The 18 Greatest PVC Hacks We’ve Ever Published

Drill Dock

Keep your drills and those must-have drill attachments organized and close at hand to make your DIY projects run smoothly. By investing just two hours, you can build this wall-mounted drill dock to house everything you need. There’s a top shelf for accessories, a wider lower shelf for larger items such as battery packs, and the clever use of 3-inch PVC piping makes hanging holsters for different drill attachments.

The instructions for this drill dock include advice on how to customize the dock to fit your drill and you can even add a power strip to the bottom shelf to keep everything charged and ready to go. In addition to basic tools, you’ll need a circular saw, a jigsaw, and a clamp to complete this project successfully.

Move Heavy Objects

You’d be amazed how easy it is to move heavy, awkward objects with three pieces of PVC pipe. Move playhouses, yard sheds, empty hot tubs and rocks weighing well over a ton with this trick. Use 4-in.-diameter ‘Schedule 40’ PVC, which is available from home centers. Here’s how to do it:

• Lift the front edge of the stone with a pry bar and slip two pipes underneath. Place one near the front and one about midway so the stone rests on the pipes.
• Position the third pipe a foot or two in front of the stone.
• Roll the stone forward onto the third pipe until the rear pipe comes free. Then move the rear pipe to the front and repeat.

This technique works best on relatively flat ground.

Fishing Rod Organizer

We got sick and tired of our fishing rods getting tangled, so we came up with this easy fishing rod organizer. All you need is a length of 3-in.-diameter PVC pipe and a foam swimming pool noodle for this DIY garage storage system. Drill 1-in. holes spaced every 4 in. in the PVC pipe. Use a utility knife to cut slits in the foam noodle, spacing them 4 in. apart. Line up the pool noodle on the wall so that at least two of the slits sit over studs. Pull those slits apart, slide in a fender washer, and screw the noodle to the wall with 2-in. screws. Then screw the PVC pipe to the wall beneath it at a comfortable height and insert your fishing rods. No more tangles!

Storage Pockets for Skinny Things

Saw off short pieces of 1-1/2-, 2- or 3-in. PVC plumbing pipe with 45-degree angles on one end. Screw them to a pegboard to hold paint brushes, pencils, stir sticks and just about any other narrow paraphernalia in your shop. Mount them by drilling a 1/4-in. hole in the angled end, and then drive a 1-5/8-in. drywall screw through the hole into the board.

PVC Hammer Holder

Next time you’re nailing, do it in style with this sturdy but stylish hammer holder. To make one, use a hacksaw or band saw to cut away one side of a 6-in.-long piece of 2″ PVC pipe, leaving 2 in. at the bottom to drop the hammer into. To create belt slots, drill 1/4-in. holes in two lines and clean out the waste between the holes with a rattail file. That’s it—drop in the hammer and enjoy its easy-to-reach location.

PVC Sanding Files

Stick sandpaper to cutoff pieces of PVC water pipe with spray-on adhesive and you’ll be able to sand concave curves to perfection. PVC pipe is labeled by inside diameter; here’s an index for the outside diameter of useful pipe sizes.

• 1/2-in. i.d. = 7/8-in. o.d.
• 3/4-in. i.d. = 1-in. o.d.
• 1-in. i.d. = 1-1/4-in. o.d.
• 1-1/4-in. i.d. = 1-5/8-in. o.d.
• 1-1/2-in. i.d. = 1-7/8-in. o.d.

To apply sandpaper to the pipe, spray both the paper and the pipe with a generous layer of adhesive. Let both surfaces dry several minutes before joining them. Use two grits on each pipe—80-grit for sculpting a precise radius, and 100- or 120-grit for finish sanding. When the sandpaper’s worn out, just pull it off, spray fresh adhesive on a new strip and go back to having fun.

Overhead Storage in the Garage

Stow bulky items overhead by cementing together a simple rack from 2″ PVC pipes and fittings. Bolt the straight pipe to the ceiling joists to support heavy loads, and screw the angled pieces from the ‘wye’ connectors into the cross brace to stabilize the whole rack. The PVC’s smooth surface makes for easy loading and unloading.

