By Max Sargent

If you have ever crafted something yourself, you know the joy that comes from using it. It is never quite the same if you bought the object. Now imagine yourself smoking some of that prime homegrown bud you usually enjoy, but out of a homemade bong. Now that is something.

In this tutorial, we will show you how to build a perfect bamboo bong. It will be a weekend project with some dedication required, but the end product will surely be well worth the trouble.

The bamboo bong is a safe and eco-friendly project and still one of the easiest do it yourself bongs. Get ready to impress yourself and everyone else, just by looking at your unique bong.

The bamboo bong isn’t just for show as it’s durability can easily outmatch even the thickest of glass pieces, making the bamboo bong ideal for outdoor use. The only downside is the cleanability factor, but in this tutorial, we shall make the bong in such a way that it is still quite easy to maintain.

BUILDING THE BONG

MATERIALS

First, we start with gathering the materials required for the build. The bong we will be making won't have a bamboo downstem and bowl - we don’t feel comfortable with anything else than glass being exposed to high heat. If you want to make your downstem out of bamboo, you will need a thin piece of bamboo to which you attach your bowl. It shouldn’t be too hard to make but we don’t recommend it, as how bamboo may react to being exposed to heat over and over again is unknown, and it will quite certainly be hard to clean.

A piece of cured and aged black bamboo will be best suited for our purpose, and it can be bought quite cheaply. The size is for you to choose. Any bamboo can be used, but we find black bamboo most aesthetically pleasing. Regardless of the species of bamboo, you decide to use, it should be cured and aged before making the bong, as such bamboo is stiffer and stronger, and quite importantly, easier to cut and drill into.

You will also need to purchase a glass downstem and bowl with a slider, as we won’t be making a carb hole. The carb hole itself isn’t hard to make, but we find that hitting a bong with a slider is a much cleaner experience with the smoke being less harsh and with less chance of messing up your surroundings with accidental bong spills.

The interior of the bong will be coated with beeswax. We prefer to keep it as natural as we can, but other coatings can also be used.

The seal for the downstem is made out of Sugru. A moldable glue that turns into rubber. It will allow us to remove the downstem as we wish and it is also food safe - a thing we thought important in our choice of the seal. As with the coating, you can also choose your sealing agent at will.

TOOLS

  • A drill (a small drill for pilot holes and a larger spade drill for downstem hole and breaking through bamboo nodes.)
  • Wood saw
  • Painter’s tape
  • A vice grip
  • Rough grit sandpaper

CUTTING THE BAMBOO

The size of your bong is completely for you to choose, but the chances are that the bamboo you got is too big. There are several things to consider when cutting your bamboo. You surely noticed your bamboo has nodes. The nodes are both useful and a nuisance.

The water container of your bong needs to have a node there as the node is waterproof and has an internal plate that can hold your bong water. The base of your bong should, therefore, be close to the node. Deciding how close to the node you cut is a matter of personal preference and aesthetic appeal. We eyeballed our base some three fingers below the last node.

When cutting the base, two things are of most importance: putting painter’s tape on the place you want to cut before cutting it as it will prevent unwanted splinters and preserve the looks of your bong, and cutting the base straight as the bong rests on it and you want it to be stable. If you cut it a bit crooked, you can always try using sandpaper or cut again to repair it. The cutting is to be done with a wood saw.

Any sawing of the bamboo should be aided by first applying painter’s tape. You want that bong to look as good as possible.

DRILLING THE EXCESS NODE PLATES

Other than the plate in the base node, which is used to hold the water, all other node plates are just a nuisance and need to be drilled through. Using a long spade drill will work very well with the nodes. When making node holes, it is impossible to use painter’s tape, and you shouldn’t worry yourself about it. Just take care when drilling out the excess plates – you don’t want to damage the walls of the bong.

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DRILLING THE DOWNSTEM HOLE

When choosing the spot for your downstem hole, it is best to have already acquired the downstem, as the size of the hole and the placing will heavily rely on it. Before drilling anything, or marking it for drilling, place your stem over the bamboo bong and position it as you would like it to be in the final product. Now you have an idea where the downstem hole should be. We positioned ours, so the down stem ends some three fingers above the bottom sealed node.

