SpudFiles

I am working on a 3" piston cannon, and I worked for a long time dremeling and then carefully sanding the bushing to fit the barrel (why the make large diameter fittings tight I don't know). Anyway, I glued the pipe in the bushing too far in, the stupid thing dried on me before I could change it. I was using tape to avoid the ugly primer stains, and now there is 3/4" of tape in the fitting. The socket is only 1.5" deep, so I am hesitant to glue it in and potentially wreck my tee (and everything else glued into it). I could try and use it, this would save a lot of work as well as a trip to the hardware store, but I don't want to wreck my valve with a leaky joint. Any advice would be appreciated.

your fittings should fit perfectly if you have to dremal it then you arent using the proper fitting. you may need to tap it gently with a rubber mallet or something, but it should go right together. i know that when you dry fit them together they seem really tight, but when you put pvc primer and glue on it, that "oils" it, so to speak, and it goes together much easier.

my suggestion (and i strongly recommend you take this advise) is to buy new fittings and do it over again. dont even try messing around with parts that dont fit properly.

Alright, I will go with the new fittings, sounds like the logical thing to do (very frustrating though). I meant by dremeling it that I was modifying the bushing, and I sanded the back 1/2" of the socket so i would avoid this sticking problem (wasn't quite successful). My only other question is if it is bad to tap a stuck dry-fitted bushing against a table or something (sliding the pipe along the edge so the table or whatever, hammer perhaps, hits the edge of the bushing, slowly tapping it off). Thanks.

hi wrote:your fittings should fit perfectly

I find that 3" fittings, especially bushings, never fit well. You can only dry fit them about 3/4" before they get stuck.