Re: Secondary preparation and capping

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

Original poster: "Jim Lux by way of Terry Fritz <twftesla-at-qwest-dot-net>" <jimlux-at-earthlink-dot-net>

I feel I must jump in here with the advice that I'd never give (since I
wouldn't follow it myself), but I am sure that others are champing at the
bit...
With tongue firmly in cheek:

Telsa coil building is a esoteric and arcane art.  What makes you think that
its secrets would be revealed to a mere muggle as yourself (I saw Potter
this afternoon with the kids).  We, who have spent thousands of hours in
quiet contemplation, know that true performance can only be achieved if one
is truly one with one's materials.  One must mine the copper ore oneself
(or, even better, find native copper washed up on the shores of Lake
Superior), refine it, make diamond dies to draw the wire, polish every
centimeter with jeweler's rouge, and only then, contemplate the manufacture
of a suitable insulating coating.

We then prospect for only the purest Pennsylvania crude oil (paraffin based,
so somehow more pure than that nasty asphalt based stuff we have in
California), which we refine into the raw stream for vinyl. We search for
the purest sea water, collected at a natural energy vortex (I'm fond of  the
South Atlantic Anomaly), then electrolyze it to get the chlorine necessary
for making PVC.

After mining and smelting the iron ore necessary to make the stainless steel
reaction vessels, only then do we contemplate manufacture of the purest
virgin plastic for our secondary forms.


You get the idea....


Just wind the darn thing, cleaning off the big mud spots first (or not, as
you please), get some sparks going, and then start building your second one.
There are so many variables and choices to make, that tesla coiling is a
fine vehicle for "analysis paralysis".




----- Original Message -----
From: "Tesla list" <tesla-at-pupman-dot-com>
To: <tesla-at-pupman-dot-com>
Sent: Sunday, November 18, 2001 6:00 PM
Subject: Re: Secondary preparation and capping


> Original poster: "Gregory Hunter by way of Terry Fritz
<twftesla-at-qwest-dot-net>" <ghunter31014-at-yahoo-dot-com>
>
> Hi Patrick,
>
> No, you don't need to sand out every little defect.
>
> I "prepare" PVC pipe forms by dunking them in a tub of
> hot water with plenty of dish soap. I scrub off every
> bit of dirt and print with an abrasive pad. I wash the
> inside of the pipe too. After air drying over night, I
> wind the wire on. I coat the finished winding with a
> few coats of clear gloss polyurethane. I turn the pipe
> on my winding jig as I coat it to achieve a glassy
> smooth finish.
>
> Lowe's and Home Depot sell thin plastic knock out
> plugs or "test plugs" for PVC pipe. They plug the ends
> of standard PVC pipe perfectly and cost less than a
> buck each. I usually glue them in place with clear
> silicone cement.
>
> I've yet to have a secondary fail in service.
>
> Regards,
>
> Greg
> http://hot-streamer-dot-com/greg
>
> --- Tesla list <tesla-at-pupman-dot-com> wrote:
> > Original poster: "Patrick Bloofon by way of Terry
> > Fritz <twftesla-at-qwest-dot-net>" <transactoid-at-home-dot-com>
> >
> > I am currently in the process of building my first
> > coil. What I'm wonder is
> > how necessary is it to sand down the secondary
> > before winding it? My PVC has
> > been sitting in my basement for a few years, so it's
> > good and dry.  If I
> > just cover it in a layer of polyurathane, do I
> > *really* need to sand out
> > every little bump, and the letters (which are red,
> > not black)? This just
> > seems like a lot of extra work, and I don't see how
> > it would make that much
> > of a difference.
> >
> > Secondly, does it make any difference where the caps
> > (as in the plugs) for
> > the secondary are placed? I don't have access to the
> > tools necessary to make
> > nice round circles to plug the ends with, so would
> > just sticking PVC endcaps
> > on be acceptable?
> >
> > Thanks,
> > "Steadily getting more excited about completing his
> > first coil"
> > Patrick.
> >
> >
> >
>
>
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