How can I make a home distillation set up, safely? This is more of a hypothetical question!

Disclaimer: I have no intention of doing home distillation in any form whatsoever.

In most countries home distillation of any alcohol products is illegal.


  It is only legal in New Zealand. Some European countries turn a blind eye to it, but elsewhere it is illegal, with punishment ranging from fines to imprisonment or floggings. 
  
  Australians - You can possess a still of &lt;5L capacity, but not produce spirits from it.
  
  [In Bulgaria,] you can take your fermented fruits to a special facility and distill them without paying any tax if you are registered as home producer. Registration is free. The only limitation is that you can distill up to 1000l of fermented fruits and of course you need to pay for the time you are using the still (it can take about 200 litres at a time). - Home Distillation of Alcohol. 


That said, how can one make a homemade still for making spirits at home safely?
For small-batch home distillation, hypothetically, a large (24 qt.) stainless steel stockpot makes an economical and effective pot still for 5 gal. batches. You will need a large stainless salad bowl of equal diameter, which when inverted makes an ideal lid.

A hole in the top center of the inverted salad bowl for installation of a threaded boss, for attachment of copper tubing which will be coiled in a bucket of ice water to serve as a condenser. The seal between pot and lid is best done with a split length of silicone tubing, using bread dough to patch and seal leaks during the boil (you don't want leaks, it wastes product and could be dangerous). The lid gets clamped on during the boil with squeexe clamps, c-clamps, locking pliers, etc.

A small hole in the lid for insertion of a thermometer, also sealed with bread dough, allows close monitoring of overhead vapor temperature. The overhead temperature indicates the composition of the vapor thus the composition of the condensate/distillate as well.

Of course, this is for distillation of water (which is legal to do at home) but do it outside on a camping stove and keep a fire extinguisher handy nonetheless.