DIY Lightning Wand -- A Handheld Van de Graaff Generator

Step 4 Belt

A longer belt causes a larger charge separation which means a higher voltage will result at the collector. Turning three rubber bands into one long rubber band is easy with a pair of scissors and super glue. Brand new rubber bands are a bit stiff, so stretch them out to loosen them up. Now cut each rubber band. Try to make a very straight cut, so that when you glue the ends together they will make good contact. Place a drop of super glue on a piece of paper and spread it around with a toothpick. Now dip the end of one rubber band in the glue and adjoin it to the end of another rubber band. Don't overlap the edges; you want to directly affix one cut end to the other. Also don't use too much glue; you don't want a glue bond, you want the glue to heat the edges of the rubber bands so that they fuse together.  Hold the edges together for around 10 seconds and don't stretch it for 30 seconds. A proper bond can be stretched quite far, much further than required for the VDG. Repeat, until you've made one large rubber band, minding not to twist it.

Tips
Too little glue is better than too much. Even if the bond doesn't occur along the entire edge, you can still see what the proper bond should look like before trying again.
Don't be afraid to mess up. The bound sets quickly, so you know right away whether the result is any good, and if it's not just trim the ends and try again.
You should use brand new rubber bands; old dirty rubber bands aren't worth the trouble.