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Permalink Reply by cassandra thomas on October 18, 2012 at 3:03pm

the 3/4 is the right size. cold, they are near impossible to connect. get a hair dryer, or boil a pot of water heat up one half the connector at a time. the heat softens the connector and helps considerably when pushing the hoop together. after you connect them give them a few good spins to make sure they take a circle shape.

Have fun girl i hope this helps!!

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Permalink Reply by tia on October 18, 2012 at 3:13pm

thanks so much! so i heat the connector, and not the tubing? lol i think ive been doing it backwards by heating the tubing instead. ahah. thank youuu:))!

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Permalink Reply by cassandra thomas on October 18, 2012 at 3:16pm

you're welcome hun! :) yeah definitely the connector but you can heat the tubing up too, but i never really bother with it...unless it's super stubborn

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Permalink Reply by Vandi on October 18, 2012 at 7:34pm

No!!! You want to heat the tubing. The heat will cause the tubing to expand, making it a bit larger to accept the connector. If you heat the connector, it will expand making it even more difficult to insert into the tubing. Heat causes expansion, cold - contraction. I highly recommend using a good hot blow dryer on the ends of the tubing,
BTW, you did not say what size of tubing you're working with. You might need a 5/8 connector.

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Permalink Reply by cassandra thomas on October 18, 2012 at 7:40pm

ur right i read that wrong, it could be 5/8... You use the same size connector as tubing size :) as for heating the connector i've never heard of not heating it up. sounds tricky

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Permalink Reply by Vandi on October 18, 2012 at 7:52pm

Actually, the outside diameter of the connector should be the same as the internal diameter of the tubing. Or, you should go one down if using the same measurement. If I have a 3/4 outside diameter tube, I want to use a 5/8 outside diameter connector. I think the discount hoop supplies website has a good explanation for this.

I've been making hoops for a very long time, and if needed, I always heat the tubing, never the connector, for the reason stated earlier. I can't imagine it working to heat the connector, but good for you if you've had success that way! :)

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Permalink Reply by Vandi on October 18, 2012 at 7:56pm

Here is a link to the website. I assume you're using HPDE. The box on the upper right side discusses the outside and internal diameters.
http://hoopsupplies.com/shop/?id=14&collid=49

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Permalink Reply by cassandra thomas on October 18, 2012 at 7:56pm

actually, it really depends on the tubing. But thank you. 

i'm not sure which kind of tubing you're working with but i'm glad it works for you! <3

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Permalink Reply by tia on October 18, 2012 at 8:50pm

the tubing says its 3/4 but i measured it & it appears to be slightly smaller.

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Permalink Reply by Micaela on October 18, 2012 at 9:42pm

What I find best to do, is buy tubing in the size OD and a small amount of the size ID.
For example, 1/2" tubing measured outer diameter, using a 1/2" tubing inner diameter as a connector.
Alarm bite tubing is good used as connectors, while couplings may leave your hoop out of shape. :/
It's a cheap and great quality method! c:

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Permalink Reply by Micaela on October 18, 2012 at 9:42pm

Skark bite, not alarm haha. Spell check got me. :/

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Permalink Reply by tia on October 19, 2012 at 2:42pm

thanks soo much ladies <3

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