A few questions........

[chopper35nj]

First, thank you for taking the time to read my questions. Frist question, what the hell am I doing wrong?!!!! I have made several attempts at bending up a condensor coil. I have read plenty about how to do it, I am quite a good fabricater and rarely can not get the job done. I have 6 feet of quarter inch "soft" copper tubing left and don't want to waste it. I tryed to make the process idiot proof by first annealing the copper and then sand packing it. The well packed sand "should" be enough of a mandrel, I think. I can't make an ID bend of less then 2" without kinking or flattening the tube. In the pictures shown here on the board I have seen perfect double helix coils that could easily slip into a 2" pipe. I am trying to twist a single coil to fit into a 1 1/2' pipe. What gives?
My second question is much simpler. Is cork gasket material exceptable for use in a still?

[WV Shine]

Chopper, hoolkine has written an excellent tutorial on winding coil condensers: viewtopic.php?f=46&t=14559

I have used his method, and can personally attest that it gets the job done, w/o sand. You'll just want to select a different sized mandrel to wind upon. Just take your time and wind slowly

Cork gasket material isn't acceptable as it contains some kind of adhesive/binder to join all the particles of cork together... an exception to this is "music grade cork," which is pure cork sliced off the log in a single sheet. You can find it mentioned on this site and a google search should point you to a supplier. It's more expensive, but who wants to drink disolved adhesive in their likker

Good luck!

[Im gone]

Something that saved me was realizing that there are different grades of soft 1/4" tubing.
I started out using a cheap all purpose import and it would consistently flatten, if you looked at it the wrong way.

I then realized that there is a thicker walled made in USA refrigerator tubing. It is more expensive, but it made a world of difference. With the more expensive, thicker walled stuff, I was able to coil a double spiral condenser without much problem.

[rad14701]

chopper35nj, there should be no need in annealing already annealed copper... That might be part of your problem... Another might be playing with the copper too much... I wind my coils directly off the copper as it was purchased... I don't straighten it, fill it, anneal it, or otherwise fuss with it at all... Coiling it in the same direction as it was originally coiled is another tidbit of advice... It's only as complicated as you make it... Become one with the copper rather than fighting with it...