Needing some PCB help

You didn't check out the Circuitmaker?

Not yet.

I've been browsing some other forums and on the guitar gear sites they mention that some manufacturers use a PCB but mount the tube sockets on the chassis.

It's well known that guitarists overdrive the output tubes as they like the distortion it gives. And tubes are at times red plating and don't last long. Sockets mounted on the PCB seem to give a greater amount of problems with cracked tracks etc due to the heat.

Although I do not like Belton sockets I might use them as I can just bend the pins 1, 6 & 8 out of the way so they are still in the socket but well away from the PCB (the PCB uses those pins as tie pins which is not a good idea - some older NOS, or the 7189A, uses those pins and then fireworks start....)

Might put a blank piece of 0.5 mm thick fibreglass sheet between the tube socket and the PCB.

Alternatively I buy some under chassis sockets and solder some nuts below the fastening lugs and mount then the PCB further away from the chassis.

I'm leaning towards the latter as I have a panel from a Dyna Quik tube tester that has at least a dozen unused Cinch sockets on them. The panel was for TV tubes and the tester was used infrequently for some audio output tubes. When I did the restore I left the panel out.

I'm waiting for the OPT and mains transformer to be made and arrive and then depending on the choice of chassis I will decide which solution will offer the easiest maintenance.
 
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