Custom Hookah

[semiaverage711]

I'm no engineer, but I think I could build a hookah from the ground up. I haven't built an actual hookah, however, I have built two 5 gallon jugs. Those taught me the basics of a hookah and how to get everything to fit right. I am one of those people who are never satisfied with their own work. I am always improving on my methods and improving on my work. I always see someone else's work better than mine, so it really motivates me. With that said, I am ready for a new project.

What I want is to make this look like every other hookah in general. However, I want it to stand out. I want it to enhance the smoking experience. I want the detail in this to be just enough to send it over the edge. When I pull it out I want everyone else to drop their hose and come to mine. I want puddles of drool on the floor as it gleams in the light and pulls out big white clouds that you could sleep on! haha

Well, something close to that.

Here's the plan.
1. Go to Pier 1 or Hobby Lobby and pick up a nice vase. Low cost but visually pleasing. I want it to be clear with some color accents in it. Maybe some geometric shapes in it.
2. Get a big black rubber cork to put in that damn vase. I am gonna have to shape it to fit perfectly.
3. Drill a hole for my stem. Which will be half way down the vase and made of stainless steel, aluminum, or something else. Help here please!
4. Ghetto fit a hose adapter. I will have to make some kinda of inner plumbing in the cork for my hose adpater.
5. I am gonna do the Home Depot hose because I found those to work really well. In this case, my adapter will be just a screw in silicone hose adapter type deal.
6. Should I do another hose attachment just in case I want to share? Or even setup it up as a carb, that can have a hose adapter to hook up to it?
7. I am just gonna get a bowl of the internet. So this won't be a problem.
8. Stem decoration! How in the hell should I go about this. What I was thinking was that I could get some quick drying spackle type stuff that is used to fill in holes in walls. I could layer it up on my stem and shape it how I wanted. When it was formed how I want it to be, I could sand it smooth and paint it. Then clear coat it.
9. Paint. I was gonna do a black stem for sure. But, I am not sure of another color or two. I was thinking some kind of dark aqua blue or lime green. That color would be for my hose covering, little details I put in on the stem, and maybe my bowl.
10. One last thing. Do you think it would be wise or even practical to wire up LED's on the INSIDE of my vase? As in the LED's would be poking out of my cork next to my stem and the wires would run through the cork and the battery (9 volt?) would be inside a hollow compartment in my stem or my cork.

I appreciate all advice and help. A couple things to keep in mind; I am on a very low budget so this will be done in steps, it won't be an over night project, and there will be many trial and error before it is perfect.

[austinthecity]

1. Go to Pier 1 or Hobby Lobby and pick up a nice vase. Low cost but visually pleasing. I want it to be clear with some color accents in it. Maybe some geometric shapes in it.

Sounds good so far. Try to find one so that the top of the vase is level and circuluar. This will make it more stable, and easier.

2. Get a big black rubber cork to put in that damn vase. I am gonna have to shape it to fit perfectly.

Rubber is okay, just make sure that the stem is long enough not to get hot where it meets the rubber. Another possibility is cutting plexiglas to fit the opening of the base and using epoxy or something.

3. Drill a hole for my stem. Which will be half way down the vase and made of stainless steel, aluminum, or something else. Help here please!

I suggest stainless steel or brass.

4. Ghetto fit a hose adapter. I will have to make some kinda of inner plumbing in the cork for my hose adpater.

Hose port should work about the same as how you attach the stem. Fancy stuff might look better, but simple usually works the best.

5. I am gonna do the Home Depot hose because I found those to work really well. In this case, my adapter will be just a screw in silicone hose adapter type deal.

Sounds good so far.

6. Should I do another hose attachment just in case I want to share? Or even setup it up as a carb, that can have a hose adapter to hook up to it?

Yes. Do another hose attachment and set it up as a purge valve, or as you called it, a carb. Basically, you want a chamber with a small hole in it, and a BB or airsoft pellet on the hole. When air is being sucked in the hose, the BB closes off the purge, making everything air tight. When you blow, the BB flies around the chamber and stale smoke is released. (obviously there are holes in the "chamber")

7. I am just gonna get a bowl of the internet. So this won't be a problem.

I suggest a funnel bowl.

8. Stem decoration! How in the hell should I go about this. What I was thinking was that I could get some quick drying spackle type stuff that is used to fill in holes in walls. I could layer it up on my stem and shape it how I wanted. When it was formed how I want it to be, I could sand it smooth and paint it. Then clear coat it.

That would be interesting if you could get it to look good, although I'm not sure of the heat resistance of spackle.. (the stem gets hot near the bowl) If you wanted it to look modern, maybe you could try something like pyrex tubing.
http://www.glass-supply.com/catalog/index....&cPath=4_12
You could get one piece of tubing for like 5 bucks or so. Then maybe you could decorate it..

9. Paint. I was gonna do a black stem for sure. But, I am not sure of another color or two. I was thinking some kind of dark aqua blue or lime green. That color would be for my hose covering, little details I put in on the stem, and maybe my bowl.

I am a big fan of black and lime green. Another option would be to somehow get a black/lime/clear base and then paint the glass stem black/lime green or something...

