
*********************************
* MAKE AND TOKE YOUR OWN BONGS! *
*********************************
==> A guide for everyone on the art of making bongs, from the 
simple to the sublime.

==> Remember, there's more to marijuana than just smoking pot.


Disclaimer
==========
I have purposely left my name off this piece, for obvious reasons. 
All I request is that you don't take credit for my writing by 
adding your own name to it--just leave it intact and pass it on.

"The Art of Making Bongs" was written June, 1993.
"Make and Toke Your Own Bongs!" (an updated edition of the above) 
was written June, 1995.

Why Bongs? / The Bong Concept
=============================
Making a bong is very simple, because the concept of a bong is 
simple. When you toke, you are bubbling the smoke through water 
before inhaling it. This text phile will take you through various 
aspects of bongs and bong-making. I hope you will find it valuable 
and I hope it inspires you to make your own bongs.

The reason for using a bong is mostly for health reasons, though 
people love using bongs for many more reasons. The active part of 
marijuana, THC, is *not* water-soluble, so you will not lose any 
of your high by hitting a bong instead of a joint or pipe. The 
water does filter out many of the impurities (the resinous tar), 
thus saving your lungs from inhaling crud. Very hot water will 
remove the most impurities, and very cold water will cool the 
smoke for a smoother hit. 

(THC-delta-9 tetrahydrocannibinol.)

The anatomy of a conventional bong is *very* simple. It consists 
of a bowl (with a screen), a stem, a chamber, some liquid, and an 
opening for the mouth. 

                    | |  <==="mouthpiece"
                    / \
                   /   \
                  /     \
     chamber===>  |     |
                  |     | \ /  <===bowl
      "carb"===>  O     | //
water level ===>  |^^^^^|//  <===stem
                  |      /
                  |     /
                  |     |
                  |     |
                  \_____/   


The crude diagram above shows a generic bong. All you need for a 
simple bong is a platic pop bottle (12-ounce or larger 
recommended), some kind of stem (a metal tube, plastic tubing, or 
whatever), and a bowl (use aluminum foil if you can't find 
anything else). I suggest investing in a tube of silicone--it's 
the best sealant for plastic, and satisfactory for metal-plastic 
seals. 

After you've constructed the bong and let the sealant cure, don't 
forget to drill (knife) a 1/4" hole for the carb (short for 
"carburetor", I guess). Water fills the container and stem just up 
to the carb . The water level should really be at least an inch 
below the carb so that when the bong is tilted the water won't 
leak. The job of the carb is to regulate where the air will be 
supplied from. If covered, the air (smoke) will come from the 
burning weed; if uncovered, air will be pulled in through the carb 
to force out the standing smoke from the chamber.

Do a "water test" before you pack a bowl. Pull a lungful through 
the bong with the carb covered. If you get an biting, chemical 
flavor, then you haven't let the silicone cure long enough--it's 
toxic to inhale until it's fully cured--then it's harmless. The 
water test will also let you determine how airtight your bong 
feels. 

Smoking a conventional bong means that you have water in your 
bong, you have a packed bowl, and a lighter. Cover the carb with 
your thumb and light the bowl and pull air through the bong until 
you get a steady bubbling of smoke through the water. When your 
lungs start to hurt a little, let go of the carb and gently pull 
in the trapped smoke. If your lungs feel fine as you inhale, then 
save a little lung space for the trapped smoke--let go of the carb 
and pull it in!

Not all bongs work with this method, however. Gravity bongs work 
on a different concept, which will be explained later.

Bongs vs. Joints & Pipes
========================
Not everyone uses bongs. New smokers may wonder why anyone bothers 
with bongs, and I know plenty of stoners who *prefer* joints to 
pipes or bongs.

Those who favor joints will wax romantic about the joys of 
rolling, of passing around a fatty, and of super-potent roaches. 
While I will not turn down a joint making its way around a room, I 
have never rolled one myself. I disdain joints mainly because of 
their wastefulness. Consider: While the joint is being passed 
around or stalled, it is still burning, losing precious smoke. If 
you grow your own buds you can afford to be carefree, but that is 
a luxury. Most stoners must pay astronomical street prices for 
what is just a WEED.

Bongs have a special advantage. A stoner can control the burning 
by using the flat side of a lighter to extinguish the bowl after 
taking a hit. The practice of extinguishing the bowl can save a 
lot of pot in the long run.

