How to make a ceramic water pipe

This is a basic beginner video on how to make a ceramic water pipe. You will learn how to make a tube where the water sits, a percolator to diffuse the smoke, a 18mm tube to hold your bowl, and a 18mm bowl.
Any type of clay can be used to make such a piece and a corresponding glaze (best practice: use non-toxic glaze) that matches your high or low fire clay will do just fine. When building your parts you can wheel throw, build with slabs, or roll out coils of no more than 1/4 inch thick. In regards to your fittings use a female glass joint to make your bowl and a male glass joint to create your fitting that holds your bowl (any millimeter size will work and you can go to a smoke shop and buy a bowl/downstem to use for this task if you do not know of a local glass blowing shop). Do note that once everything dries to bone dry check to make sure the bowl fits into the clay downstem all the way. If it does not, begin twisting the bowl in a clockwise motion until it sands down enough to fit all the way into the bowl (it is as easy as it sounds, spin the dry male bowl fitting in the dry female joint and it will slowly sand down the clay of the male bowl).
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Music:
Lightning on a Blue Sky, Gimme Five, Down With That, Rain, and Old Bossa by Twin Musicom is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (creativecommons.org/licenses/...)
Artist: www.twinmusicom.org/
Thanks to everyone who watched and read this far!

[@canaweb]

Very cool! Thank you! After firing-can you still get a commercial 18mm bowl to fit or does the clay shrink too much?

[@Ceramicsmokeware]

canaweb a glass fitting will usually fit but not all the way. So yea the clay will shrink and if you want it to fit a little better push the male joint in a few millimeters further and widen the top of the joint as well ( when you push it in further the lower part of the clay joint will widen). The other way to do it is to first create your own glass version of a joint out of clay that is 10% larger or whatever your shrinkage rate is. Or just use calipers to measure the fitting X% larger for the female fitting. It's difficult any way you put it right now. But I will have a easy solution in the future so I hope you'll stick around until then. Thanks

[@canaweb]

CeramicSmokeWare thanks! That all makes sense! I enjoy your videos and always learn a lot..of course I'll stick around!

[@benjaminreyes249]

Can mold/fire/bake it with a commercial fitting on the bong so the shrinkage will be perfect

[@erickvasquez1147]

I just came here because I’m about to attempt to make a secretive bong in Ceramics class

[@PootieTangFan]

Let's hope that works out😂

[@erickvasquez1147]

Trevor Dunphy I’ve planned it out to a T, it’s going to be a cactus with a couple of prickly pears

[@ankersorensen7188]

Hahaha ur going to make a bong in class hahaha

[@ronimiravent5843]

hey saw you in the other cersmic bong video haha highfive

[@skylafirster7809]

Omg bruh I’m the sammeee

[@saralanducci2340]

I have attempted a ceramic bong in the past but with slabs and it didn't turn out quite as nice as your did here, definitely going to try coils now! Thank you so much for the tutorial, its really well made!

[@danielzt11]

A really beautiful piece of art. I'll try to do the same once I go back to Bolivia. Thanks!

[@Ceramicsmokeware]

DanielZ share it with me once you make it, thanks.

[@danielzt11]

I will do it

[@Papasqanch]

A slab build would have been so much easier. Your way is fine too. Just food for thought

[@RusticStonewarePipes-Mugs]

Thank you so much bro! You are my inspiration!

[@shannonc3309]

Very creative! I enjoyed watching your video! Thank you!!

[@jessica-janelunafay9323]

thank you this is awesome! Love your work!

[@goleni2663]

You’re a genius! Thank you for this!

[@Ceramicsmokeware]

:) well I think I was the one who needed to do this (new market) but I will take your complement! Thanks for watching and seems like you took something from it.

[@nalisolwolf1497]

Thanks for yet another great tutorial! :)

[@Ceramicsmokeware]

Redd Butler thanks for the support

[@digiTTTeX]

You are amazing man ! Nice video ! Nice work !

[@TrackStarBen]

Awesome!

[@doubledipcandyflip]

I just made this and made another one in my own style thanks for the vid first bong and I did well I wish I could post a photo

[@joshuapearce3293]

Great video man👍👍

[@theageoftheawakening4806]

Holy crap thats cool!

[@gapelifestoner7288]

I see this channel gonna grow

[@BeatrizPerini]

so good

[@colinkessinger8223]

That looks amazing like you made the bowl piece out of clay

[@bigmomma3265]

Thanks sir! I have been trying to make a clay flute but I could never find any sources on how to make a damn tube with clay, this was very helpful

[@Ceramicsmokeware]

Awesome, I’m glad it helped!

