The softer the material is, the easier it will be to put softer U-shaped bends into the pipe. The harder the material is, the more likely you are to end up with a V-shaped bend. [3] X Research source

You need to wear the gloves even if you aren’t touching the area you heated directly. The entire pipe may get hot while you heat it. You can use the vice or wrenches to gain leverage if you need it. Some people find it easier to put some leather between your hands and the pipe to maintain your grip while you’re bending it. The sand will help the pipe keep its shape while you bend it. If you don’t fill the interior of the pipe, you’ll end up with kinks in the pipe.

You may need to bend the pipe around the front of your knee to get a little bit of leverage if the pipe is thicker. You can also fill the pipe up with sand and plug the ends instead of using a pipe bender. You may need to use a hair dryer to heat the pipe up if it’s especially thick, but copper is weak enough that you can often bend it without heat. The longer and thinner your pipe is, the easier it will be to bend by hand. You can always use wrenches or a vice to get some extra leverage.

The one exception here is copper tubing. You can actually bend this stuff by laying down a wood board and gently hitting the tube against an edge repeatedly. You may feel silly doing it, but the copper tubing will slowly bend with each impact. [8] X Research source

You can also fill the pipe with sand and plug the ends with cloth instead of using a drain auger. PVC is less prone to kinking than other materials though, so you should be fine with a drain auger. One of the advantages of PVC pipe is that it’s really easy to get around corners without bending. If you can, just get some joints, connectors, and PVC glue to connect multiple pieces to redirect your pipe around corners and edges. [11] X Research source If you want to join two pipes, apply the pipe joint compound on the threads of the pipe. [12] X Research source It is better to use a plumbing compound that contains Teflon. [13] X Research source When Teflon gets wet, it expands and seals the leaks. [14] X Research source

Wear heat resistant gloves while you’re doing this. If you aren’t in a rush to finish the job, just buy factory-bent PVC conduit. Your work is going to look a lot cleaner if you don’t have to bend the conduit by hand.