Even those who don't habitually extinguish the bowl will still 
save more buds, considering the size of a bowl compared with a 
joint. A bowl holds a smaller amount of bud, so the most you can 
waste is the quantity a bowl will hold. Stalling a joint, though, 
will use up a much larger portion, depending on the size of the 
joint.

Joints are *much* harsher on your lungs. While some joint-rollers 
will use pre-made filters, or a makeshift filter made from a 
rolled-up paper, nothing compares with the filtration effect of 
water. Ed Rosenthal of _High Times_ has noted that water not only 
cools the smoke, but actually removes harmful impurities as well. 
Bongs have this advantage over pipes, which, like joints, pass the 
unfiltered smoke right into your lungs.

As far as portability goes, bongs can be made in a variety of 
sizes. I made myself a portable bong out of a 12-ounce plastic 
water bottle. It works fine, though the filtration leaves 
something to be desired. Nevertheless, I prefer it over my corn-
cob pipes, which I never use anymore.

Considerations in Bong-Making
=============================
When planning a bong, one should aim for specific goals. Should 
the bong be portable? Fancy? Colorful? Here's a partial list of 
characteristics which give a bong its individual personality:

airtightness/ease of drawing smoke
bowl size
choice of chamber/tube(s)
compactness/portability
decoration
filtration
hit size
transparency
tube diameter
user accomodation
volume
etc.

Airtightness
============
I will not discuss every possible characteristic of a bong, but I 
will stress that no matter what kind of bong you make, you should 
strive for airtightness. When in doubt, just dab and smooth some 
silicone around the joints where materials meet and leave gaps. An 
airtight bong means that you will not be wasting lung power. This 
quality becomes progressively important with more chambers added 
to the bong, because there are more possible gaps. 

Materials
=========
While there's a wide variety of containers and materials you can 
use in making a bong, make sure they will be safe. PVC IS OUT! DO 
NOT USE ANY TUBES MADE WITH POLYVINYL CHLORIDE BECAUSE THEY LEACH 
OUT CARCINOGENIC PARTICLES OVER TIME. When deciding whether to use 
a certain kind of plastic or not, the rule of thumb is to make 
sure it's safe for food. If it's meant to store food, it's okay. 
Otherwise, don't risk it. Plastic tubing is fine. Glass is optimal 
because it's inert.

My friend's bong, "The Monster", is made from a 1-liter, heavy-
duty Ehrlenmeyer flask with a two-hole stopper (+ stem & bowl) and 
a length of rubber tubing. It's simple, it's airtight, and you can 
watch the smoke fill the chamber while your friend is taking a 
hit.

Metals are fine to use, too. STAY AWAY FROM COPPER BECAUSE IT 
LEACHES INTO THE SMOKE. Stems and bowls made from aluminum and 
brass are the best. Stay away from any metal which could leach 
into the water, and especially stay away from lead (duh).

Clay is great for bongs. The same friend who owns The Monster had 
a buddy of his make him a small clay bong. It's only about 6" 
high, with a round chamber, a stout neck and a fixed bowl. It 
wasn't glazed or fired, but it's airtight and very portable, not 
to mention cute as shit. 

More water = better filtration & harder pull
============================================
Being the health-nut stoner that I am, I  have decided that 
filtration is the most important charatceristic for my bongs to 
have. I figure that I'll be smoking buds all my life, and since I 
have asthma I want to be as kind to my lungs as possible.

The best filtrating bong I've ever smoked is my most recent 
creation--the triple-chambered bong. Yes, it is smooth as shit--I 
blow out huge clouds without feeling any irritation on my lungs. 
Do it yourself: use three Mickey's Malt Liquor (wide-mouth) 
bottles and some 1/4" clear plastic tubing (hardware store). I 
strung my bottles together in series, meaning that the bowl on the 
first one is connected to a stem (3/8" plastic tubing) that 
plunges down to the bottom. Another hole in the cap lets a second 
tube draw the smoke out of the first chamber and channel it to the 
bottom of the second bottle. The same thing again--another tube 
draws smoke out of the second chamber and pulls it down to the 
bottom of the third chamber. A fourth tube is the sipping tube to 
inhale the smoke from the third chamber.

The tradeoff is that it is a little harder to pull the smoke 
through this bong that through a standard Graphix, especially if 
all the bottles are more than half-filled with water. I sealed all 
the joints with silicone, so it's surprisingly tight and easy to 
pull, given the length of the draw and the weight of the water. 
The bonus is that I usually put boiling-hot water in the first 
chamber, with iced water in the second and third chambers. Don't 
try this with plastic chambers!

