[marco] sent in this video (scroll down) showing how to make a vacuum tube by hand. The page and captions are in french, but it’s pretty interesting to watch. A small spot welder, some fairly basic glass working tools and a vacuum generator are required, but the technology is definitely within reach for the dedicated hardware hacker.
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 11:47 pm on Jan 7th, 2008 by atrain
But the real question is, can he make Nixies?
Posted at 11:54 pm on Jan 7th, 2008 by Tavor
i want to do this for a living.
Posted at 12:02 am on Jan 8th, 2008 by perdidopunk
this has got to be, in all seriousness, the greatest hardware hacker. he even looks like a mad scientist for gods sake!
Posted at 12:20 am on Jan 8th, 2008 by jim
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 12:26 am on Jan 8th, 2008 by Dirk
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 12:52 am on Jan 8th, 2008 by M4CGYV3R
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 1:12 am on Jan 8th, 2008 by rich
wow, what amazing skill he has, a real veteran of engineering.
Posted at 1:21 am on Jan 8th, 2008 by pre
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 2:34 am on Jan 8th, 2008 by Chupa
I wonder if anyones done a good writeup on homebrew resistance welders…
It would definitely be a useful thing to have around.
Posted at 2:35 am on Jan 8th, 2008 by Wolf
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 
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!
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 6:28 am on Jan 8th, 2008 by Rectifier
thanks for posting greetings from the netherlands
marco
Posted at 7:00 am on Jan 8th, 2008 by marco
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 7:10 am on Jan 8th, 2008 by H3PO
Absolutely superb, I sincerely hope we NEVER loose this kind of dedication to technology.
Posted at 7:13 am on Jan 8th, 2008 by Captain Zeros
Now I have a sudden urge to buy some and make a headphone amp.
Brilliant stuff.
Posted at 9:29 am on Jan 8th, 2008 by jim
Wow, He is Realy cool ! Real Hacker
Damm i didnt finished my school http://www.lis-mbo.nl/
Posted at 9:33 am on Jan 8th, 2008 by Hack_Bird
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 9:35 am on Jan 8th, 2008 by fr_FR Translator
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 11:19 am on Jan 8th, 2008 by Andrew
unbelievable. I just loved some old school manufacturing that i saw around his workshop. Proof that you can do awesome things with a little inovation 
Posted at 1:06 pm on Jan 8th, 2008 by Aphex
Coolest. Thing. Ever. And lots of respect, guys like this are so very rare …
Posted at 1:58 pm on Jan 8th, 2008 by Bogdan marinescu
English translation, in case you want it:
Not perfect, but understandable…
Posted at 2:14 pm on Jan 8th, 2008 by Steve
“also, what kind of setup is required for cutting glass with a wire like that?” - atrain
I’ve seen something like that done. Basically, you just get a power supply capable of putting out some amps, and hook up a thick enough wire to it (you could probably pilfer it from a toaster — I think we used piano wire). Wrap the wire around the glass (making sure not to have the two ends touch, which would short circuit your short circuit!) and hit the power. The glass cracks due to thermal expansion. If needed, you can squirt some liquid (like alcohol) around the joint, which will cool off the glass quickly, causing it to break.
Awesome! I sometimes find it hard to believe what one skilled & determined man and a shop full of powertools can do. He is a real master at work!
Very nice find, thank you hack a day…
Posted at 2:49 pm on Jan 8th, 2008 by hannes
Yeah, that was cool, but if I hear the first 60 seconds of “The Man I Love” on piano more than 20 times, I go insane and kill the closest bystander. Good thing the video ended at 17 minutes. That was a close one!
Posted at 2:51 pm on Jan 8th, 2008 by lyle
Ok, now we need someone to go and make about 17,000 of these and build their own ENIAC.
Posted at 4:18 pm on Jan 8th, 2008 by The Steven
@25: And high-current, low voltage power supplies aren’t actually all that exotic. A soldering gun is one, for example — it’s actually a step-down transformer. The U-shaped piece of metal tubing the tip fits into forms a very thick one-turn secondary winding.
Posted at 4:35 pm on Jan 8th, 2008 by Orv
(…)
his first article for radio-ref (in 1959) is a bfo for the bc453 “command set” that attract attention for their remarkable selectivity.
he became the editor of “analyses de revues” (analysis of reviews), a column he held several years. he will be also a member of the board of the ref for 3 years.
he publishes, among other things: a linear amplifier equipped with 811, a oscillographic device allowing continuous monitoring of the modulation quality and also of the emitted signal purity, a tv camera equipped with integrated circuits and several ssb (”blu”) equipments including a transistorized transceiver which will be widely used in mobile.
(…)
Posted at 5:16 pm on Jan 8th, 2008 by fr_fr translator
in one word - genius.
In a few short days Hackaday has shown us everything from modding new hardware, someone pushing the edge of car aerodynamics and now this master!
2008 is going to be a great year if you can keep this up!
Posted at 5:26 pm on Jan 8th, 2008 by William Munns
The dude’s got patients.
Posted at 7:35 pm on Jan 8th, 2008 by Ali Raheem
Wow! He made a light bulb? Man life was hard for on indicator lights before LED’s. All that just so he could see that his radio was on? In my opinion the sounds is enough :/
———-
Hahahaha sorry couldn’t help it.
