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Registered Member #117
Joined: Fri Feb 10 2006, 05:22AM
Location: WI
Posts: 9
I am going to try several materials for my new spark gap, and I am going to use bolts for the electrodes because they are cheap and easy to use. There are stainless steel, chrome, brass, bronze-silicon, and galvanized. I've heard brass is a good way to go, but I am asking if anyone has had experience with any of these. If not, I suppose I'll run an experiment. Thanks.
Registered Member #30
Joined: Fri Feb 03 2006, 10:52AM
Location: Glasgow, Scotland
Posts: 6706
As far as I know brass is best out of the materials you listed. The absolute best material for spark gap electrodes is tungsten, but it's expensive and harder to get hold of, and very difficult to cut because it's so hard.
But beware, I found that sometimes "brass" bolts are actually steel with a thin brass plating. I had a rotary spark gap that I made with these, thinking they were solid brass, and they melted away pretty quickly. (steel conducts heat a lot worse than brass)
Luckily I have a nice rotary gap with tungsten electrodes on its way now
Registered Member #135
Joined: Sat Feb 11 2006, 12:06AM
Location: Anywhere is fine
Posts: 1735
I noticed, while rejuvinating my electrode pins, that one was steel with a carbide core. What I'm using are small 1/8" broken PCB drills. And that the steel gets consumed really fast. It's not so much a temprature issue, its an errosion issue. The tungsten pins are holding up pretty well, and the 5/16 set screws are holding up pretty well too, although their faces are pretty eroded now.
Registered Member #195
Joined: Fri Feb 17 2006, 08:27PM
Location: Berkeley, ca.
Posts: 1111
Depending on how determined you are you could use elkonite witch is a tungston copper matrix witch is machineable. we use it at work for marxes. google it.
Registered Member #117
Joined: Fri Feb 10 2006, 05:22AM
Location: WI
Posts: 9
I think I will try using 1/2 inch regular old steel bolts with brass nut caps on the end, round ,very cheap and easy to replace. It will be awhile before I give this a try(I need some new caps) but I'll try to remember to post the results.
Registered Member #56
Joined: Thu Feb 09 2006, 05:02AM
Location: Southern Califorina, USA
Posts: 2445
In my minitc (7.5kv/30ma nst) I am using 2 1/2" roundhead bolts which seem to do fine. But I haven't run it very long (like 5min max), and they do get pretty hot. Forced air cooling will be a must, as will frequient cleaning. Even after 10min those bolts have run there is considerable crap arround the heads. But they do work, so go ahead and give it a try.
Registered Member #157
Joined: Sun Feb 12 2006, 08:00PM
Location:
Posts: 76
Rather than starting a new tpoic ill keep inline with this one.
My titanium tounge rings? Since they have smooth balls at the end could i use them as electrodes? I dont buy them in bulk so i dont want to cut one in half just to see it melt away.
Registered Member #75
Joined: Thu Feb 09 2006, 09:30AM
Location: Montana, USA
Posts: 711
Titanium is about the worst possible choice, what makes you think its good for a spark gap?
I think darts are made of tungsten, so if you cut off the tip it should give a pretty decent electrode. They even come threaded, which is pretty hard to do by yourself with tungsten.
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Spark Gap Materials
