I second looking at System Crafters' resources. One thing that helped me was their emacs from scratch video series.
And as a heavy Markdown user, I initially built my config around Markdown. But several years later I've found I now use org-mode almost exclusively instead. They both fill the same niche in my workflow, but org-mode can do a lot more.
My thought would be to get flat PVC end caps. These could be attached to the wood with screws, and the pipe attached to the caps with PVC cement.