If filtration is not that important to you, just make sure the 
smoke bubbles up through at least a half-inch of water.

Liquids
=======
If you like to experiment with bong design like I do, you may try 
using different liquids in your bong. Here are some things I've 
found: Carbonated liquids (seltzer, pop) really scrub the smoke 
well, because of the agitation of the bubbles. Different pop/juice 
flavors really don't do anything to the flavor of the smoke. Beer 
and hard liquor add excellent flavor to the smoke, but they cost 
hit power, since THC is soluble in alcohol. Chloraseptic (throat 
spray) will numb your throat as you smoke, eliminating all smoke 
irritation on your throat--kinda scary and I wouldn't advise it. 
Mouthwash covers the smoky taste with a great mint flavor, but I 
don't know what hazards it holds--again, not recommended. 

Hot water is excellent for scrubbing the smoke--use boiling water, 
if possible. The tradeoff is that the heat of the steam can be 
more irritating that the heat of the smoke. At the right 
temperature the steam will soothe your throat by humidifying the 
smoke. Cold (ice) water is excellent for cooling the smoke and 
giving you great big bong hits that you thought impossible with 
your tender little lungs. 

Aesthetics
==========
My first phile was called "The Art of Making Bongs" for good 
reason. There is indeed an ART to it, and you should open up your 
creativity to your project. Impress yourself, and impress fellow 
stoners by using materials that please the eye as much as that 
killer skunk weed pleases your state of being. Sure you can make a 
quickie portable with a 12=ounce water bottle, but what about your 
home/party bong? Take the time to explore garage sales, flea 
markets, thrift stores, and basements to find some cool container 
that screams "BONG!" The rest is up to you.

I made a hooka (multi-user bong with sipping tubes) out of a brass 
"pitcher". I found it at a garage sale for $4. The hinge for the 
lid was damaged, but I didn't need the lid anyway, so I threw it 
out. I thrust a stem and two thin (3/16") flexible plastic tubes 
down the top opening and sealed it up with silicone. I plugged the 
spout with silicone, and *voila*--a romantic, two-person hooka 
that is interesting to look at.

A couple buddies of mine had a plastic pig's head which was 
supposed to be a toy bank. Guess what they did with it.... They 
stuck a stem into the pig's mouth and widened the coin slot to 
make an excellent bong which has a large chamber for smoke. 

Gravity Bong
============
                        ||   <===bowl attached to bottlecap
                        ==
                       /  \
                      /    \  <===1=liter (smaller) bottle
                     /      \
                  |^^|^^^^^^^|^^|  <=== water level
                  |  |       |  | 
                  |  |       |  | 
                  |  |       |  |  <===2=liter (larger) bottle
                  |  |       |  |
                  |  |       |  |
                  |  |       |  |
                  |  |       |  |
                  \_____________/   


Gravity bongs work on an entirely different principle than most of 
the bongs you'll see in your travels. They are very easy to make, 
are hard to fuck up, and give great hits with decent filtration. 
The quickest way is to use a 1-liter plastic pop bottle, a 2-liter 
plastic pop bottle, and a bowl. Drink or dump the pop, then slice 
the neck off the 2-liter and slice the bottom black part off the 
1-liter. The 1-liter serves as the "top" which fits inside the 
"bottom" part, the 2-liter. Use a knife to carve a hole into the 
bottlecap of the 1-liter, and screw in the bowl. (Make sure it's 
airtight.) 

A gravity bong works by using a vacuum to pull in the smoke. One 
you've filled your 2-liter to the top edge with water, and 
inserted the 1-liter, THEN screw on the bowl and pack it. Light 
the bowl and SLOWLY pull the 1-liter up to create a vacuum that 
steadily pulls in the smoke. Make sure you don't pull the 1-liter 
all the way out of the water, because that will destroy the vacuum 
and you will lose your smoke. When you've pulled up all the way, 
unscrew the bottlecap and wrap your lips around the top. Let go 
(don't push)--the pressure of the smoke and gravity will pull the 
1-liter down, pushing the smoke out and into your lungs. 

I still don't know how it works, but there is some filtration 
effect with gravity bongs. Try using water with a lot of ice.

