DIY Micro Table SGTC Spark Gap Tesla Coil Science Physical Toy

Beginners and even some intermediate builders will have some trouble with this one because they may find the instructions a little vague, but experienced builders will be able to figure this out without difficulty. This kit also requires some use of glue for the secondary top load and the brackets that hold the primary wire. You will also need to purchase a DC power supply (12V 2A with positive tip) that can easily be found here. There aren't many components so the soldering is quick and easy (make sure your connections are good quality). Heat shrink is recommended for the solder joint on the extension wire(s) going from the coil primary to the circuit board. Make sure the leads going from the primary and secondary to the board are as far apart as possible. This has been a fun and interesting build, mine works flawlessly. Once again, if you are a beginner/intermediate builder be sure to be very thorough with your soldering and take your time.

The instructions were a little buggy but when all was said and done all the parts were there, it assembled fairly easy, and it worked as it was supposed to. My children and I had a great time putting it together.

Too many parts. Didnt come with step by step instructions in box. Have to scan and go online. Looks quite difficult. Not for kids to assemble for a school project for sure.

This project was fun to build although no real instructions per se. A slip of paper sends you to a web site where the steps are in pictures with just a few words. If you take your time and think it out you will be well rewarded with a beautiful working TC.

If you’ve never done circuit board assembly this is a good beginners project, but you’ll need to understand the logics of the board to get this thing to fire correctly. Assembled as instructed leaves a lot of room for cross board firing verses the intended path. There will be a good deal of tweaking to get this thing running for a good effect. Be prepared to trouble shoot for a bit.

This product does work if you're very careful with your soldering and following instructions. Overall I thought the instructions were crude and not always easy to follow. They could have done a much better job carefully explaining things and including more pictures. Also, several of the wires needed were not included with the kit. I had to use my own wires in several places. Having said that, once it's working, it works very well and is a lot of fun to play with.

I've built a number of Tesla coil kits, and this is the best so far. Easy build, even the physical assembly was straightforward, adding wire guides for the primary coil make it really a snap to get correct. Includes two firing tubes to get different rates, and the build guide has some interesting ideas for hacking it. A good kit. Pretty safe for youngsters, the discharge sparks just tingle, no pain. Just watch your fingers around the large capacitor in the base. For a full build and demo, search YouTube for "C.K. builds a Tesla coil kit from HandsMagic"

We followed all instructions meticulously taking almost two hours to put together, turned it on and it just got very hot. After five minutes it was almost 200 degrees fahrenheit so we turned it off. The instructions need to be about 10 times more clear. The written instructions were in broken English. We had to keep rewatching the video to make sure we were following correctly.