Drastic times call for drastic measures. If you’ve found yourself without a dab rig or other crucial accessories after an accidental break and can’t rush out to replace it with a new one, this guide is for you. Read on to learn a few ways to make a homemade dab rig, a homemade dabber, or a homemade carb cap.
How to make a dab rig with a mason jar
The best DIY dab rig is made from a mason jar, which you probably already have lying around the house somewhere. Even if you don’t, they’re easy to find and much cheaper than dab rigs you can buy at headshops. This method is superior to others on this list because they’re simple in design and made from durable glass, which is the safest material to inhale dabs from. Once you find your jar, you’ll need to collect these other materials to get started:
- Mason jar with lid
- Straw (metal is best, but a bendy straw will work too)
- Pen
- Aluminum foil
- Torch
- Dab nail
- Drill with bit
Once you’ve got all of that, follow these steps to build your mason jar rig:
- Drill two pen-sized holes into the lid of your jar, ensuring they are lined up and the same size.
- Take your pen and remove the ink and tip, then wrap the body in aluminum foil.
- Place the pen into one of of the holes to act as your downstem. Then you can attach your nail. Titanium is likely the easiest since they tend to come with universal adapters, but if you have a quartz nail, slide it into the pen, or wrap extra tin foil around it to get a female nail to fit over the top snuggly.
- Secure the nail with extra aluminum foil.
- Add your straw to the other hole and secure it with foil to ensure that no air escapes
- Fill the mason jar with water until the downstem is about ½” under the water.
- Dab away
How to make a dab rig using an old bong
Another great homemade rig for dabs is made from an old bong or water pipe you’ve got lying around. You can easily transform a flower bong into a rig by creating an adapter and attaching a nail.
Adapters can be found and purchased from head shops to convert your bong’s gender and joint size to fit whatever dab nail you have. You can make an adapter using tightly packed aluminum foil, though. You can turn a male joint into a female by molding the aluminum foil tightly around the joint and creating a pocket for your male nail to slide into. It might take some doing, but you can use aluminum foil to change the size of the joint or your nail to fit each piece.
You will need to have an actual dab nail, though. You don’t want to dab from aluminum foil directly, so you’ll need a titanium, quartz, or ceramic nail to work with the adapter and your flower bong. But once you have those two pieces, you can dab easily.
How to make a dab rig with a plastic bottle and a hot knife
The hot knife method is for when you’re totally struggling. The method is by far the easiest on this list and is fantastic if you don’t have a torch, but dabbing with hot knives can be wasteful, and using plastic may be dangerous for your health. With that said, you can use this method when push comes to shove — but you’ll really want to try and get a new rig or use one of the other methods as soon as possible.
To get started, you will need:
- A metal butter knife
- A paper clip
- A plastic water bottle
- An electric stove or a torch
- Scissors
Once you have everything, make your homemade rig by following these steps:
- Using your scissors, cut the plastic bottle in half and remove the bottle cap.
- Use the electric coils on your stove to heat up your butter knife. You can also use a torch, if you have one.
- Lay the hot knife on a flat, heat resistant surface, like a pot holder or silicone mat
- Use a paperclip or a dab tool to apply your concentrate to the hot knife, and hold the top of the bottle over the top to collect the vapor. Take care not to melt the bottle on the knife.
- Inhale the vapor from the mouthpiece on the bottle and enjoy
Other ways to dab without a rig
If you’re rig-less entirely, have no fear. Concentrates can be enjoyed in several other ways. For example, you can sprinkle wax and shatter into a bowl of flower and smoke it like you normally would. It’ll make your bowl burn slower, but it’ll also make your flower feel more potent. In the same vein, you can roll it into blunts or joints.
If you have a vaporizer, you can load your concentrates in and vape away. Even if you don’t, you can slowly heat them up with butter on the stove and make them into homemade edibles.
How to make a homemade carb cap
If you’ve got your homemade dab rig, but you’re missing your carb cap, there are a few carb cap alternatives you can use. For example, you can use the top of a silicone puck or a grinder. You can also use a shot glass, a coffee mug, or even a glass jar. You could even use a flat rock or a bottle cap. Just take your item of choice and apply it to the top of your nail after you apply your concentrates.
How to make a homemade dab tool
Like carb caps, lots of household items can be used in place of a standard dabber. Many people use plain metal paper clips or bobby pins that are uncoated since they’re malleable and easy to bend into shape. You can also use a butter knife, a metal nail file, a flathead screwdriver, a screw, or a pair of scissors. Just clean them thoroughly before and after use, and take care to make sure they’re not coated in any plastic, which might be harmful to your health.