Notice that the 2-liter component can be any large body of water--
a pot, a bathtub, a river, a lake....

Clean your screen!
==================
***Quick tip: After finishing a bowl, dump the ashes, then purse 
your lips and blow a quick lungful through the bottom of the bowl 
to refresh the screen. You can hold the bowl up to the light to 
see if it's clean or not. Too many stoners will pack bowl after 
bowl without blowing out the screen--after a few bowls your hits 
will feel like trying to suck a golf ball through a garden hose.

Scraping Your Bong
==================
After a lot of use your bowl and stem will get caked with resin 
(tar). Besides clogging up the bong's works like arteriosclerosis, 
the buildup of resin will be partially smoked every time you hit a 
bowl. The idea of bongs is to save your lungs from that tar crap, 
but if you are desperate for a high and you're out of bud, you can 
always smoke that resin after you scrape it out.

When scraping your bowl and stem, you should use a thin, narrow 
metal object. The awl attachment on a pocket knife works well. 
I've heard of stoners using an unbent coat hanger, although I 
prefer a jeweler's screwdriver.

I recommend throwing out the resin, but if you want to smoke it, 
it will give a powerful hit, similar to hash. The best thing to do 
is to save some leftover ash, then scrape your bowl. The flakes of 
resin which come off are very sticky and are hard to roll without 
smearing them all over your fingers. Resin smells very strongly, 
too, and won't come off your fingers for a few days. If you roll 
the resin with the ash, the ash acts as a binder and keeps the 
resin from sticking to your fingers excessively. After scraping 
the resin onto a smooth, flat surface, roll it with the ash into a 
ball. When done, stick it back into the bowl and smoke it.

Lighters
========
Lighters come in a variety of shapes and sizes. Ordinary cigarette 
lighters are adequate for smoking bud, but they're not the best. 
If ordinary lighters are used, it's best to make sure the flame is 
at least 1.5" tall. When lighting, the lighter is best held as 
vertically as possible, with the flame being sucked over the edge 
of the bowl onto the bud. This method avoids singed fingers.

If the flame doesn't get tall enough, here's a trick to really 
kick it up: The flame-height slide is really a tiny wrench that 
turns a tiny gear. Pull the metal guard so it's wider, then remove 
it. Now lift that slide up and out of the gear, then move it to 
the left and plop it back down into the gear. Now you can turn the 
gear even more to the right for a higher flame.

My lighter of choice is the barbecue lighter. It's red and white 
and has a 4-inch square square barrel that extends away from the 
trigger. Yes, it's overkill, but it has everything I look for in a 
bong lighter: big flame, safe finger position, no flints (it's 
piezoelectric), and refillable butane tank.

If you can't find the barbecue lighter, try to find a pipe 
lighter. Pipe lighters emit a tall flame at a 90- or 45-degree 
angle, making it easier to light a bowl.

If you're using a regular disposable lighter, keep your fingers 
safe by holding the bottom with your middle finger and flicking 
the roller with your thumb. 

Above all else, though, the most important characteristic to look 
for in a lighter is reliability. It's depressing to be holding a 
packed bong, ready for a hit, and flicking the lighter over and 
over without getting a flame.

Wetting the herb
================
Some time ago a stoner wrote in to _High Times_ that he gets more 
smoke (up to three times as much) from his bud when he wets the 
herb.

I used to be skeptical of this claim, but now I wet the bud 
whenever possible. I think it not only makes the bud burn more 
efficiently, but it also dampens the harshness of the smoke. Try 
your own tests....

Etiquette
=========
***Disclaimer*** This section on etiquette is meant to be a 
*personal* observation of stoner manners. I do not mean to imply 
that this is how stoners, as a whole, do or should conduct their 
smoking.

Bong etiquette seems to allow each person one lungful (inhalation) 
per turn. Everyone should get a good hit before they pass it on. 
The toker is also allowed to finish the chamber of smoke (carbed) 
on a second breath. If a person doesn't get a good amount of smoke 
in a hit because of a cashed bowl, they're allowed to smoke first 
(if going in order) from the new bowl. 

The bong *and* lighter should be smoothly passed onto the next 
stoner. The veteran stoner will extinguish the bowl so that no bud 
is wasted for the next person.

Etiquette for the host suggests that s/he provide his/her guests 
with a spittoon (garbage can), water/drinks, and munchies 
(optional, but very generous!). Needless to say, the ambience 
should be comfortable and inviting. Bud is best enjoyed in company 
and with entertainment, so bud should be shared with friends.

