My First Tesla Coil

The first component I acquired was the high voltage capacitor. I found this quite by accident! After having two RCA high voltage splitters go bad, I decided to destroy one with a sledge hammer. Inside, I found a rolled capacitor labeled .006mf / 30kv - exactly what I had been looking for!

I sealed the actual capacitor inside a piece of PVC pipe filled with silicone sealant. Two bolts provide connections to the capacitor.

Then I  needed to wind my secondary coil - the most recognizable part of a Tesla Coil.

I'm not sure if I'm more proud of the coil or the device that I had to build to wind the coil. For the frame, I used the back of a computer monitor. A Power Wheels geared drive motor turns the coil form. To keep track of the number of turns I've wound, I made a disc with a notch cut out to interrupt an optical sensor which triggered the counter from a photocopier. And for the final touch, a plastic candy cane serves to hold the magnet wire feed spool. 

I bought two frying pans from my local dollar store, ground the handles off and soldered the two pans together. I soldered a nut to one of them to make the top load easily interchangeable.

I was going to weld the pieces together instead of soldering them, but the wire welder I have kept blowing holes through the thin metal. A 140 watt soldering gun and a little rosin did the trick. 

The only thing about this that bothers me is the ridge where the solder is. Since solder only goes surface deep, I couldn't grind that down smooth. I'm hoping it doesn't affect the coil any.