I am thinking of doing a 3D dinosaur cake for my son's next birthday. I have been reading a bunch of the 3D cake posts and see that dowels to support the layers and creating a frame for the arms and legs will be important. The general consensus is to go to a plumbing store and get PVC pipe to create the frame. Do you put the pipe through the dishwasher before using it and hope that it is clean enough or do you prevent it from coming into contact with the cake in some manner? I have used thick drinking straws for dowels in the past so don't have the same concerns with food contact there.

I am contemplating the Cake-a-saurus Rex course on Craftsy so if anyone has comments on the course I would love to hear them.

i just washed mine by hand

pvc is approved for our drinking water so it should be fine touching the food

you are gonna wanna drill through some of the joins so they stay stable and don't turn or anything

i haven't seen that video though

your son is gonna be thrilled!

Thanks K8. We just bought some PVC conduit for an electrical cable and it was pretty nasty looking so it got me worried. I will look for the cleanest stuff in store and wash it well.

i get the plumbing pvc--don't know if there's a idfference

If I recall from seeing it in the store electrical PVC is generally grey and the plumbing PVC is generally white. But as with anything I'm sure there are exceptions. I'm sure there must be a difference other than colour. Thanks again.