If you want to get large hits of weed, and be able to inhale more smoke at one time than with a standard marijuana pipe or a joint, you may be interested in smoking out of a bong, also known as a water pipe. Bongs have been used for centuries to smoke a variety of substances, such as tobacco, shisha and, of course, pot. It is possible to purchase a bong in a head shop or over the Internet, but if you are on a budget or simply enjoy creating things on your own you may prefer to make a water pipe right in the privacy of your own home.

A water bong is relatively simple to make, and only requires materials that are common in most households, such as a plastic water or soda bottle and an ink pen. The only item that you may not have immediately on hand is the bowl for your bong, and this can be purchased at a head shop, or even fashioned out of aluminum foil in a pinch (more on that later).

This page on how to make a water bong will guide you through the steps necessary to build your smoking device, and here you can learn how to build both a standard water pipe as well as a gravity bong.

A water bong is a type of smoking apparatus that, by design, allows the smoke to cool before inhalation by exposing it to water. In standard water bongs, the smoke is actually sucked through water that has been poured into the base of the bong, and then the smoke travels up through the chamber of bong and into the mouth of the person who is smoking from it. Sometimes ice is added to the water to cool the smoke down even more.

Generally, standard water bongs are made with carburetors that help the smoker to completely clear the chamber of all smoke (these are also known as "carbs"). The carb is often nothing more than a hole drilled into the side or back of the bong. The smoker covers the carb with a thumb or finger while sucking the smoke into the chamber, and then uncovers the carb when they are ready to complete the hit and suck up all of the remaining smoke.

Gravity bongs are somewhat different, as the chamber is submerged in water and the only hole is in the top, where the bowl goes. The bowl is ignited while the chamber is slowly lifted up from the water, filling it with smoke. The bowl is then removed, and the smoker places her or his mouth in the resulting hole and inhales the smoke, lowering the chamber back into the water.

Here are the instructions for making a water bong out of a plastic bottle and a few other materials. Construction is simple, but it is very important to make sure that your bong is as airtight as possible. Any leaks can result in problems while trying to take a hit from your bong.

Materials Needed:

• A plastic bottle, such as two liter bottle or a gallon or half-gallon sized milk or water container (no lid, you will smoke from the top)
• A pair of scissors
• A pen with a hollow stem
• Electrical tape
• A bowl from a metal pipe, or a bowl fashioned out of aluminum foilhttp://www.makingbongs.com/water_bong.html

How to Make the Water Bong:

1. Making sure that the plastic bottle is secure (any slippage could make it difficult to penetrate, causing you to cut in the wrong area or even injure yourself), use your scissors to poke a hole into the front, lower area of your bottle about 4 inches up from the base. Your hole should be just big enough to slide your pen barrel into.http://www.smokingwithstyle.com/waterpipe.htm
2. Disassemble your pen, discarding everything but the hollow barrel.
3. Push the barrel of the pen into your hole, so that it is at an angle pointing towards the bottom of the inside of the bottle.
4. Seal the hole with electrical tape so that no air can leak through.
5. Attach your bowl to the stem (you may need to secure it with electrical tape, but make sure the tape is not in an area where it is likely to come into contact with flame).
6. You can also form a bowl out of aluminum foil, and poke holes into the base so that smoke can flow through.
7. Poke a hole into the back of the bong to serve as your carb.

A gravity bong may allow you to take even bigger hits than you can with a standard bong. It is also very simple to make, but you cannot substitute an aluminum foil bowl for a metal one with this design. Here's how to make your gravity bong:

Materials Needed:

1. A large plastic bottle, which can be a water jug, a milk jug or a two-liter soda pop bottle
2. The plastic lid from the bottle
3. A metal pipe bowl
4. A good pair of scissors
5. A tub, bucket or pail that is large enough to almost completely submerge your plastic bottle, with enough space around the sides to easily move the bottle up and downhttp://smokingwithstyle.com/gravitybong.htm
6. A cigarette lighter

How to Make the Gravity Bong:

1. Cut the bottom off of your plastic bottle.
2. Take the lid of the bottle and use your cigarette lighter to warm it up until is is soft to the touch, but not scalding hot.
3. Poke your metal bowl through the lid, and hold it there until it has completely cooled (this will form a seal).http://www.ehow.com/how_4487614_make-gravity-bong.html
4. Screw the lid onto the bottle.
5. Fill the bowl with whatever you are planning to smoke.
6. Fill your pail or tub with water.
7. Submerge the bottle until only the neck can be seen above the water level.
8. Light the bowl.
9. Gradually lift the bottle up from the water until it the base is just barely submerged.
10. Unscrew the lid, and quickly begin sucking on the mouth of the bottle until the smoke has cleared and the bottle is fully submerged once again.

Marijuana is still illegal under federal law, although it is legalized for medical use in fourteen states. The content in this page is for informational purposes only and not a substitute for professional medical or legal advice. Please do not think that just because it is legal in your state that you can freely smoke. You must have a medical card that allows you to smoke marijuana.