Fourdy, I thought a few pictures might help. You'll need a good GM solenoid and pull the coil part out of the "can". Use a hacksaw to circumcise the rear of the can - be careful not to cut into the coils. At the switch end (plastic cap removed) snip the wire spot welded to the can as close to the can as possible, and snip the wires from the remaining terminals. The wire that had been spot welded and the wire that had the large copper lug are to be soldered together (after removing coil from the can). The double wires from the small terminal are to remain together by soldering. (You see, the solenoid is made of two windings, and you want them both carrying electric current to produce a strong magnetic field in the round steel bar you will place inside the hollow opening of the solenoid).
The round bar is 4.5" long by 1.25" turned down to just fit into the solenoid (car guys do have friends who have lathes, don't they?) with a 3/8 NF drilled and tapped hole on one end. The down legs are 1" square stock, 4" long with one leg welded to the non-threaded end of the round bar (see pictures). Drill the other down leg so that it can be bolted to the threaded end of the round bar, after the solenoid is positioned on the round bar. I tack MIGed the solenoid shell to the round bar, and wrapped it with Duct Tape.
I'm using a 6V battery tender (trickle charger), but a 12V will produce a stronger magnetic field. Connect one of the battery charger leads (does not matter which one) to one pair of solenoid wires and the other lead to the other pair of solenoid wires. But, you might consider installing an ON/OFF switch in this circuit, as seen in the pictures.
The puffer and powder came from: Goodsons in Winona, MN
www.goodson.com