Make your own Vauum Tubes

jamminmj · April 2008

Here's a link on youtube showing Frenchman Claude Paillard, a Ham radio enthusiest, building vacuum tubes by hand. Once you read this, Click on make your own vacuum tubes, to see the video. It's 17 minutes long, but facinating. Lots of different techniques involved.

Here's the link back.
http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2008/04/revisiting_claude_paillar.html

shredd · April 2008

I plan to make my fortune by releasing a video on a home-made birth-control formula.
Of course, the other division of my company is going to be baby clothes.

agelessrocker · April 2008

where is the link?

shredd · April 2008

Sorry for the obscure reference.
I was suggesting that making your own vacuum tubes makes about as much sense as brewing reliable birth control in your microwave. Hence the baby clothes division...I make money on you twice.

Rawb · April 2008

Where's the beef or I mean link? It was there last night.

agelessrocker · April 2008

Wouldn't you need glassblowing skills in order to make your own tubes?

Cobaltblooz · April 2008

\shredd\ wrote:

I plan to make my fortune by releasing a video on a home-made birth-control.

I use \"Saran Wrap\"

\"Wouldn't you need glassblowing skills in order to make your own tubes?\"

Also handy for birth control!

jamminmj · April 2008

You need a few different skills to make tubes.

thehootman · April 2008

Hmmm. Home made vacuum tubes. I will list the required equipment:
A very hot furnace to heat glass.
Another very hot furnace to heat the TUNGSTEN to allow it to be shaped into the anode, grid, and cathode. (tungsten melts at 3500C)
A vacuum pump to suck out the air.
A shotload of patience.

I'll buy em thanks

:roll:

shredd · April 2008

This is a laugher. Even if it was realistic to build your own tubes - who would? You can buy top-quality tubes for way under $100, yet someone's gonna spend thousands for the equipment and years learning enough electronics and physics to make good ones? :roll:

It's like these people who watch late-night TV and shell out $199 for a complicated pasta-making machine, rather than the $1.69 it costs to buy a nice package of ready-to-cook pasta at the store. :roll:

I do admire his ingenuity and ability to do complex things with simple tools; very can-do.
But I also wonder about the relative quality of the tubes; probably fine for a ham-radio amplifier, but do you really wanna put them in your $2000 Mesa-Boogie??? :shock:

jamminmj · April 2008

Well if you can build em and test em for quality, I would put em in anything if I had the means to do it. I've had to open enough production line gear in my years and redo solder joints and traces among other things, that many times handbuilt would have been preferred. I bet his gear has a very low failure rate. After all, why is it that so many people prefer handbuilt guitars? Besides the fact that you can modify them to fit your needs. Maybe a different metal on the plate warms up the sound to your liking. Who knows until they've actually done it. All most of us know about tubes is that they work a certain way under a certain set of perimeters because a manufacturer told us so. Being able to modify those perimeters might be the sound we are truly seeking.

shredd · April 2008

I'm not that kinda tone snob. There's no way I'd go through that to try to dial in a sound. If I had the time, money, and knowledge to spend on something, I'd be using it to make my first million. Or to get Cam to return my phone calls...

jamminmj · April 2008

It's not about being a snob. It's no different than why people continue to build guitars by hand, Paint by hand or produce any other kind art or craft by hand. It's because they can. But then I don't suppose you would understand that and is typical of the disposable, instant gratification society we live. The flower will always find the light to bloom in the darkest hour of being.

Rawb · April 2008

\jamminmj\ wrote:

Being able to modify those perimeters might be the sound we are truly seeking.

Perhaps That is what this guy is after? His first million! So in several yrs your reading an article in the latest guitar world on the newest guitar god. And he is asked \" but dude we've copied your fx chain and still can't get your sound? \" Well that probably cuz I use these custom made tubes they sound so sweet! At $ 1500 a pop they better!.

Can you imagine a world where you can have warping capabilities on a tube amp, just by flicking a few switches and turning a few knobs!.

It's nice to dream every now and then. :shock:

Hey if it weren't fer dreamers we wouldn't have an OBR on our gnx4, it is a direct decendant of Les Pauls dream of multi tracking! 8)

shredd · April 2008

\jamminmj\ wrote:

But then I don't suppose you would understand that and is typical of the disposable, instant gratification society we live.

Yeah, that's me, Mr. instant gratification. That's why I build my own equipment stands. That's why pay for every peice of gear I own in cash, rather than run up my credit cards. That's why I've been looking for a decent g/f for years, instead of settling for a toothless farm hand.

\"Settle down, Beavis.\" :roll:

thehootman · April 2008

I dont know how many of you actually know the physics behind tubes (I do), but all they do is either act as a one way valve or amplify things. The cathode (negative terminal) is heated to allow thermionic emission. When a high voltage is passed through, electrons come off the cathode and travel through the vacuum (a vacuum conducts electricity) past the grid towards the anode. The grid has a current though it as well. If the voltage in the grid is negative, the electrons from the cathode are repelled, visa versa. This means that a small current can control a large current (an amplifyer!). What is interesting is that for thermionic emission, the cathode can be any material whatsoever. Practically, because it is heated, tungsten and other very high MP metals are used.

There's a reason why valves were replaced. In fact there are several reasons - size, cost, lack of reliability and interference with the signal.

Anyway, there's a little bit of remedial physics for ya to think about 8) 8)

Rawb · April 2008

Thanks Hootman 8)

Dream Killer

But I reckon it needed to be said. Some of our younger lurkers here may actually think they could manufacture their own tubes in dads garage! Which may prove detrimental to mums Lexus! :shock: :P :P

jamminmj · April 2008

Thanks for the physics. I actually learned something from it. And while I'll agree that there are many reasons for replacing them, they still keep comming back. I knew afew people that built alot more dangerous things in their garages when I was a kid also. Sorry, wasn't trying to promote something lethal.

shredd · April 2008

Junior may love the idea of cranking the output of his Marshall up to 1.21 GigaWatts, but mum couldn't care less. Now when it comes to her Lexus, though...

Rawb · April 2008

promote something lethal? Naw !! I was jus having fun. Actually there's nothing to worry about. Knowledge, skill and patience is what that guy demonstrated in that vid. Something that is not in demand by todays youth

1st they would have to get mummy n daddy to buy em the neccessary equip. And that ain't gonna happen. If they can't get ma n pa to do it, or get it for them, sadly todays youth don't want it then!

Now a vid on converting our tube amps into ham radios would be usefull :shock: :P So you get tired of running scales... just tune in and talk to another muscian in another part of the world about theory for free!Unless the fcc tracks you down and fines ya for not being licensed.

jamminmj · April 2008

When I first moved into my house there was a guy who had a transmitter in his car that would overload our stereo receiver. The first time my wife and I were in the basement and thought the house was being raided it was so loud. After about the third or forth time it happened
we saw him driving up the street with the mic to his mouth. One big Caddy with one big long antenna.

Make your own Vauum Tubes

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