Bowl packers are subject to a much looser constraints. It's hard 
to argue with the rules of the person packing bowls, since s/he is 
basically doing everyone else a favor. Bowl packers can be 
dictators and direct the route of the bong. They can also smoke as 
much of their own bud as they want, even if they're out of turn. 
The kindest bowl packers pack so much bud into a large bowl that 
the air can barely be sucked through it. They pass the bong around 
in order and re-pack the bowl liberally. Not everyone has the 
money to afford this philosophy, but stoners are usually generous 
people.

Usually the person packing bowls will take the first hit off a new 
bowl, but not always. It is a generous gesture when the bowl-
packer first passes a fresh bowl to someone else.

A wise bowl-packer will know that quantity is not quality. The law 
of diminshing returns means that after a few good hits additional 
hits will just waste pot and put people to sleep. Wait awhile and 
then offer a "refresher" bong hit once everyone's buzz starts to 
wear off.

While stoners can be obnoxious, they are all too often labeled as 
"bad stoners". This unfarly derisive term means that a stoner acts 
goofy while stoned. It's very uncool to blame some stoner's goofy 
behavior on the fact that s/he's stoned because it's too easy to 
make a stoner self-conscious (and that sucks). It is more polite 
to allow everyone to enjoy the bud in their own way and not be 
judgmental of others. 

The best attitude to have is to relax and enjoy the company and 
the surroundings. Bud is finicky that way--every experienced 
stoner knows that you should be in a good mood when stoning. 

About the Author
================
I didn't start smoking buds till my sophomore year in college. I 
hadn't even drunk alcohol till college. Since I'm not much of a 
partier, I had a pretty neutral attitude toward drugs. It's not 
that I bought the War on Drugs bullshit, but rather that I just 
thought drugs had no place in my life. I had no inclination 
towards them, I had a relatively satisfying life, and I didn't 
care if other people used them or not. In college some of my 
buddies smoked buds and I was often in the room when it was going 
on. I was still indifferent until one of them explained to me how 
he felt about pot. He answered all my questions honestly and I got 
the sense that it certainly wouldn't hurt to try ONCE.

I suppose the rest is history, since I took a great liking to old 
delta-9 tetrahydrocannibinol, and I now consider myself a 
marijuana/hemp enthusiast, as well as a bong artisan.

I urge everyone to inform themselves about the FACTS of marijuana 
and about the LIES of the "War on Drugs". Whether you smoke or not 
you should know about the true detriments and *benefits* of 
marijuana. You should also know of the wide range of uses of the 
hemp plant itself, for medicine, paper, clothing, "wood", and 
food. If you don't know the facts, FIND OUT the facts by talking 
to a lot of stoners. They know. You can also search out 
marijuana=legalization groups. They know.

With your new knowledge comes responsibility. Pass on the truthful 
information to friends, co-workers, EVERYBODY. The more real 
information people know about drugs, the less the Drug Enforcement 
Agency (DEA) will be able to bash down doors, confiscate 
equipment, and deprive people of a perfectly natural experience.

While I would like to get into the topic of drug advocacy, there 
are many essays already out there (print and electronic text) 
which do an excellent job of informing the public of the truth 
about drugs.

This essay seeks to fill a gap in the drug literature by going 
into detail about bongs, bong-making, and bong-using. I bring my 
own experiences, experimentations, and reading into the creation 
of this document. I hope it will enlighten many people. Pass it 
on!

Conclusion
==========
I hope this article will be informative and useful to some 
stoners. I have tried to tighten it up, make it more readable, and 
remove blathering sections from the previous version. 

In closing I urge all stoners to realize that there is no reason 
for marijuana/hemp to be illegal. Mainstream drugs like alcohol 
and nicotine are much more dangerous.

If marijuana is ever to be legal, it will require that stoners 
come out of the closet and talk openly about the benefits of pot 
smoking with *everyone*. Tell non-stoning friends, relatives, 
colleagues, co-workers, teachers, parents, etc., as much as 
possible. Be informed and answer questions honestly. Although it 
can be difficult to tell people you've known all your life that 
you smoke pot and think it should be legalized, it is easier than 
you think. If you follow up your admission with good arguments, 
your friends (etc.) will be forced to seriously wonder why 
marijuana is illegal at all. Get organized and HAPPY STONING!

