All or any of the parts of an induction coil may be purchased ready-made, and the first thing to do is to decide which of the parts the amateur mechanic can make and which would be better to buy ready-made. If the builder has had no experience in coilwinding it would probably pay to purchase the secondary coil ready-wound, as the operation of winding a mile or more of fine wire is very difficult and tedious, and the results are often unsatisfactory. In ordering the secondary it is always necessary to specify the length of spark desired.
The following method of completing a 1-in. coil illustrates the general details of the work. The same methods and circuits apply to small and larger coils. The ready-made secondary is in solid cylindrical form, about 6 in. long and 2-5/8 in. diameter, with a hole
through the winding 1-1/4 in. in diameter, as shown in Fig. 1. The secondary will stand considerable handling without fear of injury, and need not be set into a case until the primary is completed. The primary is made of fine annealed No. 24 iron wire cut 7 in. or 8 in. in length, as the maker prefers, and bundled to a diameter of 7/8 in. The wires may be straightened by rolling two or three at a time between two pieces of hard wood. If the amateur has difficulty in procuring this wire, the entire core may be purchased ready-made.
After the core wires are bundled, the core is wrapped with one or two layers of manila paper. The straighter the wire the more iron will enter into the construction of the core, which is desirable. Beginning half an inch from one end, No. 16 cotton-covered magnet wire is wound from one end to the other evenly and then returned, making two layers, and the terminals tied down to the core with twine. Core and primary are then immersed in boiling paraffine wax to which a small quantity of resin and beeswax has been added. This same wax may be used later in sealing the completed coil into a box. Over this primary is now wrapped one layer of okonite tape, or same thickness of heavily shellacked muslin. This completed primary will now allow of slipping into the hole in the secondary.
Should the secondary have been purchased without a case, a wooden box of mahogany or oak is made, large enough to contain the secondary and with an inch to spare all around, with room also for a small condenser; but if it is not convenient to do this work, a box like that shown in Fig. 2 may be purchased at a small cost. A 7/8-in. hole is bored in the center of one end, through which the primary core projects 1/8 in. This core is to be used to attract magnetically the iron head of a vibrating interrupter, which is an important factor of the coil. This interrupter is shaped as in Fig. 4, and is fastened to the box in such a way that the vibrator hammer plays in front of the core and also that soldered connections may be made inside the box with the screws used in affixing the vibrator parts to the box. The condenser is made of four strips of thin paper, 2 yd. long and 5 in. wide, and a sufficient quantity of tinfoil. When cut and laid in one continuous length, each piece of tin-foil must overlap the adjoining piece a half inch, so as to form a continuous electrical circuit. In shaping the condenser, one piece of the paper is laid down, then the strip of tin-foil, then two strips of paper and another layer of foil, and finally the fourth strip of paper. This makes a condenser which may be folded, beginning at one end and bending about 6 in. at a time. The condenser is next wrapped securely with bands of paper or tape, and boiled in pure paraffine wax for one hour, after which it is pressed under considerable weight until firm and hard. One of the sheets of tin-foil is to form one pole of the condenser, and the other sheet, which is insulated from the first, forms the other pole or terminal. (This condenser material is purchasable in long strips, ready for assembling.)