PVC rail help

steezyskier17

steezyskier17

Member
Hey guys, I bought 2 tubes of 2 inch by 12 foot PVC pipe yesterday, and I'm gonna make a rail. What I need to know is how to get the PVC to the wood. I'll probably put them side by side on a 2X6. What is the best way to get them on? I've seen people drill holes in the PVC, the put a screw through the bottom. Is there any other ways to do it? And second of all, I need a way to make good, sturdy legs. I was gonna make 3 legs. Thanks.
 
I just made an eight foot rail with 6 supports. To put the pvc on the best way to do it is to drill holes in the top that you can fit the drill bit and screw through and then drill pilot holes where you want the screws to go. The drill the screws in and sand down any bit of pvc that isn't flush.
 
lol, NO screw up from the bottom like i said. i have made pvc rails both screwing from the top and bottom and bottom is sooo much easier and works a ton better
 
Personally, i drill a hole in the top just big enough for the screw and bit to fit, then rill the screw in. you DO NOT notice the holes when sliding and i have never caught an edge on my rail.
 
I've only done the hole method, but if I were to make another rail, I would try the bottom-through method. I've broken a couple of pipes because of the holes on top, so I think going through the bottom would be the strongest option.
 
Drill up from the bottom, its alot easier ive done it with all my rails, for supports. build the frame of your rail first and add PVC last. On the ends of the rail i suggest 45 degree supports attaching to the outer most leg and the base of the rail, it will be increadably sturdy that way. (if you have access to a tool the will actually cut exactly 45 degrees other that a saw and your eyeballs)
 
with 4X4's you should just screw them the the underside of the rail (the other side of the 2X4 that the PVC will be on) if your going to use 2X4's as legs than make supports like i did see below

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No the metal corner brackets arent needed but i had them laying around so i threw them on there and it crazy sturdy. obviusly this rail is tiny but it was a mock up i made with left overs for a friend. if your rail is longer the angled supports will need to be longer
 
made 1 last year put a screw through the top of the pvc then drill the wood to the side of the pvc then put a block of wood on the bottom of each of the 3 stiltings
 
I would also highly recommend using bolts at each end, it holds the pvc to the wood much better and it won't separate after time.
 
i seriously would not reccomend the angled supports, unless youre making them small. i found that with my first rail i was afraid to try any switchups or 270s on because if you split it by accident you would eat shit. just my opinion though, id advise you to make sure theyre small.
 
this, i have an exteremly sturdy 10 foot dub barrel and used just deck wood as the feet with 4 screws holding them onto the frame. and my frame is just 2 10 foot 2x4s with 5 vertical 2x4 soppourts in between, it works amazing
 
Okay so I just threw this together in the last hour as an excuse to take a break from studying. I'm definitely a CAD noob so I didn't anticipate that the colors would look so shitty on a white background instead of a black one so I apologize if you can't see them very clearly.

Anyways, this shows how to safely attach screws from the top of the rail instead of drilling up through the bottom...

View attachment 388222

Step By Step:

First you want to drill a large hole with a 1/4 inch bit into the top of the PVC so that you can fit the screw's head down into the inside of the pipe.

Then drill a pilot hole with a 1/8 inch bit through the hole you created with the 1/4 inch bit that goes about 1 inch deep into the wood.

Now sink a 1 and a 1/4 inch wood screw through the large hole in the top into the smaller pilot hole in the bottom to secure the pipe.

Voila, you have a super sturdy and safe rail that will last years.
 
screw in from the bottom. make sure you have good sized screws so you dont end up screwing thru the whole thing . i forget what i used so just measure. also get screws that can be exsposed to the elements. so they wont rust out
 
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