Think of a Tinker Toy set, but for smokers.

That’s what Buckley resident Paul Galaviz has sent to the U.S. patent office last July; a new water pipe (or bong) design that is durable, cleanable, and – this is Galaviz’s big thing – customizable.

“It’s like an erector set of the bong world, but done right,” Galaviz said. “The bong can take on a whole new artistic level.”

Galaviz started learning about marijuana when his wife was diagnosed with breast cancer several years ago, before Initiative 502 passed in Washington and recreational marijuana became legal in the state.

As a supplement to his wife’s chemo treatment, Galaviz crossed state lines down into Oregon to purchase Rick Simpson oil, marijuana extract that contains both THC (the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana) and CBD (a non-psychoactive ingredient in marijuana that many people claim has medicinal properties).

“We did anything that the doctors that she felt comfortable with recommended doing, and then more on our own when she was here,” Galaviz recalled. “The marijuana was there to help the body counteract the chemo, when you’re doing chemo.”

While researching what possible benefits marijuana could have for his wife, Galaviz learned marijuana could help him as well.

“I said, well why the hell have I not been doing this? This stuff is actually supposed to be good for you,” Galaviz said.

Galaviz’s wife died in March 2014, but he continued to learn more about marijuana, trying out many different products and appliances until he started getting tired of cleaning his glass bongs.

Glass is too fragile and difficult to clean, Galaviz said, not to mention nearly impossible to customize, and the Infinium Water Pipe, as he calls it, solves all those problems.

And other plastic products may be easier to clean and give you some customizable options, but Galaviz said he was aware that smoking with plastics can put other toxins in your body.

“If you’re going to create stuff for people, don’t make it with anything other than the best stuff possible,” he said, explaining that the Infinium is made of borosilicate glass (Pyrex) and aluminum.

Galaviz said that the pipe is all modular and works with an O-ring system, and demonstrated how the chambers that the marijuana smoke would travel through can be stacked or separated easily, thanks to threaded couplers.

“I created it so that people can have a couple of chambers or setups so that… you can just swap one out, throw it in your ultrasonic cleaner and you’re good,” he said.

The pipe also uses 14 millimeter and 18 millimeter marijuana bowl adapters with both male and female fitting options, which means any glass marijuana bowl in those sizes can be used with the Infinium, Galaviz said.

The base of the pipe is also customizable to hold from one to four marijuana bowls, and the top of the bong can currently be configured with five draw ports.

The entire pipe can also be reconfigured vertically to turn it from a bong into a nectar collector.

The Infinium is not yet available, but Galaviz plans to launch it on the crowdfunding site Indiegogo close to the end of October, although the date is not set in stone.

Read more about the Infinium Water Pipe at www.infiniumwaterpipe.com and galactic-glass.net.