[@dragonflygenetics420]

thanks for the 💡

[@transformer301]

Aye bro sick

[@Eyesaiah777]

GREAT WORK BROTHA!! My only suggestion for the next piece would be to smooth out the inside as well when using the coil technique as you ascend. Then again, in most cases it does just smooth itself out when when you're using a perfectly solid cylinder mold. Eye only recommend it so that resin doesn't accumulate quicker and become harder and harder to clean. It's a freakin hassle to get cleaned at that point unfortunately. Keep the videos coming, you've earned another Subscriber today with bell notification's on. B-)

[@Ceramicsmokeware]

Thanks man, also if you glaze the inside all the way, even those coil lines shouldn't cause you any problems when cleaning with isopropyl and salt, but I agree with you that it's good practice to smooth it out.

[@Eyesaiah777]

That's very true, Eye use coarse-grained kosher salt and alcohol as well to get the best results as possible. Smoothing out coils helps me to relieve anxiety when I'm not medicated lol Even just watching it sometimes haha

[@thatonercguy9917]

Im high as shit rn, and this is so relaxing.

[@juansaucedo1744]

Man that's awesome I need a ceramic bong in my collection sale me one with two bowls am in Guadalajara jalisco mex. How much

[@jesuscontreras3236]

awesome vid bro, i made one at ceramics class back in highschool, Mr.Wavioli was very cool, do u do orders on those? I'm in Nashville

[@Ceramicsmokeware]

Thanks man, I make a much better piece these days then the one in this video. I have no problem shipping it out to you. You should email me at [e-mail] or message me on Instagram and I can send you pictures and prices in the mean time while I’m updating my website.

[@charlotteastre3029]

Great tutorial and great work! for the piece that has the 4 holes in it, how important is it to have the one side closed up? I made one without watching the tutorial (stupidly) and I forgot to close up the one side. Would it still be functional? Thanks!

[@Ceramicsmokeware]

Charlotte Astre yea it will just function with an extra hole, no need to worry, share tour results with me on instagram @ceramicsmokeware

[@snakeriverpipeworks6554]

Totally bad ass. I've been playing with a little bit of hand building, but have never coil built. Guess I need to break out the extruder. I do one piece built in ceramic stem and bowl sets, but have been wanting to do a "glass on glass" style bowl. This pushes me in the right direction. When you remove the plastic pipe from the coil build, do you let it firm up at all first?

[@Ceramicsmokeware]

Snake River Pipe Works no I don't let it firm up, I pull it out as soon as possible. But once again I suggest wrapping the plastic tube in a single layer of news paper since that creates an actual layer between the tube and clay. It just makes it a little easier to remove rather than my petroleum jelly that I had to kind of force off.

[@danieltovar862]

What kind of clay would be least toxic or release less chemicals

[@Ceramicsmokeware]

Daniel Tovar almost none of the clays you can buy have any toxic materials. You should be good use any clay as long as it is not polymer clay

[@HighEye_Ceramica]

Кайф, тоже бонги делаю 😂

[@JoannaBanana11]

This is so gorgeous! I would love to try this at home, but don't have easy access to a kiln...are there any clays that I might be able to do this with and then "fire" in a home oven?

[@Ceramicsmokeware]

No, that is not a safe way. If you go check out our other website, artnsyn.com, we have a kiln finder with a list of pipe friendly studios. There might be one listed near you, or look up a ceramic studio near you and see if you can go in and make something. Hope you can find something.

[@pseudogamer6685]

hey man ive been making some ceramic stuff for a year now, i made alot of peace pipe and they work really well but it takes alot of time to make, so i was wondering if you have any tips on making a mold. sorry if a made some mistakes english is not my first language

[@Ceramicsmokeware]

pseudo gamer I will make a video early on in 2018 about how to make molds, other wise a simple internet search will help answer your questions now

[@annbereza5340]

you should make a spoon pipe or a bong

[@christianislas3830]

Yo I ask my ceramics teacher that if I could make a water pipe she said no that clay particular will fuck up your lungs then I told her today before even seeing this video that what if I put like gloss and she looked at me like i knew what I was doing but I didn't but after seen this video I was right and ima ask her tmr thanks for the info

[@Ceramicsmokeware]

Christian islas that’s pretty funny, hope she lets you. Tell her making clay pipes is an emerging career that is here to save the dying art of ceramics 😁 but also you are still young and unless you are a senior I bet your even to young to smoke tobacco. I also know your not the only high schools student watching these so to everyone of you reading this, make sure you are respectful to your teachers if they say no. You soon will be able to make a career doing this and for that it should be accepted to make even in high school ✌️

[@polmoyhok3936]

Hi, I don't understand how come the weed doesn't slip from the bowl into the water, especially if you use a grinder. Thanks, looking forward for an answer.

[@Ceramicsmokeware]

Pol Moyhok I get what you are concerned about, but there is an easy solution. Break off a chunk of the nug to drop it into the bowl and plug the little hole so that it will stop all the finer pieces you grinded from going down through the hole. Hope that makes sense.

