How to make Generator Van De Graff

This is instructions on how I built a Van de Graaff generator from junk lying about my house.(And I do mean junk.)

Step 1Parts

Okay, the first thing you will want to do is gather all of the necessary parts. They include 1 pencil with ereaser, two dried out old click pen parts, a piece of 8in. long PVC pipe, 1 dead light bulb, 1ft long piece of 2 by 4, a elastic band, one metal paper clip, aluminum foil, see through tape, one small toy motor, 9 volt battery, and some junk wire. A good sense of humor and a few band-aids would come in handy too.

Step 2

The first step is to take your
1ft piece 2 by 4 and drill 1in. deep with a drill that is wide enough to snugly fit your PVC pipe. The position where you drill the hole should not really matter just as long as there is enough room to work with.

Step 3

The next thing you do is stick the PVC pipe into the drilled out hole, and mark the point where the axel of your motor touches PVC pipe and drill a (STRAIGHT) hole through both sides of the PVC.Then drill another (STRAIGHT) hole through both sides of the pipe at the point were your elastic band is lightly out stretched. Make sure that elastic band is not too tight or it will stop the motor.

Step 4

Next you drill two more holes into the PVC.The first hole should be drilled directly perpendicular too the bottom holes, and should only go through one side of the PVC.The second hole should go just above the top hole and should also be drilled through only one side of the PVC.

Step 5

Now you need to clean out any ink that is left in the dried out pen parts. I used a ribbon tie like the ones that come with trash bags to clean out the pen.

Step 6

Next you cut a piece of the pen you just cleaned out to the length of the inside diameter of the PVC pipe. Then take your paper clip and cut a piece of it long enough so that there should be at least a quarter inch of excess metal on booth sides of the tube. This should all go into the top hole with the rubber band already attached. Then you fold over the excess metal from the paper clip, and see if it turns freely.

Step 7

Next you take the left over metal from the paper clip and bend over about a quarter inch of metal depending on how big of a hole you drilled.Then using your plyer or a hook stretch the elastic band far enough so that you can place the piece of metal through the bottom hole.Then you take the ereaser from the pencil and drill or poke two small holes into booth sides one for the motor and one for the paper clip.To hold the ereaser firmly on the two pecies of metal place super glue into both holes on the eraser.

Step 8

The next step is to add the brushes that collect the charge. The bottom brush as shown in the picture on the left goes through the hole at the bottom the wire needs to be frayed. You have to make sure that the bottom brush is close to the elastic band, but cannot touch it. The top brush as shown in the picture on the right goes thought the top hole and needs be touching the elastic band at all times.

Step 9

The next and finale step is to wrap the dead light bulb in a piece of aluminum foil. The key to making the aluminum hold more of a charge is to smoothen it out as much as possible. Then you cut off any aluminum that might be touching the metal part of the bulb, and place it into the PVC pipe. Then attach the top brush wire to the light bulb. Well, that's it you now know how to build a Van de Graff Generator from junk which can give a door knob like spark or do neat tricks. Now the only thing left for you to do is super size it and send your neighbors annoying cat into the next century.

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