Start with section of black PVC sewer pipe, 4 inch diameter pipe. Black is better than the white because it eliminates lots of reflection that you get with white. You want the object you are viewing to be brighter than the inside of the tube.
Cut tube to desired length. Length is a personal preference, how close do you want to be to the surface of the water and also how long are your arms? If you expect to look through the tube and watch your hands grasping GOLD nuggets through the tube, the length will be limited by your arm length. So...test what length will be comfortable for you to view while working at the other end of the tube. Take some sandpaper and rough up the surface inside the tube. Sewer pipe is very shiny and smooth inside and it can cause some unwanted reflection from the sides. Just sand it enough to make the sides dull.
Get a large handle for the outside of the tube. It must be large! The small handles for drawers are not usually big enough. Find something larger at your hardware store. Use handle that can take 1/4 inch bolts. Drill holes for handle. Apply silicone to the holes when fastening handle to tube.
You need to cut piece of glass or plexiglass to fit on the bottom of the tube. I prefer glass because it is so much clearer and resists scratching. But glass is also more fragile so this is a choice best left up to you. Plexiglass can also be cut by you with a coping saw or jig saw where as glass is more difficult to cut for the average person. I would suggest that you have a professional glass person cut it for you. It will be a modest fee.
Clean glass thoroughly before attaching to the sniping tube with silicone adhesive. Use the clear silicone. I also got a small tube of silicone that is easy to use inside the sniping tube. Not enough room inside the sniping tube for the big silicone tubes. Apply bead to rim of tube and lay glass on top of it, then apply silicone around glass edge and smooth out. Apply bead inside tube to glass after the outside one has cured.
That's it! You now have a sniping tube! Now you just have to go out and find some GOLD nuggets to snipe!
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