What did it cost? This is a difficult and dangerous question to answer, since what you buy depends on what you already own. Also, an exploratory project like these will always include parts you buy but don't use. And the exact price of a part depends greatly on when and where you purchased it.
Let me simply list everything I bought. You must adjust it yourself as you see fit. Your mileage will vary.
The following list tracks most total and actual expenses.
Please see the Parts List web
page for the essential ingredients. We cannot always know in
advance how an experiment will turn out, and some
items shown were purchased but not actually used. The
“installed” column indicates the price of
items that became part of the finished coilgun.
| Description | Qty | Total | Installed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capacitor, electrolytic 12,000uF @ 250v | 1 | $15.00 | $15.00 |
| Copper bar stock | 4 ea | 7.96 | 0 |
| Crimp terminals, box of 10 | 2 boxes | 3.96 | 0.50 |
| Fuse and fuse holder | 2 | 3.00 | 1.50 |
| Handles | 3 | 15.00 | 10.00 |
| Magnet wire, 12 AWG | 100’ | 45.00 | 12.00 |
| Nail, 16d finish | 1 lb | 1.90 | 0 |
| Nail, 8d finish | 1 lb | 1.90 | 0 |
| Oak 1” x 2” x 5’ | 2 ea | 11.20 | 6.60 |
| Oak plywood, ½” thick | 4’ x 4’ | 19.26 | 9.63 |
| Oak plywood, ¼ “ thick | 4’ x 4’ | 5.59 | 2.79 |
| Rectifier, full-wave bridge 200v 5a | 2 | 4.00 | 4.00 |
| Resistor, 1.1-ohm 2-watt | 60 | 14.00 | 0 |
| Sandpaper, 150 grit | 2.50 | 2.50 | |
| Screws, #6 x 1” | 100 | 4.50 | 1.00 |
| Screws, #6 x 1 ½ “ | 100 | 4.50 | 1.00 |
| Socket, porcelain lamp fixture | 2 sockets | 2.74 | 0 |
| Solenoid, round potted | 1 | 14.95 | 0 |
| Styrene firing tube, ¼” | 1 pkg of 4 | 2.59 | 0 |
| Styrene firing tube, 7/32” | 1 pkg of 4 | 2.00 | 0.50 |
| Styrene firing tube, 3/8” | 1 pkg of 4 | 2.59 | 0 |
| Styrene firing tube, 5/32” | 1 pkg of 4 | 2.59 | 0 |
| Styrene firing tube, 1/8” | 1 pkg of 4 | 2.59 | 0 |
| Switch, dpdt momentary-action | 2 | 7.58 | 3.79 |
| Switch, dpst 6amp lever power switch | 2 | 7.58 | 3.79 |
| Transformer, 12.6v 3A | 2 | 20.98 | 10.49 |
| Transformer, 250W multi-tap | 1 | 49.95 | 25.00 |
| Transformer, control 24v 3A | 1 | 20.00 | 0 |
| Transformer, 48v 3A | 2 | 49.00 | 49.00 |
| Variac, 6A 120v | 1 | 40.00 | 0 |
| Voltmeter, cheap analog | 1 | 10.00 | 0 |
| Voltmeter, cheap digital | 1 | 9.99 | 9.99 |
| Total US$ spent | $ 404.40 | $ 169.08 |
Last update June 25, 2007 by Barry Hansen ©2007