Glen......lol....wow....some nifty Rube Goldberg work there!
I admire your resourcefulness.
I have on occasion used a half pipe cross section to patch a small crack. Thing is with PVC glue you are indeed "welding" the bond, so it's more than just something being glued together.
In situations like yours these "slipfixes" come in handy:
I did some irrigation work as well yesterday. Replace (2) 12" popups with (2) 6" popups. They were worn out and the stems were rotating a bit each time they came on. It's in the housing - not the insert - so have to replace the whole thing. I went to a 6" because the higher elevation wasn't needed.
PS - the proper vernacular for that orange fitting is "funny ell" - not tee....