Re: "I want bigger sparks!" (me too)

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

Original poster: "by way of Terry Fritz <twftesla-at-qwest-dot-net>" <Cydesho-at-aol-dot-com>

You might want to hear what some of the more experienced coilers say before 
deciding on anything, but I'll tell you what I've noticed using different 
types of spark gaps. For a while, I was using two 1/2 inch carriage bolts for 
my spark gap. Performance was pretty bad, I didn't even get any breakout with 
a toroid. I actually had to use a foil covered softball to get any output. 
Then a few months ago I found two brass spheres that were part of a handrail 
in a restaurant that was demolished. They are about 3 inches in diameter, and 
they are what I am using for my static spark gap right now. Since I added 
them, my coil puts out about 2 foot arcs.  
                                    Justin