[@maddykattt2827]

Could you still make a ceramic bong using clay that oven bakes then still glazing over it or is that dangerous to smoke out of

[@Ceramicsmokeware]

Maddy Kattt it sounds like the cheap easy route and when you cut corners, usually nothing good comes from it. You need to troop it out because if your making a water pipe with that, bacteria will grow inside and you’ll be inhaling mold vapors. Also I doubt that clay is meant to have the temp of a lighter on it if it only bakes in the oven. Lighters are much hotter then the oven, I could see byproducts chemically reacting and you inhaling weird vapors. So no, don’t use that crap, just do the proper way at a local studio, they probably won’t mind to much.

[@maddykattt2827]

Thank you👍🏻

[@suettheartistickamillion9996]

Would it not be simplier to roll slab and roll it around the PVC pipe than coiling.

[@Ceramicsmokeware]

Sue Thomas I’d say it is quicker but not as strong, you most definitely can do it that way

[@blahblah-hw6ne]

Are you ever gonna make more bong build videos with different techniques?

[@Ceramicsmokeware]

blah blah not any time soon, you can work with slabs or a wheel to make any kind of tube like form, similar to this. This is a basis for you to start from where if you know how to do the fittings you can adjust the design

[@blahblah-hw6ne]

CeramicSmokeWare would you say this is the easiest technique? Asking as a novice

[@Ceramicsmokeware]

blah blah for a beginner yes, if you know how to use the wheel that can work well to. Slabs are quicker then coiling but doesn’t turn out as well and isn’t as easy to make without a roller.

[@ankersorensen7188]

2019??

[@Papasqanch]

Also how are you going to clean the perk?

[@Ceramicsmokeware]

Any cleaning solution or salt and isopropyl will work with a five minute shaking.

[@krierax]

can i use earthenware instead of stoneware for smoke thingies like pipes or bongs like this?

[@Ceramicsmokeware]

as long is it’s not that air dry stuff but rather real clay that is fired in a kiln then it will work just the same. Hope it goes well

[@krierax]

@@Ceramicsmokeware thank you so much for the answer, will the glaze not crack with the heat from the lighter tho?

[@Ceramicsmokeware]

@@krierax no way, the kiln puts that glaze through temperature over a long period of time. A lighter cannot reach those temps or that time needed to effect any glaze. Just remember that even a low temp glaze is fired around 1800 degrees in a ceramic kiln. Glass kilns are more towards the range of 1200 degrees and anything higher for them can melt there glass piece to a pancake. But nobody has concerns with glass and neither should you with ceramics. 👍

[@krierax]

@@Ceramicsmokeware thank you so much for this detailed answer, this is the first time somebody took time to answer this detailed thank you man, peace !

[@kencarlson594]

And I was worried my kids wouldn't learn how to do this

[@sunnysoprano7101]

Would homemade air dry porcelain clay work for pipes? I'm new to using clay😀

[@Ceramicsmokeware]

Sunny Sobriquet I wouldn’t think the air dry is fit for working with higher temperatures like from a lighter. I would avoid that but if you try it let us know how it goes.

[@sunnysoprano7101]

@@Ceramicsmokeware Ok thanks!

[@micheledickey4066]

Would have been really helpful if you had shown how you put the piece in the pipe.

[@edb8294]

Will terra-cotta clay work for this?

[@Ceramicsmokeware]

Pops yes it will

[@doubledipcandyflip]

Can I fire this in a normal home oven?

[@Ceramicsmokeware]

An oven wouldn’t be hot enough. Especially for a water pipe. A water pipe holds water and needs to have a non porous surface so it doesn’t absorb water and hold bacteria. I’d call local pottery studios and ask if they mind you working on a pipe and firing it there. We have a few shops on our kiln locator on artnsyn.com, there might be a shop on there already near you.

[@wasnhberg3945]

Hey, I have really tiny cracks around my bong. You cant see through but they are there. I already started to let it dry... What do I do?

[@Ceramicsmokeware]

Jérôme Wassenberg it depends on where it is. Because if the inside is glazed, then it is probably fine because the glaze would have filled in the crack. Does it leak? If no leaks then your fine. If it leaks then I can only imagine glazing it more where the crack is. If a crack is really bad, sometimes glaze can always fix it so you could use a waterproof epoxy to fill it from the outside where you see the crack. Hope that helps.

[@wasnhberg3945]

CeramicSmokeWare No, I didnt glaze or burnt it yet. But im terrified that it will destroy itself during the time in oven because of the cracks.

[@Ceramicsmokeware]

Jérôme Wassenberg oh I see. Yeah you need to wedge it really well before making it and then dry it out slow on thick pieces. You can try to soak it and then fill it in but if you don’t think it will survive then scrap it and try again...