Caulk Tube Nest

Before I made this caulk nest for my shop, the tubes rolled all over the shelves like slippery logs. To build one, cut 10-in.-long pieces of 2-in. PVC pipe and glue them side to side with PVC cement. To get straight glue lines, use the print along the side of the pipe as a guide. As you glue, hold the pieces together for 60 seconds with hand pressure or a clamp until the glue sets. Be sure to apply the glue only in a well-ventilated area. Glue on one tube at a time to fit the available space. That’s it— your caulk tubes are now organized.

Odds-and-Ends Storage

Fill a sturdy cardboard box with sawed-off shipping tubes or scraps of larger PVC pipe. Then use it to store and organize all those short pieces of molding, pipe and dowels. Clever Tool Storage Ideas

Tired of not being able to find where the tape ends on your storage boxes? Learn the easiest way to open a cardboard box.

Quick-Draw Table Saw Accessories

Keep your table saw’s miter gauge and push stick within easy reach with a couple of sections of 1-1/2-in. PVC pipe bolted or zip-tied to a convenient spot on the frame under the table. Attach the miter gauge holster using the existing frame bolts, or drill holes in the legs for machine screws. For the push stick holster, we drilled a couple of sets of matching holes about an inch apart on the pipe and tautly zip-tied it to the leg. 5 Must-Have Table Saw Accessories for Your Home Workshop

PVC Storage Hangers

It’s true—we love PVC pipe. Or let’s say we appreciate the way it inspires and accommodates tool and hardware storage. Here’s the latest DIY PVC project. Cut 2-in. pieces of 3-in. PVC and saw away a 2-in. section so it looks like Pac Man. (Remember Pac Man?) Drill screw holes and attach the hangers to studs or shop walls. Space pairs for convenient horizontal storage of longer tools such as levels and glue clamps, and use single segments for ropes, electrical cords or anything else that you want securely stored yet easily accessible.

PVC Pipe Clamp Rack

Are your pipe clamps missing in action right when you need them? Never again, thanks to this slick snap-in, snap-out storage rack, made from PVC pipe. For 1/2-in.-diameter iron pipe, use 3/4-in. PVC, and for 3/4-in.-diameter pipe use 1-in. PVC. To make the rack, cut 2-in. lengths of PVC, and with a hacksaw or band saw, slice them lengthwise about 3/16 in. past the diameter’s center line. This creates the gripping action to firmly hold the heavy iron pipe. Drill and countersink two holes in each PVC piece, then space and screw them along a pair of 2-in.-wide boards. Attach the upper board to your shop wall and snap a pipe clamp in either end to position the lower board for screwing to the wall.

Panpipe Tool Storage

While this tool storage device may look like a variation on the Pan flute of Greek mythology, it’s actually a great place to store tools that easily get lost—like chisels, files, pencils, scroll saw blades and hobby knives. For the fatter tools, use PVC cement to join short pieces of 1-1/4-in. PVC pipe side to side into a panpipe design, then add pieces of 1/2-in.pipe along the front of the flute for skinnier tools. Build a simple case around the pipes to create a floor and a back for hanging on a shop wall.

Pipe Clamp Holder

Store bar and pipe clamps right under your workbench where they’ll always be close at hand. Just screw sections of 4-in.-diameter PVC pipe under your workbench and slide the clamps into the pipe.

PVC Stain Tube

A common frustration for DIYers is dealing with the irregular shapes of furniture legs and spindles. Avoid the headaches of sanding or staining intricate shapes by using PVC pipe as a dip tube. Just be sure to glue a cap to the bottom end of the tube to avoid leaks!

Drawer Organizers on the Cheap

Slit some up PVC pipe down the middle and you’ve got stackable drawer organizers to keep all your small tools handy.

Grease Gun Holster

A grease gun is big and, uh, greasy. So don’t slime up your drawers or cabinets with it. Slice up a few sections of 1-in. and 3-in. PVC pipe and screw them to a plywood backer to make this slick grease gun holder. Then slap up a 2-in. coupler and cap to hold a backup tube of grease.

Fastener Trough

Cut a 2-ft. length of 4-in. PVC pipe lengthwise with a scroll saw, creating a trough that’s a little more than half the pipe’s diameter. Glue or screw in 1/2-in. thick wood partitions to create compartments for often-used screw and nail sizes. To make it tip-proof, trace the pipe’s curve on a couple of scrap 2×4 blocks, power-sand or saw out the curve, and screw the pipe on this scrap block base.

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