Wayne,

Sorry about just getting to this thread. I have been toying with the idea of building a PVC framed SOF for some time now and I have been looking for your updates. I would recommend staying with conduit and not using Schedule 40 pipe. The reason (as you may have already found out) is because the grey conduit is superior in compressive strength to Schedule 40. Look at the applications: conduit is designed to be buried underground and withstand tons of EXTERNAL pressure. Schedule 40, on the other hand, is designed to run in the open and withstand varying PSI of INTERNAL pressure. Because conduit also has to survive underground heaving and shifting, it also has a greater shear strength. The downside is that because of conduit's inherent tensile qualities, it deflects (bends) easily. I was trying to come up with a way to stiffen conduit without adding significant weight. So far the best idea I can come up with is to fill the pipe with foam after it has been shaped. I'd appreciate any thoughts/comments you might have regarding this. Good luck,

Robb Holt