When it comes to smoking marijuana – everyone has their own preferred way of doing it. There are some people who like to smoke their weed in joints while there are others who like to wape it. Some people like to smoke the bud while there are others who prefer to consume concentrates instead. Everyone has a personal preference and bias about how they want their weed and in which form they want it. Bongs are another common way of consuming marijuana and one question that we frequently get asked is about How to make a bong. So in this article, we shall be detailing exactly that.
Here, we shall be taking a look at everything that you need to know about a bong. What is a bong, how many types of bongs there are, how can you make a bong at home, advantages and disadvantages of using a bong, and many other similar questions will be answered here. The primary focus, however, would be on the topic of how to make a bong and we have attempted at keeping it as simple and as basic as possible so anyone with even basic resources can make their own bong at home and smoke weed with ease. Let us first begin by looking at the basic details about bongs:
What is a Bong? (also explain how do bongs work)
Before we proceed with the details of how to make your own bong at home, let us first understand what these instruments are and how they function. A bong is basically a device using which you smoke marijuana in the form of dry herb. It is almost always used along with water – and is hence a type of water pipes. The smoke that comes from your weed is filtered by a bong using water where the smoke gets diffused. The bong is sealed on one end, and has multiple openings otherwise. While there might be more, but there are at least three openings in every bong – one for your mouth so that you can inhale the smoke, another one for the tube and bowl to be inserted and a third one which can be covered or uncovered to control the smoke.
In order to understand the functioning of a bong, you need to understand its different parts. Understanding this clearly will also help you in answering the question of how to make a bong. These are the major parts:
- The Bowl – this is where all the weed is stuffed in and this is where a fire is lit.
- The Downstem- this is the unit that connects the bowl to the body of the bong and the smoke passes via the downstem to the bowl.
- The Body – The general tubelike structure that the bong is. It also contains a water chamber where the smoke gets diffused.
- The Mouthpiece – The opening on top from where you inhale the weed.
Bongs look different and feel different based on what material they are made out of and how artistic the maker has gone with them. Some even carry other parts such as the percolator. However, in the simplest of forms, a bong only needs the bowl, downstem, water chamber and the mouthpiece. Bongs come in various form factors such as beaker-shaped bongs, tube-shaped, pipe-shaped, round-based, object-shaped, bubbler bongs, gravity bongs, etc. There’s much to it but now’s not the time to get into such complex details. Let us cut straight to the chase and see how to make a bong at home:
How to Make a Bong at Home? A Step by Step Guide
First thing that you need to do is that you need to know is while creating a bong sounds like a complex and challenging task, you do not need to worry too much about it. When you actually set out to realize, you would know how basic it is and how you can build it in just a matter of a few minutes if you do it correctly. You just have to get the science of the bong right. Also, another thing worth noting here is that while the bongs that you can buy in the markets are often complex and elaborate devices for smoking dry herb, the bong that you make at home is going to be rather simple and is focused more on getting the job done than at giving you the finesse that you might find otherwise.
Step 1: Procure the items that you may need – in order to make a bong at home, you will require a pen (preferably one which has a metal tip), a water bottle, a lighter and ground cannabis, and lastly – some gum. Most of it is easily available at almost any home around the world, and if you’re planning to make a bong at home, we’d assume you already have weed.
Step 2: First the pen – unscrew the metal top of the pen and then make use of a butterknife in order to remove the piece on the bottom. Then remove all the other parts such as the refill, the spring and any other tiny mechanisms that might be there. The pointy end of the pen that then needs to be inserted into the pen’s shaft. This process will basically help you prepare the downstem of your homemade bong.
Step 3: Now get hold of the water bottle, make sure it is empty. Then, remove the cap from the bottle and on the bottom third portion, use the lighter to burn a hole into it. When you think it is just the right size, shove the pen inside the hole. Just make sure that the bottom portion of your pen is pointing downwards inside the bottle so that it will have proper access to water. Make sure that the hole is neither too big nor too small and just the right size so that it grips the pen tightly. Having a hole that is too big might lead to the pen just shifting around or falling through. The pen needs to be firmly held by the bottle.
Step 4: The next step is again about getting the hole right. You need to make sure that it is an airtight setup and that the hole and the pen have been fit properly so that the pen stays firm. Get the gum that you have and chew it for a bit. Then take it out and wrap it where the whole and the pen meet the bottle and use this freshly chewed gum to seal the hole completely and make sure that the pen is firm.
Step 5: Now fill some water in the bottle – just enough to have the bottom part of the pen immersed in it but not so much that the water reaches the level of the hole. This is the last step. Your homemade bong is now ready.
