[TCML] Take a look at the floor!

[Jeff Behary <electrotherapy@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

"Polyurethane" did not, but resin-based varnishes (and varnishes in general) have existed for centuries.  Remember Amati, Stradivari and Guarneri - Violin makers - and Rembrant van Rijn and other dutch Masters - they were as much chemists as masters of the arts...a large reason as to why their work still exists even now.
 
Part of my inspiration in experimenting with resins was from a Violin maker I met growing up.  He restored Violins appraised at over $250,000, and could build a reproduction of a violin accurate to a few thousandths of an inch to an original (completely by hand, in less than a month)  and sell it for over $30K.  The secret to his success was the formulation of resins that he used...and a true skill of craftsmanship nearly impossible to believe.  The process of varnishing the wood took longer than the actual fabrication of the instrument.
 
An interesting test of time:
http://www.electrotherapymuseum.com/2008/WaxDebate/index.htm
 
Here are 4 pages of images from when I was in Kinraide's laboratory in Jamaica Plain, MA, late 2005 and early 2007.  The rooms were completely hidden, winding underground.  If I ever can win the lottery, I would spend every cent to buy the home just to gain the rights to explore there the rest of my days...  There were once hidden trap doors, tunnels, a hidden ballroom, a machine shop, chemistry lab, darkroom, and 25 rooms above ground that served normal purposes.  The Tesla Coils, high frequency induction coil, and normal induction coil were built from 1897-1901.  I found some of them in a decaying box on the floor of one of his lab rooms, some in the middle of the floor amidst broken glass negatives, rotting leaves, frost, flaking and washed photographic emulsion, and several in the back of a Victorian toilet tank in the middle of the floor- a truly historic toilet, considering the remains of the high frequency coil inside was one of the first powerful enough to X-Ray the human chest!   (Only partial remains of this coil still exist.)
 
The point of these photos is to show that despite the age of the materials (and less-than-perfect storage),  the coils have proven to still operate 110 years later.  (Movie stills are included in the gallery).  
 
While induction coils of that time are prone to many problems, Tesla Coils seem to age just fine.  
 
In this gallery,
http://www.electrotherapymuseum.com/2006/CampbellE/index.htm
If you scroll all the way to the right you'll see the guts of the machine.  They look crude, but it operates beautifully.  It was made from 1901 - 1904.  The only problems I had was that the solder joints on the cap came loose during shipping, as well as the glue joints on the box - it was really poorly packed.  But the electrical components remained completely functional.
 
Jeff
> From: Mddeming@xxxxxxx> Date: Wed, 11 Jun 2008 18:47:30 -0400> Subject: Re: [TCML] phillips question about wax and more> To: tesla@xxxxxxxxxx> CC: > > > > Polyurethane varnishes did not exist during Tesla's lifetime.so he could not > have commented on them. I fully agree that the varnishes and shellacs of > 1899-1900 were inferior for high voltage work.> > Matt D.
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