Nice one!
Clicked.

But out of curiosity: What was the salt water for - an isolation transformer substitute, some sort of (clearly ineffective) current limiting device?

Also, did you have any after-effects (eye problems from UV exposure)?
(The Incredible Sulk Finally remembered his password on, Sat 15 Aug 2009, 16:15, 1 reply)

I simplified...
... for the story, the salt was actually Potassium Chloride, though table salt worked but not as well, and 500ml of water and 2 tablespoons of this was actually (LOL) the current "limiter". It did actually limit current and would last for about 3 or 4 minutes before you had to replace it as it broke down chemically.

As for eye problems, I never had anything obvious, though who can say 20 years from now, I probally looked directly at the arc for 10-15 minutes all told, and wore absolutely no eye protection, hehe. Thanks for the reminder, I will have to use welder goggles for the next one...
(OMG-Hilarious, Sun 16 Aug 2009, 2:14, closed)

I see; thanks for the clarification.

I was thinking along the lines of short term vision problems, "Arc eye" and suchlike - I think you'd have known at the time if there were any ill-effects. Still, it's always a good idea to protect your eyes.
(The Incredible Sulk Finally remembered his password on, Sun 16 Aug 2009, 2:35, closed)