10. One last thing. Do you think it would be wise or even practical to wire up LED's on the INSIDE of my vase? As in the LED's would be poking out of my cork next to my stem and the wires would run through the cork and the battery (9 volt?) would be inside a hollow compartment in my stem or my cork.

I wouldn't wire them, but they make drop in LED lights (they kind of look like ice cubes). Another option would be setting the hookah on a table or piece of wood with a circle cut out under the base and have the LED lights under the base. Then they would shine through all the water and bubbles..

GL and hope to hear of updates...

[semiaverage711]

New stem idea. What do you think of not decorating the stem. Instead making the stem just a pipe in a spiral or swirl? I was thinking just have it coil up like a giant spring or like one of those celluar antennas. Of course this will shorten the height of my stem but the length overall is what matters, correct? One possible problem is, I am wondering if the spiral will make it hard to inhale.

Funnel bowl. Um...I have never used one before. I have some what of a funnel setup at my house. A sink plug in a homemade bowl. One problem I see is that the heat is drawn straight down the middle with little smoke. So, could you elaborate on the whole funnel bowl function? Please?

[austinthecity]

a spiral stem won't affect how hard you inhale, but it will be a bitch to clean..

[semiaverage711]

Even harder yet would be to form it without the pipe collapsing. So, I may just have to do the "Hollowed out candlestick" trick.

[semiaverage711]

Went to Hobby Lobby after dinner with the family...

And wow! I am satisfied with my findings. I guess I was in the clearance aisle too! What should of been $50 was only $24. Thanks to that generous 50% discount the lady gave me. I don't know why I got it, but I did! And, I'm not complaining. Hold on, instead of me talking about it, let me just show you...

Candle Stick (Stem)

Vase 4 Base!

Malibu For Comparison

All Stacked Up


Now then...
Problems could possibly be getting that stem to work how I want it to! The damn thing is thin and hollow! Hollow isn't necessarily a bad thing. Means I don't have to do as much drilling, although it makes the drilling harder. The top is obviously sealed by around a quarter inch of ceramic and I need to drill to holes into the sides of the fat bottom part. Pain in the ass. I also need to get a big fat rubber cork. About 3.5" wide and long. Somewhere between 20-24" of stainless steel tubing. I was thinking 3/8". Put her all together and borrow a bowl from my bro for the time being.

[hday]

That's neat how well the stem fits on the vase. I wouldn't think that the vase would work/look well as a hookah, but when I saw it stacked, I was impressed. As far as the hollow thing goes, you'll probably need to seal off the stem somehow, like an o-ring. I'd put some masking tape on the stem before drilling it to make a neater, cleaner cut.

How heavy is the vase? The candle stick is hollow, so I'm sure weight won't be a problem, but if someone pulls a little too hard on a hose, it could cause problems. Maybe build a shallow, wooden base for the vase so it won't tip.

[semiaverage711]

The vase is heavier than a actual Hookah vase. I don't know how much, I think it is irrelevant. The bottom is very wide, true. But it is also like an inch or two thick on the bottom. The part where it goes black is solid. So I don't think tipping will be an issue.

An issue is Menards! They suck! They don't have stainless steel piping less than a half inch in diameter! Let alone giant rubber corks! Ace, the helpful place, is my next option.

[hday]

If you have little luck there, you could go to a local specialty plumbing store. If not you could always buy it online. Onlinemetals.com is a great place to find all types of metal.

http://www.onlinemetals.com/merchant.cfm?p...7&top_cat=1

[semiaverage711]

Ace is truly the helpful place! I went there today and got my piping and two corks. One to use as a grommet for my bowl and the other to plug the vase. Except, the cork for the vase isn't as wide as I was looking for. So, after I fit the cork just right and get everything set up. I need to get the right piping length fitted so my bowl will fit on top of a tray, and the tray will sit on top of the candle holder. And to prevent sudden heat changes, which could cause shattering of the hookah, I am going to seperate everything with a rubber gasket! Alright! But, I just need to get it put together and working, before I attempt to get the candle stick on there right and drill through that. So, in a nut shell: MECHANICS FIRST!

[semiaverage711]

UPDATE:

I have been working on the cork whenever I get some free time. So, basically, never! Work has got me working so much, and school on top of that. Anyways, I have the cork shaped, sanded, and done! Well, I could do a little bit more sanding on it so more of it will fit down in the vase, but right now I can fill the vase full of water then plug it and hold it upside down and the cork doesn't pop out like it used to. However, yes there is always a however, there is a tiny leak. On one tiny little spot the water seeps out ever so slowly. Which means that air can get out easily! AGH!!!! No worries though, I am sure not every hookah is perfectly sealed and they still hit hard as hell!

My next step is to drill a hole for my piping and get that sealed and cut just right. I may do that right now. Actually, I just thought of this. When inflatable things, such as inter tubes, have a hole, what you do is you cover it with water and look for bubbles or listen for squirting or sizzling. What I could do is plug my vase and submerge it in water. If I see any bubbles, I can locate the leak and try to seal it. If I see no bubbles then I know she is good to go!

Wow, the inspiration I get at midnight or later!

[Majid]

I've used a vase shaped like that taped and wrapped as a replacement. Worked fine but it did make very loud bubbling sounds. Maybe a wider vase is a better idea. Edited April 5, 2008 by Majid