How To Make A
Homemade Bong?
How To Make A Homemade Bong?
Prepare the materials needed.
To start this project, prepare all the things you will need. Get a used plastic bottle that will act as a bong base. A ballpoint pen with a metal casing should do well as a downstem. If it is not available, you can use an old marker as an alternative. Prepare other materials such as scissors or a cutter for poking holes. Of course, you will also need a sheet of foil to use as an herb bowl.
Fill up the plastic bottle with water.
The idea of a bong is to filter out the impurities of smoke through water. It produces a cleaner taste, and it also improves the experience by making the smoke less-harsher. It is crucial to have the same effects in a homemade bong as a bong filled with water.
Fill up the plastic bottle 1/4 of the way with water. Anything above this level may produce a backsplash that will not be pleasing in the experience. It doesn’t matter if the plastic bottle you’re using doesn’t come with its bottle cap anymore. You’ll inhale through the mouthpiece anyway.
Poke a hole to make a carb.
A carb hole is an integral part of the whole process of smoking using a bong. Its primary role is to direct the air towards the bong’s mouthpiece into the user’s mouth. In theory, a carb hole divides the smoking process.
The first step begins during the ignition of the herb and the second step follows during the inhalation. The carb hole will allow the user to inhale all the smoke produced by the burned weed and filter by the water.
Using a pointed tool, either scissors or a cutter, poke a hole near the plastic bottle’s neck. However, make sure that the gap is small enough for your thumb to cover it later on.
Poke another hole for a downstem.
By definition, a downstem is a connector between the bowl and the body of a bong or water pipe. It facilitates a suction pressure and draws the smoke down through the mouthpiece as you inhale. In this instance, it will either be a ballpoint pen casing or a marker casing. Usually, an herb bowl sits on top of a downstem. But for now, a sheet of tin foil will act as the herb bowl in the meantime.
Before equipping the downstem with its herb bowl:
- Insert it first through the other hole intended for it.
- Make sure that the gap is close enough to the water level that the downstem reaches the water.
- If the water is too low, add more of it but be wary of backsplashes later on.
After inserting the downstem in the hole, shape a sheet of foil into an herb bowl. It should be shallow enough to hold ground weed and sized right to fit the opening in the downstem.
Gather your ground weed and lighter. Sprinkle the buds on the improvised herb bowl and light it up. Allow it to burn a little, cover the carb hole, and begin to inhale after release. It may take a while to adjust if you have used a standard glass bong before. However, it should do well for a temporary period.
What is a Removable Downstem?
As much as possible, homemade bongs will make use of anything you can find at home. But due to callouts in health risk and safety, manufacturers invented removable downstems made out of specialized metals that are safer to use.
Originally made to replace brittle glass downstems, the Telescopic Metal Diffuser Downstem by Invincible is a great alternative to using ballpoint pen and marker casings as downstem for homemade bongs. Available in a selection of colors, users can easily conceal it if the need arises. It does not look like a part of a bong at all. The downstem is an inside-cut 18.8mm > 14.5mm joint compatible with a male joint.
- Aerospace-grade Aluminum
- 304 stainless steel
- Shatterproof adjustable design
- Fits 18.8 female joints
- Fits 14.5mm male herb bowls
- Available in other colors
Another from Invincible, the company combines sleekness and modernity in producing a stainless steel removable downstem. Barely over 2 in or 5 cm, the downstem packs features like a metal grip, roll-stopper style handle, and fitted with a high-flow metal screen. Because of the additional metal screen, the smoke tastes extra clean and less harsh.
- Aerospace-grade Aluminum
- 304 stainless steel
- Shatterproof adjustable design
- Fits 14.5mm male joints
- Fits 14.5mm female joints
- Easy to clean
- Portable
The Pros and Cons of Homemade Bongs
Pros:
1. Cheap
Standard glass bongs can get a little expensive. In an article we wrote about where to buy bongs online, we figured that good-quality bongs start at $100. Factors like the bong’s features and materials also contribute to how manufacturers price them. However, we found standard bongs that sell for below $100, which you can also check out.
But the point is, a homemade bong is a great way to try out if a bong is something you would want to use to smoke weed. Since it can be expensive, making an improvised version will help you decide without breaking the bank.
2. Quick solution
Let’s say you used to own a bong. But due to an unfortunate happening, the bong breaks. You have no spare and using a bong is the only method you prefer in smoking weed. A homemade bong might be the solution to the problem.
Ordering a new bong can take a few days. Aside from that, ordering a new bong can also take time due to financial reasons. A homemade bong may fill in the gaps during the downtime of the replacement of a standard bong. It’s easy, it’s quick, and it works.