After we had chosen the spot, we put painter’s tape over the area, checked the spot once more, and marked it with a marker on the tape.

The size of the hole was just a tiny bit larger than the size of our downstem.

Now the downstem position is chosen, it is time to secure the bamboo for drilling. You need to place your bamboo inside the vice grip. Before putting it into the vice, we wrapped our bamboo in a towel, so it didn't get damaged. Also, and we can’t stress this enough, be very gentle with your vice. You don’t want to hear the bamboo cracking – it is just to hold it secure while drilling.

IMPORTANT: When making the hole, it is very important to angle the hole diagonally down towards the bottom of the future bamboo bong as it will help you place your stem correctly.

The marked spot is first drilled through by a drill to make a small pilot hole. The pilot hole is then enlarged with a spade drill. Remember, drill diagonally down towards the water chamber.

SANDING AND CLEANING THE BONG

We are nearing the completion of our bong. This step is very important as it will add quality to your bong and ensure a good smoking experience. It shouldn’t be skipped in any scenario. All the holes we drilled should be sanded using a grit sanding paper. That includes node holes and the stem hole. The mouth of the bong can also be sanded for a nicer smoking experience. When sanding the inner nodes, a long piece of slim wood, a strong metal wire, or a pen can be used to wrap the sanding paper around it and ease up the sanding process

After sanding everything, there will be a lot of residue inside your bong. It is important to clean it very thoroughly. We recommend using a strong compressor to blow the particles out. Afterwards, the bong can be cleaned with water and left to dry out. This process can and should be repeated until you feel the bong is completely cleaned of particles.

COATING THE BONG

Another important step that we don’t recommend you to skip is coating the insides of the bong. The process ensures no bamboo particles will contaminate your smoke thus guaranteeing a pleasurable and safe smoking experience. It also makes cleaning of your bong a lot easier and extends its lifespan considerably. We used beeswax for to keep things natural. Go Mother Nature.

Heat up your beeswax and pour it inside the bong. Be very careful with this step as you can easily get burned by the wax leaking out of the hole of the bong. This step is best done outdoors as we guarantee, you will make a mess. When the beeswax is poured inside be sure to roll and move the bong, so the wax coats the entire surface of it. Use some small disposable wood pieces to coat the fine edges if they aren’t coated by simply pouring the wax. The excess wax is to be poured out. If the mouthpiece contains some unwanted wax, you can scrape it off using a spoon. After waxing the bong leave it to cool down and settle for a few hours.

SEALING THE DOWNSTEM

To seal the downstem hole, you can use any sealant available, although we strongly recommend using a food safe sealant as the downstem can get hot, and you don’t want any toxic vapors. We made a seal, so the down stem is removable. We used the Sugru glue, which upon drying turn into rubber. We shaped it around the hole and upward, so the downstem fits snugly and comfortably in it, allowing it to be removed but still making sure it is stable. In the process of shaping, we eyeballed the shape and didn’t use the downstem, so we don’t get it glued and dirty. After you are satisfied with your shape, leave it to dry for at least 12 hours.

ADD YOUR DOWNSTEM

This last step is just about adding the downstem and the bowl. Actually, it is so obvious it shouldn’t even be a step.

What this step is about is calling a few friends and testing your awesome new bamboo bong. Hit it, and may the high be with you!

 

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Privacy Policy - Royal Queen Seeds

To ensure a safe online environment and guarantee adequate data protection, we strictly comply with all legal requirements. In this privacy statement, we provide information about how and for what purpose data is collected, safety measures, storage periods and contact details.


COMPANY NAME: SNORKEL SPAIN, SL (hereinafter ROYAL QUEEN SEEDS)

C/ Vilar d'Abdelà, 5 (nave 1) CP: 08170 de Montornès del Vallès

+34 937 379 846

support@royalqueenseeds.com


The present Privacy Policy sets out the terms on which we will treat personal data at ROYAL QUEEN SEEDS; this includes any personal data collected through our website https://www.royalqueenseeds.com/ as well as any other data we process in the course of our business activities.

