Warehouse 13 - The Tesla Gun

It's actually an old VU meter possibly from a recording studio or from an old reel to reel tape recorder/player. I've searched and searched and not been able to find the right one. It might be necessary to find something similar. An old volt or current meter might be OK and one just has to open it up and replace the "scale". It would just be a printed card anyway if it is an old meter. I'm not sure why it would have a "charging station" anyway as Artie has mentioned that he doesn't know how it regenerates itself and Claudia made a comment like "oh that's how it recharges". We know it can't be fired too many times quickly without allowing it "recharge". So obviously some kind of auto-regenerative circuit possibly using static electricity. Maybe when it's in its box it can't "access" the static electricity and needs a boost.


Jhemma said:
Also, does anyone have any ideas where to find the voltage meter in the case? Looks like it functions as a charging station. I'd like to make the gun and whole case if I can.
Click to expand...
 
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It's strange that the meter would be in the case with that wiring that hooks onto the frame of the gun...I'm not sure why there would be a meter on the gun itself AND in the case. I figured it must be a charging station but I have no idea. :) Any theories? It might help with the format of the construction.
 
 
I've only recently discovered how much I have fallen in love with Warehouse 13 and their awesome steampunky gadgets and gizmos. So of course it didn't take long for me to play catch-up here with some of the great Farnsworth communicator and Tesla gun threads. Great stuff!

So, that being said, I have decided to travel down the path of "Tesla Engineer" and join everyone in building my very own Tesla gun.

I hope to be able to contribute as well since that's what makes this community so great. What I can tell you right now is that I'm sure many people think we may be just a bit insane for trying to identify the exact same vacuums tubes that were used on the Tesla gun in the show. Well, after an entire night and morning researching hundreds of thousands of vacuum tubes on the Internet... they may be right.

But my sleep depravation was not entirely in vain. I hope to have some more definitive answers soon.

Sara013 said:
The GE one is about the right size all around, but it's the wrong colour and, well, isn't a rectifier:

5137585930_fe6fa35070.jpg
Click to expand...

Although not screen-accurate, that is a very fine looking tube! I don't know what it's for, but I would definitely find some way to use it in another project. If I was interested in picking one of these up, what's this one called?

EDIT: Ahhh, a GE 678 (DAT 400W 120V). Sorry... missed it the first time 'round. ;)
 
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After the number of people I've contacted online and friends I've asked, I'm pretty sure they all think I'm a bit nuts with some of the things I look for for my projects.

Ripstick said:
What I can tell you right now is that I'm sure many people think we may be just a bit insane for trying to identify the exact same vacuums tubes that were used on the Tesla gun in the show. Well, after an entire night and morning researching hundreds of thousands of vacuum tubes on the Internet... they may be right.
Click to expand...
 
Yeah it's purdy ain't it? It's almost worth getting one and illuminating it as a table centre-piece.

Ripstick said:
Although not screen-accurate, that is a very fine looking tube! I don't know what it's for, but I would definitely find some way to use it in another project. If I was interested in picking one of these up, what's this one called?

EDIT: Ahhh, a GE 678 (DAT 400W 120V). Sorry... missed it the first time 'round. ;)
Click to expand...
 
Although not an exact match, I came across this gas fireplace valve online and couldn't help but notice the similarities:

Tesla_Trigger_Valve_Comparison_001.jpg


My folks have one of these in their home and the floor plate / flange is just threaded on hand-tight, so it will unthread right off from the valve itself. If you look closely there is a square boss below the bottom of the flange creating a flat face where the male threads are (currently obscured by the flange). This would help facilitate the task of cutting these threads off nice and flush, then tap the hole for the 3/4" square plug Sara pointed out. All that would be left to do is shave a little off the top end to give it the same asymmetrical look as the photos, and get some brass caps to seal up the ends.

Another thing that simply screamed at me while I was doing comparisons is how much the trigger valve on the real prop looks to be painted with copper paint. Neither brass nor real copper looks quite like that, color wise -- not to mention how hard it is to get such an even-looking natural tone or patina as this one displays.

