Re: Hurray, I destroyed cap + Plexiglas & my mistakes

To: "'Tesla List'" <tesla-at-poodle.pupman-dot-com>
Subject: Re: Hurray, I destroyed cap + Plexiglas & my mistakes
From: Tesla List <tesla-at-stic-dot-net>
Date: Fri, 28 Nov 1997 17:31:00 -0600
Approved: tesla-at-stic-dot-net

From: 	Adam[SMTP:absmith-at-tiac-dot-net]
Sent: 	Friday, November 28, 1997 1:08 PM
To: 	Tesla List
Subject: 	Re: Hurray, I destroyed cap + Plexiglas & my mistakes

>> I have enjoyed building my 8" tesla coil, with the exception of my 
>> homemade oil filled aluminum and LDPE capacitor.  The mineral oil was 
>> really the problem.  First, I used a rubbermaid box- leaked.  Then, I 
>> built a plexiglas box cemented firmly with Methylene Chloride- leaked. 

>The rubbermaid box leaking I can expect BUT the plexiglass box should have 
>worked fine if done right. Are you sure all your joints were properly 
>bonded? You should also use thick enough plexiglass so you can use nylon 
>bolts to secure the top and get a sheet of gasket cork from an automotive 
>supply store to make an oil tight seal once the top is bolted down.\

That sounds like a plan.  My mistakes were: Not using thick enough 
acrylic (0.25" instead of 0.5"), not using the right brand of acrylic 
sheet (lucite ES instead of Plexiglas) and not bonding it properly.  I 
used the method of bonding suggested in the bottle of Methylene Chloride, 
which was to place the pieces of plastic together first, and apply 
solvent to the junction allowing capillary action to wick the stuff into 
the gap.  The bond was full of air bubbles and poor at best.  This 
technique worked MUCH better with the 0.5" stuff I used for my primary 
form.  

Anyhow, those are things to consider for the next capacitor I attempt to 
build.  This was my first try, and it was a total failure.

Another thing I found out: not all acrylic sheeting comes packaged the 
same way.  I bought "Lucite ES" at Home Depot, and compared with 
Plexiglas brand, the stuff is hard to work with!  The paper covered 
plexiglas cuts nicely with my plywood blades, but the plastic film 
covered Lucite ES cracked, chiped, melted and turned brown under the same 
conditions, yuk.  If you have to cut the stuff, make sure what you buy 
has the brown paper over it, and do not remove the paper!

-Adam

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Adam Smith
absmith-at-tiac-dot-net
Epoch, Inc. Digital Music Project

www.tiac-dot-net/users/absmith/                 MP3 Demo Tracks Now Available!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------