Re: [TCML] Why is it important to dry the PVC pipe?

["Phillip Slawinski" <pslawinski@xxxxxxxxx>]

I have trouble recruiting friends to help me with the winding.  My roommates
hate my tesla coils.  If you make a decent winding jig and properly centered
end-caps you can use a battery powered drill (preferably the variable speed
type) to drive the winding jig.  When I wound my 3.5" VTTC form I had one
hand on the drill trigger, and the other hand on the coil.  I made a little
holder for the wire so it didn't hop all over the floor and make a big
mess.  I used a 120V single speed drill to wind my 6" form.  I used the
variac to control the speed somewhat, it doesn't really work all that well.
Maybe I'm lazy, but I refuse to hand spin my forms.  I did that once, and
several hours and sore hands later I decided I would never wind a coil by
hand again.

On Fri, Sep 26, 2008 at 8:36 AM, jimlux <jimlux@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> Henry Hallam wrote:
>
>> Supposedly, moisture in the pipe makes it more likely to suffer
>> flashover.  In practice, I've never dried mine and never had problems.
>> Without a lathe, get a friend to hold a stick that the reel of magnet
>> wire can slide on, and have her apply a little tension while you turn
>> the coilform by hand and guide the wire with a fingernail.  A 4x26"
>> coil takes several episodes of House or a couple of feature-length
>> movies.  It is much quicker to do it with two people than alone.  It
>> will take you about two inches to get the hang of it, after which you
>> can start again if you want a nice-looking coil.
>>
>> I don't have advice for building a winding jig, except that it's a
>> very good idea and a timesaver.
>>
>>
>
> Tape is your friend when winding.  After every 100 turns or so, put a piece
> of thin tape over the end of the winding, so that when you get distracted
> (the phone rings, etc.), only 50 or so turns go "sproing" and need to be
> rewound.
>
> You can also put double sided tape on the form, so that as the wire lays
> down, it sticks. A couple or three strips the length of the form would
> probably do.
>
> For a 4" diameter form, the winding jig either a steady hand or a friend
> recruited to hold the wire spool.
>
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