I give up!! I regret building my tesla coil!

["Garry F." <garryfre-at-pacbell-dot-net> (by way of Terry Fritz <twftesla-at-uswest-dot-net>)]

I have built tesla coils when I was in high school, in college and recently. My
biggest problem was a continual burning out of the NST over and over because I
could never understand the hieroglyphics that were presented to me instead of
plain english as to how to build a choke to prevent feedback.
 
Finally I get some plans from <http://www.sciencefirst-dot-com>www.sciencefirst-dot-com
and I build according to their plans and it was supposed to produce 18" sparks
but produced only one and a half inch sparks. The plate stack cap plans were
defective, the dimensions of the coil was 1.5" by 40! This is the WOUND area!
 
By fooling with it I eventually got sparks near 8" but the toriod had no break
out at all. Well, being broke from buying a brand new NST for this and tools, I
had to wait some weeks before I had some more money to spend (Waste).
 
So, I spend more money and make another secondary and this turns out to be 3"
by 24" using #29 magnet wire. Better, but not short enough. Still it produced
nice 12" sparks easily. I am using a 9kv .2 MA NST and produced 14" streamers
off the toroid..
 
Ever being interested in improving the output, I tried various spark gap
designs. One suggestion was use two rounded brass doorknobs in an air cooled
system. The results were abysmal! Lousy 1" streamers off the toroid that were
so sporatic, I could eat a sandwich between streamer appearances.
 
I built a spark gap that was made of aluminum flashing rooled up at the ends to
provide a make shift cooling fin design. This worked pretty well.
 
Then I stated my design here and they said I almost had a Push-Pull circuit and
I could have a true push-pull circuit if I added a grounded electrode in my
spark gap letting both branches spark into this. I tried this. The results were
again dismal. I tried retuning. It was HALF the output I had from the previous
design.
 
Then I tried that J. Quick spark gap design and the output from that was even
worse!!
 
So, I try to revert back to my rolled flashing air cooled design and no matter
how much I fiddled, I did not get quite the output I had before I tried the
push-pull thing.
 
Then I heard that the electrodes should be absolutely flat and so I built one
Thursday night and it was producing better sparks. Not like what I had before I
tore it apart for the push-pull design, but close.
 
The next morning, the spark gap would not fire reliably, so I took it apart and
adjusted the gap smaller and I got lousy output of 2" streamers off the toroid.
 
So, I buy some 1/4" refrigeration tubing and try another primary. It's amazing
how difficult it is to wind this stuff. What a nightmare of kinking and
tangling the likes of which I've never seen before!
I finally get it built in a desparate hope that it will solve the lousy
stinking results I am getting and I put it on and it absolutely stinks!!! The
sparks are not steady, the sparks are half the thickness I expected!
 
Then there are the caps. Mine are not soaked in oil. Maybe I should do this but
I don't want to have to haul around two five gallon buckets of oil and a cap
inside. That's like having a hearing aid the size of an ice-cream truck!
 
Well, after trying the tubing, I and looking in disgust at $35 worth of tubing
and other stuff that was a waste of money, I realize I could have bought their
18" spark model NEW and all built from Information Unlimited for LESS! Sure it
would have cost $499 but I've spent more than that already!
 
I don't have a machine shop! I hadn't been busted financially for years but
now, I can barely afford a soda! I do programming full time for a company that
does financial reports and processes transactions.
 
I didn't buy the one from information unlimited because I wanted the feeling of
accomplishment but after three months of spend spend, all I managed to buy
myself was weekend after weekend working in a sweaty back room, sick from not
eating all day till 11PM because I got to get whatever failed modification
finished and then when it doesn't give the expected results and I can't figure
it out and I've tried everything I can think of I give up and revert only to
find LESS results when I revert and wishing I hadn't tried the modification in
the first place.
 
So, here I sit, I possibly have spent $700 bucks and what do I got but a truck
load of defeat!!
 
Sorry for the rant, but I feel the need to warn those out there who are
considering trying this fine hobby out, you better be prepared to spend
thousands on tools and have a machine shop to make something that looks good
and operates well and loads of money and a whole lot of luck and once you get
one that seem to work to your satisfaction DON'T mess with it. Build another
coil and keep the one you got. You might like me have to budget your buying for
half a year but at least you won't mess up what you have.
 
I've been working on this it seem forever, and what do I got to show for it?
Some gain in knowledge and NO TESLA COIL AT ALL!! Every time I tried to modify
it, I was sorry, 
 
I wish I had bought one pre-made from somewhere. Sure I couldn't say "I built
it" but at least I'd have something to show instead of something that makes me
sick at heart just to look at it!!
 
Thanks for letting me blow off steam. I hope I got the sense to give up and not
continue trying this but I have the feeling that I will just keep on trying to
the injury of my wallet and my self respect!