Tutorial: Homemade Pipe Made From Your Plant Remains

After posting pictures of my pipe on THIS THREAD, there were several requests for a tutorial. So here is my attempt at that. There's a bunch of pics so hopefully I don't get anything out of order. Here's the original pipe, but in this tutorial I'll be making a new one from the start:
First things first - choose a plant that has been dried at least a couple weeks.
I grow outdoors so my plants tend to be fairly large, but I would image a good sized indoor plant should work too. For this project I'm choosing Blackberry Fire which yielded just over a pound of bud for me.
Here's the tools I used: Sander and drill -- pretty simple.
The length of your drill bits will determine the maximum length of your pipe stem unless you are willing to glue pieces together. For my first pipe I only had 3" (75 mm) long bits so I choose to make the stem of the pipe in two sections, but for this tutorial I am going to use the longer 6" (150 mm) bits (ordered online just for this project).
So for this pipe I chose a section from the trunk approx. 8” long (200 mm) and a diameter that is comfortable for the mouth at one end – ¼” (7 mm).
Interestingly the plant is already somewhat hollowed out in the center, which makes my job easier :)

Now it’s time to drill out the center to the desired opening. I’ve found that drill bit size 11/64” (4.5 mm) works best for me. Secure the stem, start with a smaller diameter drill bit, and drill out the center from both sides of your stem to achieve an opening all the way through the stem. I used a 6” long bit so theoretically I could have used a stem as long as 12”, so it was pretty easy to work with the 8” stem.
Now it’s time to smooth the surface. Use 80 grit sandpaper to start with. I secured my sander upside down so that I could have both hands on the stem while sanding, but this is not necessary. Whatever works easiest for you.

The wood is soft so the sanding should go quickly. Be careful to keep rotating the stem so that it stays as round as possible. This is what it should look like after the rough sand.

Now with 220 grit sandpaper, by hand continue to sand the stem until very smooth.

Next we choose a piece for the bowl… We’ll need to choose a section that has a larger diameter than the first stem piece since it will ultimately be inserted through the bowl. Mark off about 2 inches and cut the section.
Let me post this as Part 1. Part 2 soon to follow :Namaste:.
 
Part 2:
Now you’ve got to drill a hole for the pipe stem piece to fit into. Choose a drill bit that best matches the diameter of your pipe stem.
In this case, I used ½” diameter (12.5 mm). It doesn’t have to be a perfect match because later we will be gluing and filling in the spaces.
Now we sand it down and then hollow out the bowl using drill bits.
At this point, I should give a shout-out to my assistant @Liquidintel. He did a lot of the work while I took pictures. :cool:
Choose a drill bit that best matches the size of the bowl you will want.
Be very careful not to drill too deep! Remember, the wood is very soft, so the drilling will go fast.
Once the initial hole is drilled, keep moving the bit in a circular manner to enlarge the edges of the bowl. Switching to small bit sizes may help during this process.

Now it’s time to drill an air channel from the bowl to the stem. Position the stem into the bowl wherever you prefer the final location. Then carefully drill a small hole (1/8” or 3 mm) through the bottom of the bowl to just through the top of the stem piece. Be careful not to drill all the way through the stem, but if you do, you can plug it up with filler putty and glue.
Now we’re ready to glue the two pieces together. Using wood glue, coat the inside of the bowl piece liberally, and then slide the stem piece into place. Be sure to line up the air canal holes. I placed the drill bit into the holes to insure proper alignment. Let the glue dry for 2 or 3 hrs.
Part 3 soon to follow :peace:
 
Part 3:

Now we're ready to fill the cracks with some wood filler. I used a natural color to best match the cannabis wood color.
You can apply with your finger or a cotton swab. Let dry for about 4 hours (or whatever the manufacturer recommends).

Once the filler is dry, time to sand everything smooth – use 220 grit sandpaper.

Be sure to clean out the air channels by blowing, or reaming with a pipe cleaner.

One last thing before applying the finishing coat – for better mouth comfort I like to slightly flatten the mouth piece area, but that’s my personal preference and not really necessary.

It’s now ready for the finish coats. You can use whatever you like, but I prefer water based for easy cleanup and (I feel) is less toxic. Be sure not to coat the inside of the bowl, so that you will not be inhaling burnt chemicals as you smoke.

I like to apply 3 or 4 coats with an hour or two to dry between coats.

Add a screen to the inside of a bowl. I bought some online very cheap, and cut them to match the shape of the bowl.

Here’s the finished pipe ready for a smoke! :yahoo:

Once I figure out how I want to decorate this pipe, I'll post some pics. I hope this gives you a helpful start to making your own custom creations! :Namaste:
 
Cool. Will be back

And forth

Cheers
 
Thanks everyone :hug: These are a lot of fun to make and don't take very long to put together.
 
Part 4
OK, I finally finished accessorizing the pipe and so I'm making that process a "part 4". The thread work is a little complicated to explain, so I just added a bunch of pictures.

First I tried a variety of fonts for the strain name (Blackberry Fire) and printed them out onto water-slide paper.
I choose this font and applied the decal.
Next, I went through my box of guide wrapping thread (fly fishing stuff) and chose this color:
Using my fly rod rebuilding tools and guide wrapping knowledge, I added the decorative thread.

Here’s what it looks like after the thread work:
Add another coat of polyurethane to seal the thread. Now to choose the last bit of decals:

Cut it, soak it, slide it and apply it.

After adding yet another coat of polyurethane, the pipe is complete!
And there you have it! Now I've got to go smoke some Blackberry Fire with it :ganjamon:.
 
@BeezLuiz very well written guide! These pipes were a blast to make! As someone with no prior woodworking experience, they were fairly
straightforward.

Grow on & smoke on!:ganjamon:
 
[QUOTE=".... . no prior woodworking experience, they were fairly
straightforward.:[/QUOTE]
Superbly documented. I've already gotten cool ideas for doing mine. Thanks man. Headed for a good night toke....
 
Yes, that's why I do not coat the inside or top of the bowl -- just the outside areas that do not get exposed to heat.
 
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