Well, I did it. The nipple has been cut to length, rethreaded, and
used to install the
elbow on the shower wall. However, I won't say it was easy. The main
problem is the hand-held dies have a guide collar that the pipe enters
through
before reaching the die proper. This means there is only a little over
an inch
sticking out to grip, and most of that is threaded. In order to
get a good grip w/o damaging the threads I fitted a brass cap I
happened to have.
Initially I grabbed it in a vise, but I'm afraid my vise and workbench
were no match for the force it takes to cut the threads as the length
of
engagement grows. Finally gripped it with a pipe wrench. Of course
this tightens the cap far beyond normal, so getting it off after the
threads were
cut was tough too. Went through this several times before getting
enough
good threads for a good fit at the shower wall. Glad I'm not a
plumber!

thanks for all the help.

Ed



"Jag Man" wrote in message
. ..

I intend to try to do it with a manual die and handle today, either
rented or
purchased. I'll just buy a 3 1/2" brass nipple, cut 1/4" off with a
hacksaw,
and spin the die down 1/4". I'll report back on progress.

Ed