Can you build a VDG out of household materials and out of materials less than 20 bucks?
Tetris, Sun Aug 21 2011, 07:39PMMy dad won't buy me one, so I want to build one. I know that there is a brush like thing, a conveyor, a motor, and a metal sphere, but how exactly do you build one? And what are the materials you need? Will I be able to obtain them from the house or do I have to order anything? Thanks! :D
Re: Can you build a VDG out of household materials and out of materials less than 20 bucks?
ZakWolf, Sun Aug 21 2011, 07:47PM
Hey there,
There are a lot of videos and how to's out there. I'm not an expert on this but it basically consists of two brushes which can just be frayed stranded wire, two rollers neg. and positive material and a belt which can be a giant rubber band or surgical tubing.
ZakWolf, Sun Aug 21 2011, 07:47PM
Hey there,
There are a lot of videos and how to's out there. I'm not an expert on this but it basically consists of two brushes which can just be frayed stranded wire, two rollers neg. and positive material and a belt which can be a giant rubber band or surgical tubing.
Re: Can you build a VDG out of household materials and out of materials less than 20 bucks?
testtest, Sun Aug 21 2011, 11:19PM
There was a great article in the old Scientific American in the experimenter columns about homemade VDGs. A Google search should point it out. If you cannot find it let me know I may have it here, somewhere, way back there, perhaps....
Note to self: need to work on a usable way to locate old magasines in the cellar.
testtest, Sun Aug 21 2011, 11:19PM
There was a great article in the old Scientific American in the experimenter columns about homemade VDGs. A Google search should point it out. If you cannot find it let me know I may have it here, somewhere, way back there, perhaps....
Note to self: need to work on a usable way to locate old magasines in the cellar.
Re: Can you build a VDG out of household materials and out of materials less than 20 bucks?
testtest, Sun Aug 21 2011, 11:29PM
Got it: Scientific American May 1957 and April 1955. All homemade stuff.
There is a compilation of all of these home experimenter columns over the era available now on CD. Looks like you might be interested in these.
It is called:
Scientific American's "The Amateur Scientist" The Complete 20th Century
Collection.
Compiled and published by Tinker's Guild. they used to reside at
but the cds might be available elsewhere now.
testtest, Sun Aug 21 2011, 11:29PM
Got it: Scientific American May 1957 and April 1955. All homemade stuff.
There is a compilation of all of these home experimenter columns over the era available now on CD. Looks like you might be interested in these.
It is called:
Scientific American's "The Amateur Scientist" The Complete 20th Century
Collection.
Compiled and published by Tinker's Guild. they used to reside at
but the cds might be available elsewhere now.Re: Can you build a VDG out of household materials and out of materials less than 20 bucks?
Coronafix, Mon Aug 22 2011, 07:54AM
It all depends on your household ;) Acouple of your mums SS mixing bowls and your dads tig welder will make the sphere. A down pipe, an old television, a motor of some kind and some roller pulleys (maybe out of an old printer and hacked to suit).
In fact, I saw someone recently make a sheet metal roller out of an old printer, handy things to scavange.
It gets to a point though that the more you read about them, the better you will want to make yours.
Cost depends on how much you want it.
Coronafix, Mon Aug 22 2011, 07:54AM
It all depends on your household ;) Acouple of your mums SS mixing bowls and your dads tig welder will make the sphere. A down pipe, an old television, a motor of some kind and some roller pulleys (maybe out of an old printer and hacked to suit).
In fact, I saw someone recently make a sheet metal roller out of an old printer, handy things to scavange.
It gets to a point though that the more you read about them, the better you will want to make yours.
Cost depends on how much you want it.
Re: Can you build a VDG out of household materials and out of materials less than 20 bucks?
StevenCaton, Tue Aug 23 2011, 05:49AM
HighVoltageChick, I built my first VanDeGraff from this webpage.
It was extremely cheap and I got it to work. It made pieces of paper rise up, just like the photo at the end of that link.
StevenCaton, Tue Aug 23 2011, 05:49AM
HighVoltageChick, I built my first VanDeGraff from this webpage.
It was extremely cheap and I got it to work. It made pieces of paper rise up, just like the photo at the end of that link.
Re: Can you build a VDG out of household materials and out of materials less than 20 bucks?
testtest, Wed Aug 24 2011, 10:15PM
Here is another one.
testtest, Wed Aug 24 2011, 10:15PM
Here is another one.
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