ROYAL QUEEN SEEDS collects the following personal data for the purposes listed below:

SECTION 1 – PERSONAL INFORMATION WE COLLECT

1.1 Account purchases

Account purchases can only be made if you are in possession of a personal account. When you create an account or purchase something from our shop, as part of the buying and selling process we collect the following personal information that you provide to us:

This information is required for delivery. In addition, when you browse our shop, we automatically receive the Internet Protocol (IP) address of your computer. Based on this information, we can optimise your online experience and at the same time protect our online environment.

Purpose of data collection

We collect and store account-related data for the following purposes:

(a) to carry out obligations arising from any contracts between you and us, and to provide you with information, products and services that you may request from us;

(b) to set up, manage and communicate with you about your account and your orders;

(c) to conduct market research and analysis;

(d) to confirm your age and identity, and to detect and prevent fraud.

1.2 Newsletters

With your explicit permission, we may send you newsletters about our shop, new products and other updates. We send newsletters based on your explicit consent. In the event that you purchase a product, and in accordance with current regulations, we may send you commercial communications in accordance with the legitimate interest of our company, always about products or services similar to those you have purchased or contracted. In any case, you may exercise your right of opposition through the channels announced in this Privacy Policy. The following information is collected in relation to the newsletter:

We do not need to know the sex of the person in order to send the newsletter (data minimisation: by law we must ask for data that is strictly necessary to provide the service, and in this case knowing the sex is not necessary to send the newsletter).

Purpose of data collection

The data collected is used to:

(a) personalise our emails, including your name and gender;

(b) provide gender-specific content.

You can withdraw your consent at any time by using the link provided in the newsletter or the contact information provided in section 2.

1.3 Customer service and contact form

In order to provide appropriate support, our customer service employees have access to information related to the account. Consequently, their support will be highly effective and friendly. The data provided in our contact form is used by our CRM provider, SuperOffice. We will only use your details to respond to your message.

SECTION 2 – LEGITIMATE INTEREST

If you have purchased any of our products, please note that we may process your personal data for promotional purposes, based on Royal Queen Seeds' legitimate interest only to offer you products or services from our company and about products or services similar to those you have purchased. You may exercise your right to opt out of future messages by the means set out in this Privacy Policy or through any notification you receive.

2.1 How do you withdraw consent?

If you change your mind, you can withdraw your consent for us to contact you for the purpose of collecting, using, or disclosing your data at any time by reaching out to us at: support@royalqueenseeds.com.

SECTION 3 – DISCLOSURE

We may disclose your personal information if we are required to do so by law or if you breach our Terms of Service.

SECTION 4 – HOW LONG DO WE KEEP YOUR DATA?

At Royal Queen Seeds, we will not retain your data for longer than is necessary for the purposes described in this Policy. Different retention periods apply for different types of data; however, the longest period we will normally hold any personal data is 10 years.

4.1 Account information

Data relating to the account remains relevant for as long as the consumer is in possession of an account. Therefore, the data remains documented for as long as the account exists. When our customers delete an account, the associated data will be deleted within a reasonable period of time. Requests regarding the inspection or correction of stored personal data or the deletion of an account can be sent to support@royalqueenseeds.com.

4.2 Newsletters

In the event that you give us your consent to inform you about our products or services, we will keep your data until you express your wish not to receive any further communications from us. However, we regularly (every month) carry out a relevance check. Registered customers (and their personal information) will be deleted whenever customers do not reply to our request. In addition, our newsletter mailing has an opt-out feature. Consumers can withdraw their consent by using this opt-out feature.

SECTION 5 – COOKIES

Cookies are small information files that notify your computer of previous interactions with our website. These cookies are stored on your hard drive, not on our website. Essentially, when you use our website, your computer displays its cookies to us, informing our site that you have visited before. This allows our website to function more quickly and remember aspects related to your previous visits (such as your username), making your experience more convenient. At Royal Queen Seeds, we use two types of cookies: functional and analytical.

