One guy, in his home shop. The video’s about 20 minutes long. The text’s in French, there’s no dialogue, but you get a very good idea of what all is involved in making one. Trust me, it’s fascinating to watch. About the only thing the guy doesn’t do is make his own glass. Here’s his website (in French).
Man’s dedicated!
There used to be a guy in Santa Cruz, CA who repaired vacuum tubes; I’m talking about the HUGE tubes used in very high powered transmitters. That guy had the patience of a saint and the hands of a surgeon.
…And your father’s still perfecting ways of making sealing wax.
Courtesy of Mssrs. Jagger & Richards
I’m a guitarist who prefers tube amps, so I’m not ignorant of the charms o’ the tube, but why the heck is the guy bothering with this?
Have the world’s tube manufacturers shut down production to the extent that people are taking it upon themselves to keep the art alive, or is this guy just, um, dedicated?
Also, I couldn’t tell whether he’s actually selling the things or not. Could I get replacement tubes for my ENIAC from him? (I blow through those like crazy!)
Doesn’t make his own glass?Sheesh,what a piker!
Thanks for the link.Is that a Deckel there at the end?
Weird. I don’t understand why he would do this either. My boyfriend restores antique televisions for a living and he has no problem finding tubes. I guess this guy just enjoys this sort of thing.
>Weird. I don’t understand why he would do this either. My boyfriend restores antique televisions for a living and he has no problem finding tubes. I guess this guy just enjoys this sort of thing.
You gotta be kidding - you understand restoring antique telivisions, and not making tubes?
Heh.
I don’t understand either one. Heck, we’ve been together for a little over a year now and I’ve only started to figure out what he’s talking about. 
Actually, though, there’s quite a market for restored televisions. I bought one at the annual convention last year for about $150. Once it’s restored, it will be worth 5 to 10 times what I paid for it.
I’d say he’s doing it because it’s something that he enjoys doing. Of course, he might be one of those people who has more time than money. It may also be that he’s looking for certain characteristics in the tubes that aren’t commonly found, so in making them he’s getting something other than he can buy.
That was really something. Thanks for the link.
Real men don’t need a reason to make things that require flame and power tools.
Tuck , whats that two stroke thing at the end
Declan
Don’t really know. Given that it’s quiet, I’d say it was either a stirling or steam engine, but I can’t say for sure. Beautiful movement on it, whatever it is. Takes an awful lot of precision work to get something to move that smoothly.
I’d put him in the outrageously dedicated to keeping the art alive category.
There are several companies making tubes in Russia, such as Svetlana, Electro Harmonix and Sovtek. Closer to home, Western Electric has resumed production of their fabled 300B and a few other WECO tubes, using the same equipment and personnel as they were doing decades ago. (In their plant tour, they show the hands of someone who’s been winding grids for over 30 years.)
Thanks for the link. I love stuff like this - keeping technologies and crafts alive.
While we’re here, it occurs to me to ask; Tuckerfan, have you heard of Fred Dibnah?
No, I can’t say as I have. Is any of his stuff available on the web?
I think it is the vacuum pump he uses to build the tubes.
I saw this a couple weeks ago and I was already wondering why Tuckerfan haven`t posted it here yet. 
As for why do this. Just because is fine by me, many people dont seem to grasp what a hobby is. I build model planes for a hobby, turning some wood and paper into a flying machine, many people scratch they head wondering why I dont just buy a cheap chinese plastic toy from the store instead of spending a couple months hunched over a table.
Well Mr./Ms wheres the art on that? Art is creating something with your hearth besides your hands, you cant buy the satisfaction that brings at the store.
There’s a fair sampling of his TV work on YouTube. It just occurred to me that you might like him - also, that Wiki article describes him a bit clinically - he was a plain-speaking, working-class pie-and-a-pint sort of bloke, who just happened to have an enormous passion for the engineering and architecture of the Victorian era, as well as an obvious talent for traditional engineering methods himself, and the perfect character to present it.