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Re: [TCML] rotary gap disk



Phillip,

The gap spacing on our SG10-TC is amazingly small; business card width or less (our techs use automotive feeler gauges to set the spacing, I don't know the actual number but it is wicked tight).

Given that, I believe it is/was the brass vaporizing causing holdover that is the main issue with homemade gaps of this type. Suggesting to Jay that he spin faster may be a bad suggestion given the squared increase in potential energy he must now deal with safely.

Whatever the design that Jay adopts, I believe the 1/4" Lexan shattersheild is great advice for all non-machinists to follow. My plastics shop (Plastics Depot in So. Cal.) has a 3/4" sheet of Lexan with all sorts of bullet damage from several weapons (38cal handguns up to Mk-11 and M16 rifles). It is simply amazing what this material will withstand in terms of impact strength.

Jeff


----- Original Message ----- From: "Phillip Slawinski" <pslawinski@xxxxxxxxx>
To: "Tesla Coil Mailing List" <tesla@xxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Sunday, November 30, 2008 7:43 AM
Subject: Re: [TCML] rotary gap disk


I've only built one rotary gap.  The one I built was sort of hacked
together. I made a 5" disc out of a cutting board, and press fitted it on a fractional horsepower fan motor. The motor speed was about 1650 rpm, and I
had eight flying and two stationary electrodes.  I used 1/4" brass screws
with acorn nuts on the end. While I don't remember having any trouble with
the flying electrodes getting hot (all the way up to 2400W) the stationary
electrodes became smoking hot after about 40 seconds of run time. I used a blower to keep them cool, but I never could get the gap to perform well. It
could have been that the brass vaporized too easily, or it could have been
that the spacing between flying electrodes was insufficient.  The bottom
line is that the gap was awful.  I would be more apt to use proven designs
at this point instead of trying to do it the cheap way.

On Sun, Nov 30, 2008 at 09:03, <jhowson4@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

so i found a really good deal on lexan.  17$ for a 1/2" thick 12" by 12"
couldn't find any G10 for cheap so i am going with lexan.  do you guys
think that the 1/2" thickness is good. I am planning on spinning a 6.5 inch
diameter disk with up to 8 threaded rod and brass cap electrodes.
I have a 1/3 HP  motor that I am going to modify for sync operation.

what do you guys think?

Jay Howson
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