3. Environmental friendly
According to statistics, the majority of unrecycled plastics end up in the oceans. If this further continues, there will be more plastics in the sea than fish.
By using used plastic bottles, ballpoint pen cases, and old markers, you help recycle plastic. At least, these things don’t end up becoming single-use plastics. But remember, after every use, it will be your responsibility as the last user to recycle the plastic materials. Go to the nearest recycling center or treatment plant and hand these over to help save the planet.
Cons:
Any material burned produces fumes that aren’t suitable for human inhalation. Aside from the effects of smoking weed, users will also get the harmful toxins from fumes. Since this is unavoidable, moderate the use of a homemade bong unless it calls for it.
2. Temporary use
Plastic is not the best material to pair with heat. With the plastic’s low tolerance to higher temperatures, they are likely to degrade faster than any material. After a session, you may notice that the plastic bottle you used doesn’t have the same shape anymore. It should be your cue to change your bottle and repeat the same process of preparing it again.
3. Not for the best experience
One of the major flaws of a homemade bong is that it’s not airtight. You lose half of the smoke produced because it escapes the holes you made for the downstem and the carb. Unlike standard glass bongs, the parts and pieces latch on to each other since they fit perfectly. Therefore, if you are not into the idea of wasting some of the product, then a homemade bong may not be for you.
Health Risks of Using Homemade Bongs
The primary material used for creating homemade bongs is plastic bottles. Because it is accessible, stoners who want to be creative and resourceful resort to them as alternatives for a bong base. However, since the primary material is plastic, exposing plastic bottles to high temperatures may have implications for the user’s health.
Burning plastics produces fumes. Most of the time, fumes cause instant damage to the user’s respiratory system. A person who inhaled plastic fumes may experience difficulty in breathing, coughing, and irritation in the eyes. Exposure over long periods may result in irreversible damage to the person inhaling them.
Fumes contain elements dioxin and furan; exposure to these two causes instant dizziness and nausea along with respiratory ailments. In some cases, they cause cancer since they are carcinogenic.
Other Homemade Smoking Tools
Now that we know how to make a bong at home, there are other smoking paraphernalia that stoners can try making at home.
Ballpoint Pen/Marker One-Hitter
The materials needed for a homemade one-hitter are a pen or marker, a knife or scissors, and a lighter.
First, remove the internal parts of the pen/marker. Usually, it will have an ink container and a soft, tissue-like material infused with ink. Make sure not to spill any ink on the inside because it will be toxic for inhalation.
Next, create a bowl out of the other parts of the pen/marker. The goal is to make the hole used for writing into a bowl and the other end into the mouthpiece. Take the pen’s metal tip and invert it for the pointed part to be placed back into the hole. Of course, this will not fit as it does not have the same size. But hold the pen tip into its hole and melt the edges of the pen casing to fit and attach the pieces.
If you’re using a marker, this step is more straightforward as the marker pen comes with a cap that’s big enough to become a bowl. At the same time, it automatically fits both tips, not needing you to melt anything, unlike in a pen. Poke a hole through the pen’s cap for the smoke to escape as well as the pen’s bottom if it doesn’t come with holes. The hole acts as the smoke’s to passageway through and into the mouthpiece.
Steamroller Tissue Paper Roll
Using toilet paper rolls as a temporary smoking tool may be your last option to get a hit if it comes to the worst. A steamroller works with only a mouthpiece and carb hole; making it with a tissue paper roll should be the perfect household material to use.
For this homemade steamroller, what you need are toilet paper rolls, a knife or scissors, a sheet of tin foil, and a lighter. For hardcore stoners, using a paper towel roll can be an alternative to a tissue paper roll.
First, identify which hole will be your mouthpiece and herb bowl. Once decided, poke a carb hole near the herb bowl side. Again, the carb hole will help with the airflow later on during the process.
Next, trace and fit a sheet of foil onto the tissue paper roll’s herb bowl hole. The foil will serve as the holder for the ground buds later on. Make sure that the foil is stable and sits on top of the spot. Depending on your preference, the bowl can be shallow or not based on how much weed you intend to use.
Get your stash of weed, ground them up, and ignite it with a lighter. The steamroller made out of tissue paper roll should be suitable for single-use.
Conclusion
There are dozens of ways to smoke weed without using the standard smoking tools. Out of all the improvised ways to make smoking devices, these seem to be the most doable from the choices.
Overall, improvised smoking devices are quick and easy ways to resolve the need to smoke weed. However, these devices are not for long-time use. Investing in a standard smoking device that’s perfect for your needs is still the best route to take.