What can't you do with PVC (Polyvinyl Chloride) pipe? The ubiquitous blue PVC water pipe may be seen alongside most streets here and seems to be one of Thailand's most ample un-natural sources. All kinds of different connectors are available and aside from carrying water additionally it is used as an inexpensive development materials that can be utilized to make every little thing from clothes dryers to Wheel chairs (PDF), Crutches, flagpoles and shop indicators. Of course on the web you can also find some other very cool and inventive things made from (non-blue) PVC pipe including: Zap Zone Defender Halloween costumes like Ben Hallert's Matrix APU and Aliens Exo-skeleton Power Loader, another energy loader costume, single and multi-guitar Guitar Hero stands, a laptop stand, flutes, and even a shaving stand. Below you will find, in chronological order, a few of my very own (principally authentic) creations made from PVC water pipe including: - a Marshmallow Shooter, Plumbing, Soccer Goals, Zap Zone Defender Testimonial - a Cricket Wicket, - a Basketball Hoop, Bookshelf Supports, - a Water Pipe Tron Controller, Racing Cars, Pinball Table Leg Extensions, Data Projector Mounts, - a Laptop Stand, - a Wiimote Holder, - a DIY Wii Zapper, - a Workbench, Real-Tron Controllers - a Music Stand Puzzle Bobble Coffee Grinder Controllers, - a Netbook Treadmill Hook, CD/DVD Holders, - a Nightstand/shelves, - Push Up Bar/Handles, Fake Legs, - a Hilbert Cube, - a Mario Kart steering wheel, - a Guitar Stand, Hockey Sticks, - a Tank-recreation (BZFlag) controller, - a Train Whistle, and - a Trident.

This was the venture that started my love affair with blue PVC pipe. I had seen the blueprints for this marshmallow shooter while I used to be in Australia but the fittings were prohibitively expensive (see the image right). Fortunately they are very affordable right here in Thailand. 2 x T-Pieces and 6 x elbows. Cricket (to not be confused with Brockian Ultra-Cricket) is Australia's national sport played with a bat, a ball, and two wickets. 6 x T-pieces, and 12 x 45-degree elbows. The backboard is a non-regulation dimension piece of plywood that we found mendacity round and we used inexperienced duct tape for the markings. Although the ring is not sturdy enough to hang off, the facet supports make it strong sufficient for regular play. Additionally they give it a really Star Trek feel and I believe the ring appears to be like not unlike the NCC-31911 Saratoga. This is maybe essentially the most straight ahead use for PVC pipe on this page. 2 x 25mm to 18mm (1" to 1/2") reducers, 2 x customized motorbike hand-grips, 4 x push-buttons, and a mercury swap which are connected to a pc through a hacked USB joystick.

You will discover extra particulars about how I made the controller on this venture web page and that i've additionally prolonged the same thought to play GL-Tron using real motorbikes. A university student who performed with the PVC Water Pipe Tron Controller, described above, said "That's Ok but I prefer to play driving video games". It got me thinking and over the following week I spent my evenings building a PVC racing automobile controller - primarily a wheel-much less, PVC go-kart frame connected to the pc by way of a hacked USB joystick. Some Thai university students who noticed the first automotive needed to know how it all worked and 6 of them came round one Saturday and we spent the whole day hacking joysticks and constructing a second automotive. By connecting them both to a laptop computer and an information projector we have been able to play cut up-display Daytona USA. You'll find more details in regards to the design and building of the automobiles on this challenge page. The white office desk I used for the virtual pinball machine wasn't excessive enough to be performed comfortably.

1 x T-piece, and a pair of x elbows - partially to assist air stream but largely to carry my display screen up because the spring in the hinge has broken. As easy as this stand seems, the "L"-shaped upright section is definitely a part of an air-conditioner mount for an information projector that I made for Zap Zone Defender one of the digital pinball table installations. The T-piece isn't glued and so in a small way (a very, very small manner) I wish to assume that if the air-conditioning mount have been ever needed once more then the components might re-combine in a Voltron or Captain Planet and Zap Zone Defender Testimonial the Planeteers or Power Rangers MegaZord-like way. Of course if that occurred my laptop computer display would fall down. I do not own a Nintendo Wii but I did manage to get my arms on a Wiimote so that I could try out a few of Johnny Chung Lee's cool tasks. This can be a Wiimote mount I built using a size of 35mm (1 and 1/4") pipe, some 18mm (1/2") pipe, three x T-items, and 4 x elbows.

The 35mm pipe has been reduce so that it suits nicely into the ridges down the side of the Wiimote which holds it securely. That is screwed onto a T-Piece which has also had its prime lower off. The joint between the 2 topmost elbows isn't glued so the angle of the highest section might be adjusted. These sections are merely cable-tied onto the front of the motorbike handlebars and the players squeeze the buttons with their index fingers to turn left or proper. A mercury switch can be mounted on the suitable handlebar so the accelerator can be used to supply enhance within the game and as much as four bikes may be related to the pc through a single hacked USB joystick. The centerstands keep the bikes upright throughout play and a half-round of bamboo is wedged beneath the back tires to cease them from rocking. This can be a music stand made from three different sizes of pipe.