Hello all. SWIM's been lurking here for ages, scrimmaging information and scouring old forum posts for tips and tricks. This never required an account, so SWIM never made one.
However, SWIM's now come up with a trick of their own, and wanted to contribute. SWIM's scoured the internet for a viable and non-finicky way to make and use a home-made Büchner flask and couldn't find one. SWIM didn't want to mess around with plastic syringes with one-way valves, or buckets with vacuum cleaners (no disrespect to the pioneers of these teks, SWIM just cbf)
So, SWIM rummaged around in their junk and crafted the following out of it.
Without further ado! You'll need:
1x Permanent Marker
1x long, sturdy pair of scissors (or a hole cutting drill attachment of appropriate size)
3x bong grommets
1x clean bong stem that fits snug in the grommets (glass or metal, it shouldn't matter)
1X handheld battery operated PC Vacuum, for cleaning out keyboards. Can be found cheap online.
1x 1000ml glass jar
1x METAL funnel
Kitchen Silicone & silicone gun, a wooden skewer
Powderless disposable latex gloves
1. Take the lid from your glass jar, and trace the inside and outside of both grommets on the top of the lid. Ensure the grommets are as far from each-other without touching the raised edges of the lid.
2. Stab the centre of the gromet holes with scissors (carefully, don't stab your own leg through the lid) and gradually widen them until you can fit the base-few-centimeters of the pipe of your funnel through each hole, so that when you put the grommets in, you know the funnel will fit.
Test fit your grommets into the holes during this process so they don't turn out too big. The larger circle will guide you.
You can use a drill/drill-bits to make this cleaner
3. Take the grommets out again, and flip the lid over. Using your scissors, flatten the underside bits of the lid that you stabbed through into a lip. This will help prevent damage to the grommet/seal, and improve the seal overall. Try to get them as flat as possible.
4. Put on your latex gloves. Squirt some of the silicone onto your finger, and smear it around the holes.
DON'T PUT ANY ON THE UNDERSIDE OF YOUR LID. This will cause bits of silicone to fall off and into your solvent.Test the solubility of a small amount of dried silicone in a small amount of solvent - the silicone SWIM used was left fully immersed in Naptha for 24hrs without any visible signs of degradation - When insoluble it can be filtered out in filter paper before use of solvent.Use as little as possible without being stingey.
Insert your grommets, then add a small amount of silicone around the edges of the grommets where they contact the lid. You can get a paddlepop stick and get it underneath the grommet too, but that's what the pre-smearing is for.
5. Use a paper towel to wipe away excess from your lid - a neater job results in a stronger and better seal.
6. Mix up a glass of warm water and dish soap. Dip your gloved finger into the water and swish it around. Flick the drops from it, and lightly smooth the edges of your silicone job. If the silicone sticks to your finger in this stage, you're pressing too hard, you need more dish-soap in your mix or you need to re-dip your finger.
SWIM got lucky with one grommet, which required no silicone for an airtight sealLeave this off to the side to dry.
7. Grab your hand-held vacuum, and silicone the third grommet to where the air is sucked in. Make sure it's airtight, and don't get any on the blades of the interior fan.
7.5 - Stick the wooden skewer into the tube of silicone. When you want to use it again, just tug the stick out gently. This prevents silicone in the tube from drying out completely.
Leave it to dry!
8. Attach the lid to the jar. Stick your funnel in one grommet, the bong-stem in another, and then attach the exposed end of the bong stem to the grommet on your hand vacuum.
The rest is up to you.
-Mythrahiil
(If someone could answer one or two basic defatting Qs for me that would be grand <3 )