Nice box, not good enough. I am a military trained electrician, (21 years, retired), and spent 30 years in factories, as a electrical maintenance manager and an industrial engineer. I got into this hobby about five years ago, and had a similar setup, save I elevated my platform off the bench with two glued on 2X4's. After time, you get a bit lazy...then maybe cut a few corners. We all say we won't, BUT WE ALL DO. I recently got into fractal burning guitars, and one late afternoon, a bit tired, didn't realize it was still on and touched one probe. The other one literally jumped into my other hand, as the hand was touching the edge of the guitar body. I "Rode the Lightning" for about two seconds until I fell on my right side, heavily bruising my shoulder and hitting my head on the floor. When I hit, I woke up, got up and went into the house and had my wife call 911. Heartrate was 160, and I ended up in a burn center for three days as they monitored my heart, and treated the burns on my hands, which were not that bad. Huge hematoma on my forehead, and a scalp cut on my head where I scraped on a bench nearby. NOT FUN, NEAR DEATH EXPERIENCES.... Changes I will make: 1. Add two momentary on switches to the incoming 120VAC in a plastic housing. Both have to be pressed to engage the unit. No 120VAC, no burn. Two switches, two hands. 2. My potentiometer, which I use to adjust the voltage, will be next, in a straight line away from me. Adjust before I can press both buttons, which are UL approved to be Open when released. 3. The actual unit on its platform, further away down the line. 4. The probes, with 10K insulated wire, extending to a separate wooden table. 5. Finally, 12K gloves, 1.8MM thick, in case the switches, and the potentiometer all fail and it stays lit. 6. I am standing on 3/4" insulated rubber flooring, the final table will not be on the same rubber. Sound like a lot? 6000VAC is a lot! I am lucky to be writing this, but this is what I should have done in the first place. Lichtenberg is like nothing else in beauty, and it is highly, highly dangerous. I see people using regular wire, no gloves, machine very near to the work, and I think, there is number 34, waiting to die.... Stay safe.

I believe copper spark plug wire would be better for your leads. Coils can put out 45,000 volts or so and it's the "pressure" (voltage) that could come through the insulation that you want to stop.

Pretty cool DIY. I definitely like the burn pattern it created, that would make a nice picture on the wall.

Why 8 gauge wire, as opposed to neon sign wire? It’s high voltage, not high current.

Are you using proper high voltage cable? Normal household power cable no matter how thick is not designed for high tension voltage and current being used in this application. An understanding of working with a device as potentially lethal as what you are making. That microwave transformer puts out around 20k volts at at least 25 Amps, and it is this very high current at this voltage which makes it potentially a lethal device. A neon sign transformer puts out around 20k at 30mA, a vastly safer device compared to a hacked microwave transformer.

quick question, for the leads, cant you jjust use jumper cable ends to clamp on the wood that way its not being touched while operating?

Well, thanks Jason, nice technical art project you have here. Keep up the good work.

Anyone planning to do this should really look up The Fishin Dad’s video. His method is the safest I’ve ever seen.

I just want to thank you. I give you return favor of knowledge. You can also do this with antlers and bones im starting a european mount buisness. Thanks again.

Just one safety tip for those who are interested. Go check out Big Clive's video on this subject and learn why neon light transformers are magnitudes safer than microwave transformers and produce the same effect. *Just repeating this from memory. The video must be a couple years old by now.

I can’t find 60D nails. Why 60? Can I use 40D? 16D?

Add a foot pedal from Harbor Freight

Great video. We'll thought out assembly! Most fractal videos don't really show you 'how' to wire it which is one of the top things (of all the top things to stop the thing from killing you!)

It took me a long time to even try it cause I hate electricity

Hi, how many volts can the 8 gauge wire withstand?

someone said that u cannot use 8 AWG wire bought at Home Depot or Lowes, Is this true?

8gauge wire; will jumper cables work?

I made my burner about a year ago and mine is in a box to

Outstanding

😘

you guys need a logo i'd have a line getting smashed by a hammer black and white simple clean

Just spend the extra money and get a neon sign transformer.

''This is a very dangerous project'' so i am just going to go ahead and tell people with no electrical knowledge and an unknown level of personal stupidity or accident prone-ness how to set up something which may well kill them.

It’s safe if you boof it

Hai

Parts list: 8 gauge wire 60 D nails 5” Toolbox Fan Transformer Power cord Soldering Iron Okay… seems manageable. I may add a switch as well for on and off. Maybe a variable intensity dial would be nice as well.