[@wasnhberg3945]

CeramicSmokeWare ok thx✌🏼

[@mileHIGHpro]

Couldn’t you make this on a wheel a lot easier?

[@Ceramicsmokeware]

| mileHIGHpro | yes you could but not everyone has access to a wheel or the skills, so if you know how to throw them yes it should be easier

[@calebsmithwick8470]

Serious question, can I buy one from you?

[@Ceramicsmokeware]

You’ll have to visit our site and you can purchase what we have available.

[@calebsmithwick8470]

@@Ceramicsmokeware ceramic smoke ware website?

[@Ceramicsmokeware]

@@calebsmithwick8470 ceramicsmokeware.com

[@blahblah-hw6ne]

How long would the entire process take?

[@Ceramicsmokeware]

blah blah for me it was about 3 hours of hands on work. For the entire process depending on how swiftly you dry the clay it can take at least a week, more like a week and a half to two. When drying quickly be careful or it may crack. Firings will total nearly 60 hours including time for cooling.

[@blahblah-hw6ne]

CeramicSmokeWare thanks man

[@itskidkelly]

When I was taking pottery in highschool I was the teachers favorite student. When we first started one of our assignments was a coil pot. Everything about mine was perfect except there was a small hole towards the bottom. The teacher didn’t notice this until the pot had dried and ready to be fired. Surprisingly it actually got but when she had started taking everything her exact words were “WHO MADE A BONG?!” Nobody snitched on me but I have a feeling she knew it was me. She didn’t talk to me much after that.

[@wasnhberg3945]

What kinda „glue“ are u using? Is it just water with clay?

[@Ceramicsmokeware]

Jérôme Wassenberg yeah it’s water and clay aka slip

[@wasnhberg3945]

CeramicSmokeWare thank u✌🏼

[@sheluvme6940]

Will I get in trouble if I try to make one in class?

[@Ceramicsmokeware]

Nasty more then likely yes. You are underage after all...

[@gwittyy]

Umm will this work with air dry clay?

[@Ceramicsmokeware]

RainbowPlayer69 NO, don’t even consider doing that, if you smoke out of that I couldn’t imagine it being safe. The reason these are safe is because they are fired at high temp and also have there glass glaze coating.

[@gwittyy]

CeramicSmokeWare okay thank you

[@teekotrain6845]

You're a real life shaggy!!! That will have you eating Scooby snacks for sure

[@Ceramicsmokeware]

Water pipe = no Scooby snacks

[@skylerlewis4005]

What's the diameter of the pex tube?

[@Ceramicsmokeware]

Skyler Lewis it’s the smaller size, i believe that 1/4”

[@meditationhour5748]

How long from start to finish?

[@Ceramicsmokeware]

Sammy 1 thumb , with drying time it is almost 2 weeks (should have at least 5 days of slow drying in a loose bag, then 3 days drying with no bag, first firing is about a day, glaze fire another day, and of course the time needed to make it using clay)

[@riddlydiddlyimawantedmanin4442]

@@Ceramicsmokeware how many man hours per piece? really good work, much more complex that i imagined. Glad to learn about your art

[@Ceramicsmokeware]

Rxus this one I’d say took about 2 to 3 hours but once one learns about how to make and work with molds, it reduces the time in half.

[@pringle_pee1936]

what if i dont use glaze i don't have it

[@Ceramicsmokeware]

WEIRD SOUNDS you can buy some online. I wouldn’t make a water pipe without glazing or the water will absorb into the clay. A pipe I guess you can but won’t be the best it can be.

[@transformer301]

How can I make a water pipe in class incognito though?

[@Ceramicsmokeware]

transformer301 yea that's hard to do, be as creative as possible. You might have to skip the fittings and just make a hole that you can slip a glass bowl in with a rubber o ring.

[@thirdeyestateofmind926]

its a vase with a pipe to pour water in. approach with a completely innocent perspective. thought it would be a nice gift for someone. haha

[@BeavisButtHeadMrBeavis]

animals, many small holes in mouth "a tongue" and then hollow all the way to the mouthpeice "the tail"

[@mileHIGHpro]

transformer301 say it’s a vase with an easy water refill hole

[@William_Porter]

Make it like this but make it like a bong, rightside up itlll look liek a mushroom sculpture but put a big hole in the bottom of the mushroom stem and a tiny hole on the bottom of the actualy mushroom. Make the top of the mushroom slightly flat. Just a simple idea you would have to tweak it a bit. It'd be difficult but it's doable ive seen it done.

[@MawoDuffer]

“Water pipe” sure

[@laume702]

plastic wrap is easier

[@gunjeebus3453]

That’s a bong 😂

[@gunjeebus3453]

This might be illegal but my shop class teacher helped me make a pipe

[@cooperlumsden3214]

he looks cooked as fuck