In fact, I had painted some custom distillery canisters as part of a cantina bar project for a convention this past summer using a Rustoleum Copper paint and they looked 'exactly' like the finish on the trigger valve.
 
Also, they are definitely using a 'bleeder screw' for the top of the trigger valve, typically used on automotive brake systems, but also used on other types of hydraulic systems. A variation similar to this but with a shallower hex head and less of a neck to the nipple:

Tesla_Trigger_Bleeder_Screw_001.jpg


Whether this bleeder screw was simply 'added' to the part the prop-builder chose for the 'trigger valve', or it was originally part of this 'valve' I cannot say for sure. However my gut feeling is that these could very well be two completely unrelated items because the 'valve' seems too small to be of any use in a 'common-place' hydraulic system. Unless of course the 'valve' was cut/removed from a much more substantial part.
 
Ripstick said:
Unless of course the 'valve' was cut/removed from a much more substantial part.
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I think you're on the right path Ripstick. I still think it's off an old gas heater, stove, or the like. And an "as found" part. I'm still leaning towards the thermocouple possibility as well. Time will tell... I hope! :confused
 
It's me, the little old non-prop maker, back to report on my progress on the build of my Tesla, using select parts from the GoodModel garage kit. Here's where things stand at the moment:

tesla02.jpg


As you can see, it's all painted now.

As I said I would, I build the "frame" for the control panels and VU meters, where there was just a flat surface on the original kit. The area inside the frame is small, but I prefer it to the incorrect flat surface that was on the kit.

I'm also still using the alternate test tube I was able to find. The back two are finished.
 
Clinton said:
It's me, the little old non-prop maker, back to report on my progress on the build of my Tesla, using select parts from the GoodModel garage kit. Here's where things stand at the moment:
Click to expand...

Looks good Clinton! Mine's on hold until after the holidays (as well as the other 416 projects).
Is anyone else this far along with a build?
 
Naw, I put mine on permanent hold because I'm not happy with the Fishing Reel piece (the middle).

I did, however, give some serious thought to getting the resin kit and replacing certain components with the real items like Clinton is doing... Props (no pun intended) to testing out the waters with the kit!
 
hope someones able to get screencaps from Hollywood Treasures tonight... few shots of the tesla gun that was sold being handed over.
 
I took some iPhone-quality cell-phone shots of the one Profiles sold... I'll get them posted up here...

I wasn't allowed to touch it, so I can't say if the tubes were glass or not, but I can say that the bottoms were cut off of them (if they are real), and all of the markings were removed (so I couldn't get tube numbers..) And there's a definite seam between the clear 'class' and the silver tops of the tubes. Real tubes wouldn't have that...

I wouldn't be surprised if they were plastic though, with real tube parts on the inside. Having actors handle that much fragile glass just seems inherently risky... :) Not to mention the hassle of the prop breaking if it was dropped or something.

I can also say that the one Profiles sold is the one in the black-and-white images on page 8 (and maybe elsewhere) in this thread. Little scuffs and markings on different parts match up exactly...
 
No need to wait, the pics were still on my phone! :cool

So, here's a few example shots. I re-sized them for posting

You can download the full size images here (there's 15 total, I didn't post them all to the forum...):
Tesla Gun
There's an Index.jpg at the bottom so you can see them first if you want, or just download them all...
 
Rik1138 said:
No need to wait, the pics were still on my phone! :cool
Click to expand...

Thanks for posting those great photos! Lots of little details not seen before. Some that helped to verify a few of my thoughts on parts not seen that close-up before... like the four thin rods with springs stretched over them instead of fine thread machine screws.

Also, those 'tubes' are definitely plastic. Look at the slightly 'milky' color and distorted finish. Unlike any glass tubes previously used. This was probably a production call to make these props more durable and easier to fix or replace parts.

Thanks again for sharing those! :cool
 
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