I looked on Amazon and couldn't find the microwave transformer. It said couldn't find this page. Could you give me the info on the transformer, such as: name, model #, ser #, amps, etc. Thanks, Rich

I promise you, the cool effect you'll get from fractal burning isn't going to be as cool as the gravestone you may end up in. If you're stumbling on this video, even if you get everything right, you need to acknowledge that you're inherently putting yourself in extreme danger for the sake of some pretty lightning decal. Do what you want, it's your life. But heed this warning. Know how electricity works or face the consequences!!

Not a fan of the thumbnail. Literally says it's dangerous and that it's killed people, then posts the video with a clip of himself holding the device and electricity coming from it. Easy way to kill yourself if you actually do that. If you want to do this, do yourself a favor, buy the machine instead of building it yourself. You can buy a Lichtenberg machine for a few hundred dollars, I'd imagine it's well worth avoiding the amount of work needed to build it yourself. Plus you aren't dealing with the same high voltage in a microwave transformer, have better built in safety on the device, and don't have to worry about the microwave capacitor when you take a microwave apart.

First

EDITED: On a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being the most dangerous lichtenberg rig I've seen on KZfaq, 10 being the best, this video gets a 9. Perhaps 9.5. But the entire KZfaq selection is very far below any sort of reasonable standard. I'll give only two reasons, but there are dozens. Let me say though, you do have some good ideas in your design. Now to comment on some issues.... First, even with some perfect lictenberg hardware, with safety features you never, ever see on youtube, there are "proper use" considerations. Great hardware is easy to use very dangerously. So, this would be an easy rig to kill yourself with. Second, and typical of many connection/ratings types of problems, the 8AWG wire from Amazon does not have a DWV (Dielectric Withstanding Voltage) rating. It has a UL flame rating, but no ratings regarding breakdown of the insulation. The reason this jumped out is that in the video josh/jason grabbed the polypropylene tube way back where the 8AWG wire entered it, so if you touch the 8AWG wire, that insulation resistance is the only thing between you and your maker. Along those lines, 8AWG? This is far too stiff and heavy. At the approximate maximum power, which is approximately 15Amps*110Volts = 1650 watts, the current in the secondary circuit is then 1650 Watts / 2000Volts = 0.825 Amps. The So less than an amp. The secondary could use 30AWG! But there are many other considerations, mainly insulation characteristics and reliability. You would have to look up all the specs, but I'd lean toward a wire such as is used for an old television CRT high voltage supply. Better still, Alpha, Belden and a couple others make reliable, agency rated wire. Go here: www.alphawire.com/Products/Wire Assuming you are at 2000 VRMS, you want at least an insulation rating of 5000 V. 20-22AWG would be a good compromise between stiffness and ease with which to make reliable connections. So the third thing (I lied) someone mentions below, the grounded transformer frame. Sharing a common ground with the primary circuit is hell-bad. Double hell-bad. It provides hundreds, perhaps thousands of additional ways the main secondary lead output current can find it's way back to the other secondary lead through someones body. But as I replied, "floating" that lead safely and reliably presents it's own challenges. This is not a place for Amazon materials or connections made by the un-certified. It's just a whole lot more work to attempt something like this than you initially think. A ton of learning. No place for Dunning-Krueger, or for the type of expertise that gives hormones to young kids. Sadly, too many seem to be in a big hurry to get out KZfaq videos on the topic, and the public be damned.

Too dangerous for most people

This is so stupid... no safety basically... Just use a damn flyback or 2 in series with a choke and you won't have to die during it. O_x

How to die! Stupid -Stupid stuff here. Crazy dangerous! Too many people have died doing this!

This video should have been titled, how to cut holes in a toolbox and how I much money I spent on this project…stop telling people what you plan to do in the future if you’re not doing it in the video…video would have been 4 Mins.

he made a death trap. wrong on so many levels. do yourself a favor, don't pick up this art. I got out after getting careless. My safety switches saved me. I built 3 switches including lights to know it was armed. His wire is wrong to start, wrong insulation. Don't use regular house wire. If you have to use silicone rated wire. Sort of like car spark plug wire.. And the "chicken sticks" we called them suicidal. I'm not a careless man, I enjoy risk with the best of them. But after doing this for a year, it wasn't worth the risk. I am not bashing you , but encouraging this type of art can come at a high price. Do thorough homework. Hours watching youtube before you decide to do it or not. message me with any questions. Again, this stuff is serious. Josh, Jason, please take this down.

BlaBlaBlaBlaBlaBlaBlaBlaBlaBlaBlaBlaBlaBla..... We see nothing

YOU SHOULD HAVE CONNECTED THE GROUND WIRE TO THE WHITE WIRE ON THE CHASSIS ALSO.... WITHOUT IT YOU GOT A DEATH TRAP !!!!!

U TALKING WAY TO MUCH INSTEAD DO some work