Which transformer to use?

["Tesla list" <tesla-at-pupman-dot-com>]

Original poster: "Joseph M. Geiss by way of Terry Fritz <twftesla-at-uswest-dot-net>" <joseph20-at-home-dot-com>

Hi all,

After reading about coils for a year or so I am going to make my first
coil only one small
problem, I dont know what I should use to power it. I have a MOT but I
know from
making a jacobs ladder with it that you will have to get the contacts in
the spark gap really close in order for it to jump and it will want to
stay once it arcs.

There is a sign shop near my house that does neon signs and I was
wondering if anyone
could give me a rough estimate as to what they may want to charge me (if
at all) if I ask them if they have any dead or under-performing
transformers.

Joe