 Grey PVC conduit in sections and didn't have a single problem. The sections were easily wrapped on my home-made arch-wrapper and went up easy and came down and stored away even easier.

I don't know if I mentioned it, but I mount them by driving 30" pieces of rebar at a slight angle, leaving about 14" sticking up. I then place the end of the arches over the rebar. The rebar is approximately 7-8 ft apart.

**keebler** · 10-06-2010, 06:21 AM

i appreciate your opinion. this is my fist year with the arches and am somewhat confused, there are so many wonderful ideas out there.

i wanted to use the sleeves so i could easily replace a section when it messes up. but i am quickly running out of time.

i just thought the sleeves would be easier to roll the lights onto then messing with an 8 foot section of PVC.

i remember seeing a website somewhere that had 3 examples of arches at different heights, etc. i want to make sure of my lengths (before I cut them) and confirm the distances between the arches. perhaps there is a formula?

**kychristmas** · 10-06-2010, 10:21 AM

You are expriencing what I was last year. When it was all done, I thought to myself, hell that was easy. I literally came across the How-To in the Wiki in the 11th hour. I was trying to figure out how I was going to find the space to wrap 12ft arches. I had purchased the conduit and was planning on doing it in our hallway the next morning. That night I stumbled across the wiki How-To and never looked back. I built the small Lathe style light wrapper with a cheap drill and some MDF. It was slow at first, but I ended up getting pretty fast. I think the last ones took me about 3-4 minutes per section.

I also have two extra sections that I can change out if needed.

No matter what method you use, I see no reason to heat and bend the arches. The PVC is just not that Rigid. In the Holdman videos, he shows that he stores them flat and straight.