Well I pulled a 6AV5 out of a box of tubes that was on my bench, but the other end of the tube box didn't have a cover flap. So the 6AV5 slid head first 90 degrees onto a hardwood floor from a height of 3 feet. It shattered. But it shattered perfectly out of its base, meaning there were no shards sticking out of the octal base, smooth all around!
So if you're thinking of smashing an octal tube this is definitely the way to do it. Years a ago I remember hitting one from the side with a tack hammer. All the shards were still sticking out of the base, and I probably smashed up the insides, and plenty of glass remained, not good. This dropping on its head method removes every bit of glass and the insides unharmed.
So if you're thinking of smashing an octal tube this is definitely the way to do it. Years a ago I remember hitting one from the side with a tack hammer. All the shards were still sticking out of the base, and I probably smashed up the insides, and plenty of glass remained, not good. This dropping on its head method removes every bit of glass and the insides unharmed.
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There is probably an interesting thread here - what was the most expensive mistake you made? I'm sure a few expensive tubes have rolled of a desk to an untimely demise, or seeing that little mushroom cloud of smoke appear over a freshly switched on project, or having the wrong range setting on a meter when checking voltages ....
So far the worst I have done is to put a heavy amplifier on my desk ... and forgetting that had I put my glasses down in the same spot. Looking at the way professionsals work, keeping the clutter away and being tidy is the key element.
So far the worst I have done is to put a heavy amplifier on my desk ... and forgetting that had I put my glasses down in the same spot. Looking at the way professionsals work, keeping the clutter away and being tidy is the key element.
It occurred to me that if you put some butter on the tube pins, then like toast it would always land butter side down, saving the precious glass!
You're probably right. but I think there is some physics working here. Where all the fractures travel in the same direction terminating at the thick glass base. Its like the glass perfectly just "disappeared". I had a 1619 slip out of a box this same way last year too, thats a steel tube, but I'm pretty sure the DH filament is affected with that one.