Rotary Gap

To: "'Tesla List'" <tesla-at-poodle.pupman-dot-com>
Subject: Rotary Gap
From: Tesla List <tesla-at-stic-dot-net>
Date: Sat, 2 Aug 1997 07:54:11 -0500
Approved: tesla-at-stic-dot-net


From: 	RODERICK MAXWELL[SMTP:tank-at-magnolia-dot-net]
Reply To: 	tank-at-magnolia-dot-net
Sent: 	Friday, August 01, 1997 11:25 PM
To: 	tesla-at-pupman-dot-com
Subject: 	Rotary Gap

The present gap I,m using is a Rh type gap. But one of the members on
the image list clued me in to the fact that I was not getting enough
quenching. At first I thought to buy a shop vac monday and build a
vacuum gap. But being the cheapskate that I am I started looking around
the house for a cheap substitute! Here is what I found:


      Two 1/3 horsepower motors.
    One was in an old attic fan, and the other was in a old snowcone
machine. Both work well. But the motor in the snowcone machine needed a
new start capacitor. Since this motor is capacitor start and has a
higher starting torque I,ll use it in the rotory gap. the other one I'll
use as the drive for a coil winder. Both motors are westinghouse and
have pulleys and belts attached. Both are also reversesible if that
helps! The snowcone job has the option of running from 240 or 110vac. 
One interesting thing about the pulley on the snowcone motor is that it
is adjustible. You can use wider or narrower belts by loosening a set
screw and unscrewing half of it. This how I think I will mount the rotor
by removing half of the pulley, putting the center piece thru the center
hole, and remounting the other half. I also have some 1/4" black
plexiglas. I wonder if I laminated two pieces together would it be
strong enough? Any suggestions? Or should I use a stronger plastic? Help
from any of the listmembers that has built a rotory gap in the past will
be most appreciated!




                                    Frankensteins Helper
                                           Max