Posted at 7:43 pm on Jan 8th, 2008 by Ali Raheem
Actualy I think he did use mercury, advance the movie to
15:24 I think thats what he is vaporizing, if im correct that is mercury dripping, I think he is attempting to make Mercury vapor with that machine, probably through decompression, but dont quote me on that one. Im assuming thats how he made the tube following. and why it glows like that. if any one else has specifics please correct me, Im merely commenting on observations.
Posted at 8:46 pm on Jan 8th, 2008 by TandemFixation
Glad I’m not the only one who felt a deep respect for this guy once I saw his workshop and skills
Now my dream is to be like him in the future… but with transistors 
I wonder how hard would be to make an almost-hand-made transistor..
Posted at 10:20 pm on Jan 8th, 2008 by DioXide
@33 (dioxide)
It would consist of a rusty razor blade and a pencil to make a contact diode you could then make this into a contact transistor relatively easily.
Posted at 10:37 pm on Jan 8th, 2008 by Ali Raheem
atrain; my guess the wire used in cutting the larger class tube was nichrome as used in heating elements. Once apon a time there was a kit sold to cut wine and or other bottles to make craft projects. Basically you score the glass, the application of heat creates stress in the glass where it’s scored and it breaks.
M4CGYV3R; here stateside the old “Lejay maual” had instructions on building a spot welder, a reprint of the manual can bu purchasesd from Lindsay books http://www.lindsaybks.com/bks/lejay/index.html, by chance the illustration at the top left is the spot welder. Most of the projects in the lejay manual are quite dated, but can be upgraded to modern times.
The man must be France’s Dave Gingery.
Posted at 2:20 am on Jan 9th, 2008 by static
I think it’s especially cool that he’s even injection molding the little blue bases himself too!
Posted at 3:57 am on Jan 9th, 2008 by bob
He’s probably a retired engineer..
Posted at 12:42 pm on Jan 9th, 2008 by TJhooker
Instructables website (Instructables.com) has a home brew Arc welder made with two microwave oven transformers - he home brewed the secondary transformer windings with wire laying around.
Seems things may be more simple than we think.
I mention this because of the Idea of creating the necessary tools to cut glass and spotweld. High amps low volts -
I would also love to try to make a Homebrew spotwelder
Posted at 2:59 pm on Jan 9th, 2008 by JoeDaGeek
then, this is the realization of a 2300 mhz station and after of a 10 ghz equipment whose descriptions appear in radio-ref. these both realizations are crowned (with success) in the field by “france-england premieres” in 1968 and 1969. a superb “cross-band” 2.3-10 ghz qso over a distance of 40 km (24.85 miles) is still in memory of the sacred good times of the signatories!
lover and respectful of the old and venerable components, he revives reception tubes of 20s in making emitting it 3 watts on the band 80 m in telegraphy. qso across europe will be realized … see chapter qrp transmitter.
his reverence for the sir arthur collins’s equipment, lead him to restore a number of collins radios, and especially the 618-t.
and then, is it to participate in its own way to the centennial of the invention of the triode by lee de forest in 1906, he launch on the manufacture of the mythical tm developed by the general ferrié in 1915. making a lamp, it’s not so easy, but to getting things complicated with difficulty, f2fo will make everything he needs for this project, and especially various pumps, and a molecular one, to get vacuum allowing employment in emission of the made tubes.
a dozen lamps will thus see the light of day …
to check the measurements, a qso will be realized on january 1, 2005 on 80m in cw between montrouge, 92 and camaret, 29. the tubes are robust and will comme on contacts …
the original purpose, which was to cross the atlantic, was reched by f6bwo who has realize numerous qso on 4 continents.
the work
the work — amply illustrated — is composed of the following chapters:
tubes: history of vacuum tubes, from their emergence in 1906 until the advent of the transistor in 1960
qrp transmitter: realization of a transmitter using lamps from before 1925
triodes: making of a tm triode and necessary tools (pumps, oven …).
photos: some photos of making steps
mr mignet (pdf: 58 pages - 2 mb): original document describing the making of the “3-electrode vacuum tubes” by a pioneer in the twenties
additions of 6 october 2005 (not reproduced in pdf format)
review after one year of made triodes use (published in megahertz magazine #281 - august 2006)
the printable versions of the first four chapters in pdf format are available below:
the tubes (part 1) 72 pages - 68 mb
the tubes (part 2) 49 pages - 61 mb
qrp transmitter 41 pages - 5 mb
triodes (part 1) 36 pages - 31 mb
triodes (part 2) 25 pages - 15 mb
triodes (photos) 6 pages - 24 mb
if you want to know more, continue to scroll these pages. the text, photos and video are of the author f2fo.
the video
the mp4 video file is available below:
making of a triode tube 17 minutes - 125 mb
presentation: f9oe
transcript: f9hs
paillard dot claude at free dot fr
december 31, 2007
Posted at 11:36 am on Jan 11th, 2008 by fr_fr translator
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Very relaxing video to watch, strangely.
Posted at 11:25 pm on Jan 7th, 2008 by Syl