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Re: Shop Benches, Bombarder and other.
Posted By: Clif In Response To: Shop Benches, Bombarder and other. (Mike Muldowney)
Date: Saturday, 21 March 2015, at 8:32 p.m.
> Good afternoon folks!
> I'm starting to plan out my shop/bench layout and have
> a couple questions...> I see on videos and such that many folks set up the processing
> area next to the manifold with a bunch of clear tubes laid out
> as a bed for the unit being worked on. I get that it's to insulate
> the hot unit from the bench top, but I feel like it looks kind of messy.Devise a way to hold straight tubes in place on the table top, but so they can still be move if need be. When done neatly it won’t look messy. There are different ways to do this. One method is to use small finishing nails spaced so the tube will fit between them. They don’t have much of a head, so the tubes can be picked up and moved without any trouble. Having the neon units up off the table allows mica to be more easily placed between tight areas, such as where an “O” comes together. If the unit was flat on the table the mica might not go down between the bends far enough and an arc-through can go under the mica.
> Has anybody used alternate surfaces for their processing bench?
> Straight wood would be suceptible to fire/burning/death/etc,
> but what about say...ceramic tile? Fire-proof board? Any other ideas?It is best to use the same medium as what the neon units are made of. Individual tubes are really the best choice. Any solid surface will act as a heat sink on one side of the neon unit, particularly something like ceramic tile. This will cause one side of the unit to cool off too fast after bombarding. Wood works fine as long as you have the tubes off the table as mentioned above.
> As this is a hobby setup, I'd like to keep a minimum footprint. While
> I still want a separate bending bench vs my processing area, I don't
> want to take up a whole ton of space. Is anyone willing to share their
> small footprint layout ideas/pictures so I can get some ideas?Your particular layout will largely depend on how much space you have and/or how much you are willing to devote to the processing table. The processing side of things is obviously the most dangerous. Don’t skimp on space, if for no other reason for the sake of safety.
> On the technical side....
> My bombarder is a 10kVa....in what ways will that limit the units I make?
> Length/diameter/etc. I won't say that I would be unwilling to upgrade in
> the future....but I don't want to get all good/adequate at bending just to find
> out my bombarder doesn't have the oomph. Knowing what it can do will
> let me start with stuff I won't have any issues, other than the learning curve.You did not mention what the secondary voltage is. That is what will limit the amount of footage you can process at one time, not the KVA rating. KVA ratings between manufacturers seems to be very subjective. It also depends on the duty cycle of the bombarder. A 15,000v secondary should be considered a bare minimum. Even that is not enough in my opinion. 20,000v or more is better. The short circuit secondary current (mA) will have an effect on how big the electrodes are that you can efficiently process, as well as how large a diameter of tube.
> Is a trolley setup absolutely necessary for the leads? Again, would I be
> limiting myself in any way without it?This is mainly a matter of personal preference.
> The Jacob's ladder that came with my setup is kinda beat up. It was made
> out of pretty thick wire. About 10ga. Should I just re-make it? Or is there
> another length/gauge combo that others have found to be ideal?A Jacob’s ladder can limit the length of unit that can be properly processed. It is essentially an overload device. Some mistakenly think it’s a safety device. They are another item in the industry that is more personal preference, or how an individual was taught, than anything. Personally I don’t use one. If you are processing the tube properly and are not pumping too much glass, you shouldn’t need one. But if you decide to use one 8 or 10 gauge wire is fine.
> I'm still a ways away from turning anything on, but a couple operation
> questions:> My diffusion pump didn't come with the little fan to blow over the
> condensing area. I'm thinking I should set it up with one. Good choice?
> Is the answer to my question as simple as "there's a reason they sell
> them with the fan now-a-days..."Yes, you should use a cooling fan. The glass diff pumps that we use are air cooled. A fan speeds up the cooling process. It allows the temperature control to be turned up higher, thereby creating more vapor and thus more pumping action, without overheating the oil and losing it. When the diff pump is working correctly you should see active oil cascading just above the vapor jet – the area just below the bottom cooling bell. If it is “slowly” active it is not functioning at peak performance.
> Again, due to hobby setup....the vacuum pump and diffusion pump won't
> be on 24/7 or anything. Should I expect, on a day I plan to do processing,
> to turn the diffusion pump and vacuum pump on the night before and let
> them go overnight?In my opinion, yes, turn them on the night before. Especially if it’s been sitting for a while without being used. There is no such thing as letting a vacuum system pump too much. But there is such a thing as not letting it pump enough.
> I got zero literature regarding the operation of the actual equipment. I have a
> good Daco video and plenty of books on bending and stuff, but nothing about
> the actual stuff itself. Sure, the blower and vacuum pump and what not is pretty
> much just on/off switches....but still...Any literature available anywhere on
> things like the mixers? Burners? Diffusion Pump? Bombarder/Choke?What books on neon have you purchased and read?
> I know I can get all my answers here...but never hurts to have manufacturer
> documentation...Really? I’m curious: Why would you think you can get all your answers here?
> Thanks again all!
> Mike
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