1. Very relaxing video to watch, strangely.

Posted at 11:25PM on Jan 7th 2008 by Syl

2. Couldn't he find a longer version of the song, or a different one?

Very cool though, wish I had this kind of equipment. Would love to make my own tubes.

Also, what kind of setup is required for cutting glass with a wire like that?

Posted at 11:49PM on Jan 7th 2008 by atrain

3. But the real question is, can he make Nixies?

Posted at 11:55PM on Jan 7th 2008 by Tavor

4. i want to do this for a living.

Posted at 12:09AM on Jan 8th 2008 by perdidopunk

5. this has got to be, in all seriousness, the greatest hardware hacker. he even looks like a mad scientist for gods sake!

Posted at 12:20AM on Jan 8th 2008 by jim

6. I wish the writeup was in english.

it may have just been the editing of the video, but did it look to anyone else like that old man was just making up the measurements as he went?

Posted at 12:35AM on Jan 8th 2008 by Dirk

7. That is really a great video, thanks for sharing.

I would like to say, however, that I would sooner have his workshop and tools than the vacuum tube. Anyone know what kind/where to get a spot welder like that? I'm impressed...

Posted at 12:55AM on Jan 8th 2008 by M4CGYV3R

8. I get the impression that not only can this guy make vacuum tubes, but he built all the tools he uses himself. Like that spot welder, it looks handmade.

Posted at 1:19AM on Jan 8th 2008 by rich

9. wow, what amazing skill he has, a real veteran of engineering.

Posted at 1:22AM on Jan 8th 2008 by pre

10. harbor freight has some really cheep spot welders. harborfreight.com just search for spot welder.


the guys work shop is amazing. Most all his tools he created himself. Its a nice touch at the end where he graphs the tubes specs.

Posted at 2:34AM on Jan 8th 2008 by Chupa

11. I wonder if anyones done a good writeup on homebrew resistance welders...

It would definitely be a useful thing to have around.

Posted at 2:41AM on Jan 8th 2008 by Wolf

12. That's really amazing! I think i have all the equipment requiered, so if i got some extra time i will try to do it. But i also have to learn some french i think :P

Atrain:

All you need is a nichrome wire and a transformer with high current and low voltage (i think 5v will be suitable and the current depends of the wire diameter and lenght). Make a pseudo-cut in the glass, place the wire in the "pseudo-cut" and turn it on!

Posted at 3:34AM on Jan 8th 2008 by DriX

13. This guy is a real hero. I can't believe the work and skill he put into this project. From what I got out of the french, it looks like these tubes actually went into a transmitter that he used to make a transmission across the atlantic!

It's neat that vacuum tubes are actually within the reach of the "common man" - I'd like to see someone build a homemade transistor that can handle any significant power.

If all our high-tech manufacturing is ever lost for some reason, guys like him will keep us talking on the radio. Just awesome.

Posted at 6:29AM on Jan 8th 2008 by Rectifier

14. I recoded the video to divx avi and uploaded it to rapidshare, get it here:
http://rapidshare.com/files/82175021/How_to_make_a_vacuum_tube.avi.html

Posted at 7:13AM on Jan 8th 2008 by H3PO

15. Absolutely superb, I sincerely hope we NEVER loose this kind of dedication to technology.

Posted at 7:13AM on Jan 8th 2008 by Captain Zeros

16. thanks for posting greetings from the netherlands
marco

Posted at 9:28AM on Jan 8th 2008 by marco

17. Now I have a sudden urge to buy some and make a headphone amp.

Brilliant stuff.

Posted at 9:29AM on Jan 8th 2008 by jim

18. Wow, He is Realy cool ! Real Hacker

Damm i didnt finished my school http://www.lis-mbo.nl/

Posted at 9:35AM on Jan 8th 2008 by Hack_Bird

19. the vacuum tubes

detailed history of vacuum tubes
construction of an transceiver using old tubes
making of a triode and all the necessary equipment for its realization
quick production review with the manufactured triodes
the author

claude paillard as many starts during 50s, with RC model remote. mechanics is one of his favorite hobby ("violon d'ingres", ingres's violin), he makes a point of honnor making the engine that will power the boat.

in 1959 he became F2F0 and pass the exam on a 5-band AM transceiver of his manufacture. the DXCC was quickly done although contacts is not his hobby ("tasse de thé", cup of tea) and would only serve most of the time to validate a personal realization. he has a great time with the BLU which comes slowly on the amateur bands. then comes a RTTY period, on refurbished machines.

(...)

Posted at 9:36AM on Jan 8th 2008 by fr_FR Translator

20. This is some seriously beautiful work.

I second the notion to create Nixie tubes using this!

As someone who was actually PLANNING to build a giant
Nixie by hand myself, I wonder if he used any mercury in these (didn't see any). In Nixies, a very small amount of mercury was often used along with argon/neon inside, and varying the noble gas along with the amount of mercury changed the intensity of the orange. Look up Penning mixtures on wikipedia.

What metals did he use? I've been planning my Uber Nixie to use tantalum wire for ultimate cathode & annode life, but that is a bit overkill...

Lastly, I'd be curious to see the working life for his tubes. The hardest thing to control making a vacuum tube is the metal to glass seal- depending on the type of glass and ESPECIALLY your choice of metal, a good seal can be hard to achieve. Many Nixies have gone bad due to their seal. He's annealing the glass, I think, in that cannister between steps to reduce strain in the glass (tempering it), and to alieviate compression stress from the heated metal shrinking at a different rate than the glass. Understand, if you just melt glass around a metal wire, it will not make a perfect seal unless you anneal the glass (otherwise it will crack)

This guy makes it look EASY- there is a LOT of small bits you have to know about both glassblowing, metalurgy, and glass-to-metal contraction properties to do something like this properly (researched forever for my Nixie). He has the right equipment and serious skills.

FOR OTHERS wanting to try this- if you get good with glassblowing, you can try this yourself, provided you have a vacuum pump and, for Nixies, a glass cylinder of a noble gas (less than 100$)- just do some research here:

http://www.pmillett.com/tecnical_books_online.htm

This guy has a lot of books on tubes- many are quite good, and they are all FREE. I learned everything I have from reading all of these, some of which are original company manuals for production!

Hope this helps. REMEMBER- most of the basic fab is not too difficult with a lot of glassblowing experience, it's the GLASS TO METAL SEALS you need to worry about.

Posted at 11:20AM on Jan 8th 2008 by Andrew