Now that you know how to make a bong at home, you must also know how to use it. Fill the pen shaft’s portion that is outside with weed and hold the lighter under it. The portion from where you removed the cap of the bottle will then be used to inhale the steam that comes from the water where the smoke of the weed will be diffused. That’s it! Take a deep breath and enjoy the ‘hit’.
What are the Pros and Cons of Using a Bong?
Making a bong at home is not a task which is as hard as it seems when you first hear of it. However, the buck doesn’t stop at just making a bong. You’ve got to be the master of your domain. You’ve got to know everything that there is to know about a bong. Knowing this will help you a more aware and a ‘woke’ stoner. Here are some pros and cons of consuming weed using a bong:
Pros
- Compared to other mediums of smoking, you can inhale more using a bong and thus get a bigger ‘hit’ of smoke here.
- Thanks to the water that the smoke passes through, heavier particles, most toxins and water-soluble molecules are usually absorbed and the end product that you get is a much cleaner and smoother experience of consuming weed.
- Bongs are considerably easy to clean compared to some other forms of consuming marijuana
- Some tars and toxins stick to the sides of the bong instead of reaching your lungs – as they would in other forms of consuming marijuana
- Lastly, bongs help cool down the smoke and make sure you’re not getting any heat in your body.
Cons
- One problem when it comes to smoking via a water-filtered device such as a bong is that some of the THC particles, which are the primary psychoactive particles in weed, also tend to get caught in the water thereby reducing the high and making you smoke more to get ‘high’.
- Bongs are often quite fragile and need to be handled with care
- Water in the bongs needs to be changed frequently or it will start to smell bad and taste bad.
Frequently Asked Questions about Bongs
Here’s a look at some of the most common and frequently asked questions when it comes to bongs for consuming marijuana.
1. How to smoke a bong?
This is a very simple process. First you fill up the weed in the external pipe chamber where the dry herb is supposed to be stuffed in. Then you set up a lighter below it to ensure that the weed is being heated. Post that, you start sucking in from the mouthpiece so that the smoke is made to pass through the water where it gets filtered and toxins and tar are removed. Then when you feel you’ve had enough, you just exhale the smoke.
2. How many different kinds of bongs are there?
There are two ways in which you can classify the different kinds of bongs that are available out there:
- Bongs Based on Material
Based on the material used in making them, bongs can be of different types – glass bongs, acrylic bongs, plastic bongs, metal bongs, ceramic bongs – and even wood-made bamboo bongs.
- Bongs Based on Shape
Based on the shapes, bongs can come shaped like a tube, they can be round-shaped, or they can be shaped like a beaker. Then there are also bubbler bongs and gravity bongs which come in quite a different shape compared to the traditional bong but function pretty much on the same principles.
3. How much do bongs usually cost?
Bongs can cost anywhere between $50 to $500, but it largely depends upon what material is used in making them – what shape and size they are of, etc. However, if you are looking for a cheap and quick alternative you can always make a bong at home using the method that we have talked about above.
4. Are bongs legal?
In most areas in the US, bongs are legal – however, what you use these bongs to smoke might be something that can land you into trouble. Bongs, by themselves, are not something that can run you into trouble but that can certainly land you in the suspect zone and the cops might want to check on what you are carrying if they see you carrying a bong. However there are many parts of the world where even bongs are illegal and it is best advised to check with your local laws before you get one.
5. How do bongs work?
All bongs, regardless of their shape, size or material – work on one fundamental principle, in a bong, weed is consumed in the form of dry herb and it is heated from an external part of the bong. Once the weed is heated, the smoke is carried into the system via a ‘downstem’ tube which takes it to the water, where the ‘filtration’ process happens and toxins, tars, and water-soluble particles get separated while a more purified form of this smoke is then absorbed by the stoners who are inhaling from the top portion. Considering its large surface area bongs allow a lot of smoke to be inhaled by the stoners and they ensure a bigger ‘high’.
6. On an average, how long will a bong last me?
A regular bong that you buy off the market can last you for a pretty long time – but it also depends on how you are using it. With good usage and proper cleaning, an average bong can easily last you for over 5 years. However, it also depends on what it is made out of and how you handle it. Homemade bongs won’t really last you for long – a couple of weeks at best, but remember they’re just a quick-fix solution when you don’t have anything with you and not a long term alternative for smoking weed.
Conclusion
We hope that this article on making a bong at home has given you adequate insight into exactly that! Bongs are a great way to smoke weed and especially when multiple people are smoking it they are an even more fun exercise. While making a bong at home is an easy process, always remember that this is not something that will serve you long-term and you must get a good bong from the markets for an optimum smoking experience. Do let us know in the comments below or drop us an email if there’s something that you feel that we’ve missed out on, or if there’s something more that you would like to know about. Till then…
…Happy Smoking! 🙂
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