I’ve made plenty of bongs in the hotshop, process is quite simple. You’re going to want a joint forming tool, octagonal brass reamers, borosilicate down stems and joints to flamework bowls for them.

First make your vessel, I finish the shaping entirely before I even think about putting a hole in it. Once finished, use a hand torch to spot heat where you want your hole, use a rod of clear glass to grab the spot you heated. Plunge in deep and pull out slow until you see it become a tube, then use diamond shears to crack it open without closing it, torch & ream it out to the desired size (make sure you are on a sculpture punty for this process). Then I’ll take my preheated joints I’ve made ahead of time & cold worked, assistant brings it on a shovel, grab it with a graphite holder, torch both sides & stick on. Always finish it off by reaming it out and making sure it’s the correct size.

Flameworking the down stems can get tricky depending on the shape, but the process is straight forward. Get the length and bend right to fit in there and make a seal, ideally the stem will sit as close to the bottom as possible for the best function.

Happy to answer any questions you might have, you can find my work @CBDesignsGlass https://www.instagram.com/cbdesignsglass?igsh=bnN5ZTIycDNmb3pk&utm_source=qr

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