"Steve Barker" wrote in message
...
Jay-T wrote:
I am pre-fitting some PVC fitting for a 3-inch sewer drain line coming
down from a first-floor toilet. Where the drain comes through the
basement ceiling from the toilet, there are two 45-degree 3-inch
fittings -- one is the toilet flange itself which is a 45-degree fitting
and the other is a 45-degree elbow. The place where they come through
the ceiling is hard to access.

What I would like to be able to do is put the two PVC fittings together
and then be able to easily rotate both so I can get the correct angle I
need to continue the run. The problem is that when I put the two
fittings together, they are next to impossible to rotate while in place.
I need the fittings to be able to rotate one inside the other to get the
correct line-up.

Has anyone ever tried lubricating PVC fittings first just to get the
fittings lined up correctly, then marking them for the correct line-up,
and then remove the lubricant and glue the fittings together? Does
anyone know what kind of lubricant might work for this? So far, I have
just tried dish soap, but that doesn't work -- the parts just stick
together as usual and do not turn easily. Any suggestions on what to
use?



The glue make a good lube. Rotate as needed as you glue them up. It's
not rocket science.


Actually, it is rocket science -- or at least 3-dimensional geometry
involving complex angles.

Sure, the glue makes a good lubricant -- for about 15 seconds. Then it
makes a good glue, and whatever you have in place at the time the glue sets
you are stuck with, whether it works or not. For this application, it was a
matter of having to dry fit the pieces together first to see if they would
even be capable of making the complex turn that was involved and end up with
a pipe coming down at the correct angle to be able to make the next
connection.