More and more, smokers are beginning to take an interest as to the origins of their pieces,Let’s enjoy the process of making bong.
The Process of Making a Standard Glass Bong
Using a large, industrial torch and a stone block, glassmakers generally start making their pieces by focusing on the bulbous base. The glassmaker begins by taking a straight glass tube and heating it up until it balloons in the center to form a big, hollow bubble. This is removed from the flame and then, using glassblowing techniques and holding either end of the glass tube, inflated to a larger size. Consistency is crucial when it comes to making bongs, so some glassblowers will use a set of rollers to evenly rotate the piece and ensure that the body of the piece sits correctly and the base stays even as it becomes rounded and blown out.
Percs are Perks
Internal percolators, filters inside the bong, can also be made from the same piece of glass as the body. This helps to keep the percolator a similar size to the tube that it will eventually be placed in and lessens the need for sizing guesswork. This is the part where some glassblowers really showcase their skills, creating intricate internal structures for the smoke to filter and cool through. These percolators are put inside the body and/or neck and then glass is welded to it using a torch. Any extra glass is pulled off in order to ensure that the product is smooth and even once it’s all put together.
Reattaching the Neck
The neck is then reattached to the base if necessary by using a spinning machine that keeps the glass pieces steady and even as they are heated and joined. In order to make the bottom of the bong flat, some glassblowers use a lapping wheel, which rotates a water-lubricated abrasive wheel that flattens the glass.
After the whole process is finished the piece is put into an annealer, which helps to remove the heat stress put on the glass during the blowing process. Bongs that aren’t properly annealed are likely to break under the pressure of even small temperature changes, which is obviously something that bong makers and consumers alike would want to avoid.