This morning I finally got around to converting a tennis racket and tea strainer into a flocking device. I was given the tennis racket and I PRESUMED it worked. Wrong. So here I sit, a long way from civilzation and a new bug zapping tennis racket, but the strainer is nicely epoxied into the racket handle and ready to go. I also have one of those large bug zappers with a light in it to attract the bugs. Picked it up at a garage sale thinking that maybe I could use it for a really great flocking device. I am considering running the ground wire from the zapper to a nail sticking into the scenery I intend to flock. Then run the other wire up thru the plastic, insulating handle to the tea strainer. SOOO here are the questions. 1. Too much power? As long as I keep the strainer say-six inches away from the nail will I be safe? 2. What are the dangers involved? 3. As I Understand it, I have to attach the negative lead to the scenery. How can I identify the negative lead? I assume there are thousands of volts when this thing fires so I am very hesitant to attach a multimeter. But I am wondering if I attach the meter before I turn the unit on, would the meter measure the voltage as the system is attempting to charging and not get the zap of a fully charged system? I see some humor involved in this endeavor but what else do I have to do on a Sunday afternoon in my garage?? P.S. I intend to disconnect my DCC system from the track and remove all engines from the track. :mwacko:
I can only share my experience with the bug zapper I built. It worked OK, but I must say that the 2 D batteries sure do give quite a wallop. I cradled mine with my left hand against my chest not realizing I was pressing the power button and reached into the hopper/basket with the other and BAMB!! It zapped me good. I had a strange numb feeling up the left side of my neck, down my left side including my arm, and into my buttocks. I laughed hysterically, and still do. I promptly went to Harbor Freight and spent another 2.99 and built a new one because upon the shock I dropped it and it broke into many pieces. One of the club guys had the original Grass Master and he let me use it and I found the only advantage was having the nozzle feature. The disks to control how much goes through was also helpful. So I would not fill the basket/strainer with the grass but allow it to fall through from your finger or a small cup or strainer. This will give more control otherwise the grass will broadcast over everything and hide the ground color if not careful. I would include the link to the build dirrections but my link no longer works.
Mark, I would not touch that rig with a ten foot (insulated) pole. Proceed at your own risk. At the very least, have someone trained in CPR standing by when you fire it up. :ru-shocked:
I made the "Harbor Fright" applicator following Evert's tutorial on his youtube channel. The strainer was at target for $3, with everything else at Harbor Freight: total being around $10. Works great, except that the strainer needs to be pretty close (2"-3") to the area you're covering, so you REALLY have to watch for accidental contact with the grounding nail. Making contact: ZAP! which sends all the grass (and your heart rate) up into the air and back down onto the layout in a non-static application Here's pics of mine (applicator, not heart rate): I put electrical tape around one stem of the strainer to prevent any accidental contact inside the mechanism. That's two pieces of 1/8" masonite as spacers. I also recommend hand-dropping the grass through the strainer instead of loading up the cup and sifting. Better control for application and to avoid accidental sh-sh-shock therapy. And T-pins work better than nails for grounding as they don't leave a big hole in your scenery. (unless you have big n-scale gophers on yr layout!)
I'm not quite ready to start on scenery yet, but I kind of wish I didn't know about it. Now I have to fight the temptation to do it on purpose just to see the grass fly up in the air.
ALL I can say is : THIS IS ELECTRIC STUFF !!! Can't help but chuckle at the mis adventures. :tb-tongue:
