diff --git a/Formula/pil.rb b/Formula/pil.rb
index 7a0bb063567..a861128a854 100644
--- a/Formula/pil.rb
+++ b/Formula/pil.rb
@@ -13,6 +13,9 @@ class Pil < Formula
     # We remove 'ppc' support, so we can pass Intel-optimized CFLAGS.
     archs = archs_for_command("python")
     archs.remove_ppc!
+    # Can't build universal on 32-bit hardware. See:
+    # https://github.com/mxcl/homebrew/issues/5844
+    archs.delete! :x86_64 if Hardware.is_32_bit?
     ENV['ARCHFLAGS'] = archs.as_arch_flags
 
     inreplace "setup.py" do |s|