5.1 Functional Cookies

Functional cookies are used to enhance your online experience. Among other things, these cookies track what is added to your shopping cart. The use of these cookies does not require prior authorization.

5.2 Analytical Cookies

Analytical cookies are used for research and market analysis. The data collected with these analytical cookies is anonymous, making it unusable for third parties. The use of these cookies does not require prior authorization.

SECTION 5 – THIRD-PARTY SERVICES

Third-party services are required to conduct transactions and provide our services. In general, the third-party providers we use will only collect, use and disclose your information to the extent necessary to enable them to perform the services they provide to us.

However, certain third-party service providers, such as payment gateways and other payment transaction processors, have their own privacy policies regarding the information we must provide to them for your transactions.

We encourage you to read the privacy policies of these providers so that you can understand how these providers will handle your personal information.

In particular, certain suppliers may be located or have facilities located in a different jurisdiction than yours or ours. Therefore, if you choose to proceed with a transaction involving the services of a third party, your information may be subject to the laws of the jurisdiction in which that service provider or its facilities are located.

Once you leave our website or are redirected to a third-party website or application, you are no longer governed by this Privacy Policy or the Terms of Service of our website.

Web analytics service (anonymous data)

On this website we have integrated an element of a web analytics service (with anonymisation functionality). Web analytics can be defined as the gathering, processing and analysis of data about the behaviour of visitors to websites. An analytics service collects, among other things, data about which website a person came from (the so-called referrer), which sub-pages they visited or how often and for how long they visited a sub-page. Web analytics is mainly used for website optimisation and for a cost–benefit analysis of internet advertising.

Courier service

To complete deliveries we use a courier service. This courier service carries out the delivery between our company and the consumer's home. To complete these logistics, the company requires access to the consumer's name and address information.

Mailing service

Royal Queen Seeds uses a third-party mail service provider to send its newsletter. This provider has access to limited account information related to opt-in consent (e.g. email address).

Marketing services

Royal Queen Seeds has the support of a company that specialises in marketing and communication activities. Their access to personal information is very limited and mostly anonymous.

Payment services

At Royal Queen Seeds we use external payment services to handle our transactions (e.g. credit card payments).

SECTION 6 – SECURITY

To protect your personal information, we take reasonable precautions and follow industry standard best practices to ensure that it is not inappropriately lost, misused, accessed, disclosed, altered or destroyed.

If you provide us with your credit card information, the information is encrypted using secure socket layer technology (SSL) and stored using AES-256 encryption. Although no method of transmission over the internet or electronic storage is 100% secure, we follow all PCI-DSS requirements and implement additional industry standards that are commonly accepted. Information related to the account is protected with a hashing method. This method transforms the information into a generated hash. As a result, confidential information is protected and invisible, even to us. In addition, our databases are exceptionally protected against unauthorised access. For example, access to the database is only possible and permitted via approved IP addresses (e.g. from Royal Queen Seeds headquarters). Other attempts and addresses are rejected at all times.

Furthermore, data is anonymised as much as possible, so it cannot be directly linked to a specific consumer. With this data, however, we may be able to carry out market research and analysis. In addition, the third parties concerned (e.g. mailing service) are examined prior to our collaboration, comply with the GDPR from the EU and receive a processing agreement. Within Royal Queen Seeds, employees are assigned different access permissions. Specific permission provides access only to information that is strictly required to perform a task. Digital security measures are subject to change and must meet high requirements to ensure the safety of online customers. That is why, at Royal Queen Seeds, we appoint a security officer. Regular verification and improvement of security measures (where necessary) are part of the role.

SECTION 7 – CHANGES TO THIS PRIVACY POLICY

We reserve the right to modify this Privacy Policy at any time, so please check back regularly. Changes and clarifications will be effective immediately upon being published on the Website. If we make substantial changes to this policy, we will notify you here that it has been updated so you will know what information we collect, how we use it and under what circumstances, if any, we use and/or disclose it.

SECTION 8 – YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO: