Homemade Smoking Devices

Pipe

• One of the most classic pieces of smoking devices is the pipe. Enthusiasts can carve out their own homemade pipes by getting a seasoned limb from cherry, maple or plum trees to carve out a pipe bowl and drill a pilot hole. For pipe stems, elderberry, ash and catalpa stems can be used by taking out the pith with a wire.

Simple Bong

• Another popular homemade smoking device is the bong. A bong is similar to a water percolator in that the smoke from burning tobacco passes through, cooled and humidified by water. The simple bong is usually made out of glass or plastic bottles fitted an angled stem and bowl one-third of the way up from the bottom of the bottle.

Gravity Bong

• The gravity bong is a variant of a simple bong. It usually features a plastic soda bottle (with the cap end retained and the bottom cut off) as a receptacle and a bucket of water. A small hole is drilled into the cap and is then fitted with the bowl or cone and then made leak proof with some silicone or chewing gum. The open bottle is then immersed in water up to its neck, the cap with bowl packed with the tobacco is screwed into the bottle and the substance is lighted up. The bottle slowly rises up as smoke begins to occupy space and push the bottle up. Once the desired amount of smoke is present, the cap is released and the smoker takes in the smoke as the bottle sinks.

Waterfall Bong

• A waterfall bong works in the opposite manner as the gravity bong. It is made with a plastic soda bottle with a punctured cap fitted with a receptacle for the tobacco. The user then fills the bottle with water up to the neck, the cap and receptacle is screwed in tight, the tobacco is lit, the bottom of the bottle is punctured to let the water out and draw in air and smoke, the bottom hole is resealed when the desired amount of smoke is obtained and the cap is unscrewed by the smoker.

Homemade Hookah

• Hookahs are elaborate smoking devices similar to bongs but have items such as filters and purge valves. The simplest homemade version is just a bong fitted with flexible tubes for smoking.