[DiscoBiscuit]

Lets see, I've been puffin for 35 years and my favorite weapon of mass destruction is a one toke bong. Although I've had more bongs over the years than I can count, it all started with bamboo. All smokers from the 60s and 70s remember these well. I thought I'd trip out a few of the younger rippers and post a how-to. I welcome your thoughts, critiques and memories (if you're old enough) of your bamboo experience.

Yes, bamboo makes a great bong. The first thing I do is get a hack saw and head for the forest.


If this patch were private property, I'd ask the owner for a sample. This particular patch is on federal park land. I love ripping off the government! Once in the patch I find I'm in luck, an already chopped pole is lying on the ground. I won't have to kill an entire tree to make my bong.



It was raining when I got to the patch to I quickly cut a piece for the chamber. Then I found the proper size piece for the bowl and stem. Then I ran fast back to the car. Here's what I came back with. I like to get the big piece with both "knuckles." The stem only needs one knuckle.



In my haste, I stripped a little of the outer skin. This not only compromises the physical integrity of the bong, it makes it look shitty. Not to worry, the damage is minimal and I have a few cosmetic tricks to take care of this problem.


The best bamboo bongs I've every laid eyes on were made from a handsaw and a pocket knife. For the benefit of this how-to I'm gonna cheat and use power tools. Here's a band saw with a couple of jigs to make the work go a little faster. The bottom jig makes a 90 degree cut with the blade and the v block holds round stock for cutting.



The first thing I'll do is saw off the unnecessary trimmings.









Now I'll make the cut that will be the mouthpiece of the bong. I lined the saw blade to within 1/16" of the knuckle (scrap side) and made the cut.


It's about now that I'm reminded of Norm ("Nom") Abrams and "The New Yankee Workshop." In reality, I'm more like "This Old House" where Bob Vila makes a cut and ruins the project, lol. I kid, no offense to the Bob Vila fans in the audience. Does Bob Vila really have any fans? Here's the cut.



For the base, I made the cut a half inch or so below the knuckle (scrap side.)



Here's the node with the scrap ends cut off. It stands up nice and level. A cheap plastic miter box from the hardware store and a hand saw will do a good job if jigs aren't available.


After cutting the "bowl" end of the stem, I cut the opposite end at an angle. This helps keep the stem from bottoming out on the floor of the bong.



Bamboo is fibrous and the nice shiny outer skin is easy to peal at the ends. To prevent this I beveled the saw cuts with a sanding disc. Same thing with the stem.













I used a 3/8" twist bit to remove the soft core of the bowl. Then I used a 1/16" bit to drill the ash hole in the bowl.





Now it's time to cut a hole into the mouthpiece knuckle. Some folks just make their saw cut inside the knuckle. I like to whittle through the knuckle for strength and comfort against my mouth. I also thinks it looks better.




I used the tip of a sharp knife blade to gouge a hole. Notice how this stuff crumbles. I pull the knife edge along the bamboo and this reduces further crumbling.



As I cut the mouthpiece hole larger, I'm able to remove the paper like membrane from inside the node. I love attempting to get the entire membrane out in one piece. I wasn't so lucky with this one. I'll use an old toothbrush to remove any remaining pieces.

[DiscoBiscuit]

Here's the mouthpiece end sanded nice and smooth. It fits against my mouth comfortably.



Now would be a good time to coat the inside with a thin layer of beeswax. If beeswax isn't available, unscented candle wax will do. I usually melt about one liquid ounce of wax and pour it into the node. Once the wax coats the entire interior, I pour out any excess. Although this bong is water tight, the wax is to seal the chamber interior and keep moisture from saturating the bamboo. I learned this the hard way as a kid. My bong cracked and nasties made a mess on my mom's new carpet. I've never had a stem bust on me so I don't bother waxing the stem.

Now I'm ready to cut the stem hole. I like my bongs with lots of water (4 or 5 ounces.) I want to orient the stem hole to maximixe water volume. Holding the stem at an angle against the chamber, I'm able to estimate where the stem hole will go.




Here's the node seam. The seam is hard to work with so I'll cut the stem hole on the smooth side.






I used a caliper to size the stem diameter. I want the smallest hole possible so glue doesn't drip into the bong interior.



The stem is approx. 15mm. Great! (I don't have metric twist bits.) The closest standard bit I have is a 31/64".

I puts the bong in the v block and lays it on the drill press table, orienting the seam at the bottom.




Then I eyeballed the point on the bong I want to drill.



Here's the first hole. I'll drill another hole 1.5" or so above the first one.









Using a sharp knife, I cut out the area marked "x". I don't want an oval hole. I want an elongated hole no wider than the 31/64" drill holes.



Here's what it looks like at first.



Here's what I end up with.



Using a rat tail rasp, I filed the angle the stem will rest in.


The stem is checked for fit. I think this will work just fine.


Now for the hard part. I need waterproof glue that is thick enough to stick to the seam instead of leaking down the stem and into the bong. Krazy glue gel works great but I don't have any. For this how-to, we'll use this shit. I like the strength of this stuff but it foams when drying. I'll just have to be careful not to make a glue mess on my new bong!


In the 1970's (before permabond, people!) we only had one type of glue that would work for bongs. It actually isn't glue, it's called Genuine Plastic Wood. This stuff was used to fill holes and imperfections in, you guessed it, wood. I don't know why the idiot manufacturer made it orange! Anything you use it on has to be painted or it looks like shit. A few of my buddies started painting their glue joints with model car paint. It didn't take very long for these industrious pot heads to fashion three dimensional ornaments on their bongs. One dude down the street from me crafted a Cobra head (hood displayed) with the bowl in the Cobra's mouth. Another had Harley wings and my favorite was called "Flying Tits". This bong (you guessed it) had a pair of jugs and the bowl was nestled in cleavage. These things were intricately carved and painted to perfection!

After I inserted the stem into the hole, I carefully squirted a bead of glue 360 degrees around the hole. The bong is ready to smoke from when the glue is dry and no noticeable fumes present.


Here it is! It takes about an hour including sanding. It was easier to make the bong than it was to post it here on IC. I hope this brings back a few memories, maybe even encourage a few young'ns to make one of their own.

[Carl Spackler]

Man that is a blast from the past for me. We used bamboo that was drier so they were more brown in color. We sealed them with fiberglass resin. Also cut the top at an angle (45?). Looks good man. Nice job.

[DiscoBiscuit]

Originally Posted by Carl Spackler

Man that is a blast from the past for me. We used bamboo that was drier so they were more brown in color. We sealed them with fiberglass resin. Also cut the top at an angle (45?). Looks good man. Nice job.

Carl, I agree the dry and tan/brown bamboo looks a lot better than green. I've probably cut a pickup truck load of bamboo in my time. The patch I took this from is the only green color (this size) I've ever run across. It'll take 6 months or so and the whole thing will be brown. The fiberglass resin sounds like a more durable waterproof method than wax. Thanks for the tip!

The angled top is a good mention also. A buddy of mine did this once and boasted he didn't have to lean over the bong to take a rip, lol.



Mr. Bongjangles!!! I love that name!!! Thanks for the kind word and the k.

[BlueberryTerry]

Very nice!! Have done something like this before!!

[Phillthy]

Awesome post! Should get a spot in the DYI thread!

[HypnotiQ]

Well done sir!

[DiscoBiscuit]

Thanks to BlueberryTerry, Phillthy & HypnotiQ.

[rochester]

You just made my day!

Thankz for taking the time to remind me of my past... I started tokin back when the older bro came back from Nam.

organic bongs..awesome!!