The Crescent City Absurdist: All For a Mardi Gras Day: PVC Magic Pipe

Pipes have been around for almost 6,000 years, but the Babylonians were old-school and used clay. If only they had plastic. If only they had PVC. Like Mardi Gras, polyvinyl chloride was invented in France, but took some time to catch on in America. Invented in the 19^th century, it was brittle and unready for commercial use, but the addition of new plastics popularized it and by the mid-20^th century several nations were refitting and constructing sewage and water pipes with PVC.

But more importantly than sewage and water, PVC has artistic applications as well. It is a thermoplastic resin with a low heat stability which means you can use heat to reform its shape. As Mardi Gras fast approaches, krewes shift their attention to detail. Big picture stuff slides away and is replaced by the tedium required to do a job all-the-way-right, to produce a product that doesn't just look cool from a distance. While the Krewe of Ragnarock’s Horse inspires awe because of its color and size, its details cast an additional layer of wonder upon any proximal reveler. Some of the most fun details involve PVC pipe. For the pale horse, with guidance, I used PVC to make chain links and ribs for the horseman. A similar process can be done for many projects. Here's how I made the ribs (the chain links were made in a similar set of steps):

Most steps are featured in pictures below.

1) Determine desired shape of pipe. Cut it to length (table saw)

2) Create a mold of desired shape by drilling holes in a board to wrap the pipe around.

3) Heat the PVC pipe all around but especially near the middle or where you want it to bend. You will see it to start to lose its rigidity and droop.

4) Shape it to the mold on the board.

5) Let it cool. After a couple minutes, it will harden again.
6) When you have created all your pieces, prime the connector pieces with PVC cement primer. Wear gloves because it is purple and difficult to remove from skin or fabric if spilled.
7) Coat the inside of the connectors and ends of pipes with PVC cement.
8) Connect the pieces into connectors. If you are making chain links make sure you weave your links with each other.
9) Paint!
*There are lots of variations of these steps possible you can perform to fit your desired project. The most important feature of PVC for crafting is you can reshape and connect it!