Connecting Pipe

At the Wolfstone haunt, we most commonly use pipe and hose to hook up our pneumatic effects. But a lot of confusion can arise in the area of connecting pipes together, so we added this page.

Here are some tips on connecting pipe together...

Pipe Fittings
Doing It The Hard Way
Related Pages

Pipe Fittings

When you need a pipe fitting for a project, it helps to know the correct terminology. This improves your chances of finding what you need on your own, or getting help from the staff.

In addition to knowing the type of fitting you need, be sure that you know the pipe size and thread pitch (if the pipe is threaded). Also, consider any space limitations you may have in case you need to "do it the hard way".

A "reducer" allows you to connect two pieces of pipe, where one is smaller than the other.

A "bushing" lets you screw a small piece of pipe into a larger threaded opening.

An "elbow" joins two pieces of pipe at a corner. The most common is 90-degrees, but other angles are available.

A "street elbow" turns a corner, presenting a different gender to each side.

A "nipple" is a piece of pipe that is threaded on both ends. You can get them in various standard lengths.

Doing It The Hard Way

For any particular pipe fitting that you may need, you can always hope that the exact correct part is available. Sometimes, it takes a couple of fittings to get from where you are to where you need to be. Whenever I need several fittings to get from point A to point B, I call it "doing it the hard way". It really isn't that hard. It just looks complex.

Here's a simple case, where we can't find a "street elbow", so we make one with a regular "elbow" and a "nipple".

In general:

Don't panic! You can connect anything to anything if you are willing to use enough fittings.
The fewer fittings that you use to make a given connection, the less space it will take, and the less chance of leakage.
Often, the fewer fittings that you use to make a given connection, the less it will cost. This is not always the case. Sometimes the exact fitting you need is unusual, hence rare and expensive.
Sometimes there exists the exact fitting to do what you want, but it is either hard to find or prohibitively expensive. There is no shame in going for a more affordable "hard way" solution.

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Connecting Pipe

Pipe Fittings

Doing It The Hard Way

Related Pages