I got some 3/4" conduit for a project I am working on and neither one of the two big home improvement stores has smooth conduit. The conduit they are selling is embossed with a brand name, guide line, inch mark etc. Is that what everybody is using or can you get smooth conduit somewhere?
It looks smooth in the picture on the website, but what they have at the store has the embossing on it.
I have seen that stuff. It should work if you turn it just right and don’t let the bearings ride on the embossing. If that is the same one I tried it didn’t last as long as they typical one but fine either way.
That’s all they had around here as well. You can just turn them so the bearings ride on the smooth parts. I use EMT all the time for projects and the previous tubing I’ve used didn’t have the embossing. Must be a recent change.
I’m not trying to use it for an MPCNC, I used stainless for the machine I built to get more rigidity. I just noticed that the conduit is different from what it used to be at both the blue and orange store. Aside from the embossing, it has a very very smooth texture that does not look like the galvanized conduit I have in the shop. The piece I have is also not very consistent in diameter.
I am wondering what the purpose of the embossed “guide line” and the “inch mark” is. Both words are embossed on the conduit along with a line and some marks that may be slightly over 25mm apart. Does this embossing in any way enhance the conduit for its intended purpose?
I just picked up some at the big orange church. It’s smooth. Wonder if it’s a regional thing?
Ok, I googled it. Apparently, both the “Inch Mark” and “Guide Line” are trademarked features on conduit to help installers bend conduit in plane and in the right spot if they forgot to bring a tape measure. This is from a republic conduit web site that also advertises 40% weight savings on the conduit due to thinner walls. It sounds a bit like marketing hype to sell you less product at a higher price…
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