Re: [TCML] Support brackets for a flat spiral primary - right tool for the job?

[Yurtle Turtle <yurtle_t@xxxxxxxxx>]

I bought a cheap tabletop Harbor Freight drill press. I already had a table saw. I simply cut the pieces to length and width, then clamped a "fence" to the drill press to establish the depth of the holes. I previously bought a milling ball and attached it to the arbor on my radial arm saw, then rotated the motor 90°, hoping to mill more than one piece at a time. There was too much force, and even only milling one piece at a time, the holes ended up angled slightly sideways.


On a previous coil, I drilled holes in Lexan and threaded the 1/4" tubing through them, which was a pain, but worked. With 3/8" tubing, it would have probably been impossible, so I drilled the holes so the tubing could snap into place. Others have drilled the holes, then cut the "top" off and reused it to hold the tubing in place. I've seen zip-ties used on others' coils.

I used delrin, if I recall.



________________________________
 From: Brian Hall <brianh4242@xxxxxxxxxxx>
To: tesla@xxxxxxxxxx 
Sent: Monday, January 2, 2012 11:13 PM
Subject: [TCML] Support brackets for a flat spiral primary - right tool for the job?
 


Today I 'machined' the bracket supports for what will be my 1/4" copper tubing flat spiral primary on my mid-size Tesla coil.
I documented the process here:  
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1hKE2Ms-tk 

And I am curious - what other approaches have been used to milling the material?  I know that two tools now on my wish list are a drill press and a jigsaw/band saw/small table saw (that would have left much less of a mess on the pieces and less re-drilling to get the notch depths right)
It looks like I am going to end up using zip ties in combination with these brackets, through the clear plexi top.  Or do some folks just glue the copper tubing down?  
How do you cut this insulating plastic cutting board-type material into long lengths and with a smooth edge? 

----------------------------------

Brian Hall  



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