Re: Secondary preparation and capping

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

Original poster: "Shaun Epp by way of Terry Fritz <twftesla-at-qwest-dot-net>" <scepp-at-mts-dot-net>

Hello Patrick,

I've recently built my first good coil and I went through all the
preperations for the secondary,  it's really not that much work compared to
the rest of the construction.  The print on the side of the tube comes off
well with a little Acetone on a cloth and rub the tube quickly, then do it
again since the acetone evaporates very quickly.  Who knows, that print
could be slightly conductive.  Also for sanding I used a sheet of 220 grit
sand paper, sanded the inside, then the outside, I sanded for a smooth satin
look and consistancy, I've read that some nicks are ok, as long as they're
clean and not too deep (possible punch throughs on the side wall).  I just
sit down on a chair, hold the tube with one end  touching the floor and
sand, then turn it around and get the other end.   I liked the fact that the
tube becomes all staticy, it's probably just from the friction of sanding
that does it, but it shows that the tube is a good insulator to hold a
charge.

I also dried the tube using an indoor cube heater and coated both inside and
outside with polyurethane.  I'm not sure if this is really nessesary either,
but I did it anyway.

I used a PVC end cap for the top and a drain mount for the bottom, I'm under
the impression that if I coated the form inside and out, that sealing the
hole form would not be needed.

Shaun Epp


----- Original Message -----
From: "Tesla list" <tesla-at-pupman-dot-com>
To: <tesla-at-pupman-dot-com>
Sent: Sunday, November 18, 2001 4:57 PM
Subject: Secondary preparation and capping


> 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.
>