[Elecraft] Toroid enamel covering

[Fred Jensen]

Ian Stirling wrote:

>   I was told, twenty seven years ago, that this puts
> carcinogenic chemicals into the air.

So does soldering.  You could assemble your K2 with glue, however that 
too has toxic solvents.  Best bet is a fan and hood to suck up the lead 
fumes and deposit them somewhere outside [like your neighbor's back 
yard?], but that requires a hole in the roof which is decidedly 
non-spouse-friendly.  I have a table-top "smoke eater" from back in the 
days when Californians still smoked which does a pretty good job of 
keeping the toxics out of my lungs [I hope].

>  I use a scalpel blade to scrape the enamel off.
> Seeing the shaved enamel on my workbench

You're more adept than I am.  I tried that and found I invariably nicked 
the wire and I had a couple of leads break as I was pulling them tight 
in the holes.  I tried sandpaper which worked but took forever and made 
a lot of dust.  Solder blob with the iron up to 800F works for me, 
however I do it backwards to N0SS' method ... I start at the core and 
work out to the end.  Perhaps it is because I'm left-handed, my wife 
says I do everything backwards.

73,

Fred K6DGW
- Northern California Contest Club
- CU in the 2007 CQP Oct 6-7
- www.cqp.org