Workspace

I don't have a workbench. Every great hobbyist has one. I've taken over a table in our spare room, which my wife has designed as the creativity room, or craft room. There's a sewing machine, bins with markers and glue sticks, rubber stamps, wrapping paper, etc. Everything I'll need to make a tube amplifier.

Most of my phase 1 tools and components have already arrived. They came in multiple packages. I just love getting packages in the mail! I have only ordered some of the less expensive parts. That way if I get in over my head and need to give up, I won't have that much invested. As Homer Simpson once said, "If something's too difficult, it's not worth doing."

 

My workspace so far includes:

• A table with a cat on it
• A piece of foam board to protect the table from all the soldering marks I expect to make
• This computer to blog my efforts
• Coaster to hold each session's designated drink (an Old-Fashioned tonight, in honor of my good friend Ben, because it's his favorite drink)
• Some cardboard boxes with components and tools in them

Here are my starting tools:

• Weller 40 watt soldering iron (I had an old 25 watt Radio Shack one, but I run with the medium sized dogs now)
• A power strip to easily turn it on and off
• Diagonal cutters
• Small needle-nose pliers
• A few small screwdrivers
• Some sort of poking thing that came with the soldering iron, used to poke things
• Solder (I have lead-free, but I'm waiting on some nice 63/37 solder to arrive, so I probably won't use this)
• Desoldering wick, in case I mess up or need to remove some solder

And the components I'm starting with:

• Tubelab SSE board
• All of the various size resistors for the board
• The tube sockets (3 octal sockets and one mini noval socket)
• Most of the capacitors (I haven't ordered the coupling capacitors because these are more expensive and I'll probably put them on last)

So far, I'm in for less than $100 including the tools. Things will get pricier when I get to the transformers, tubes, enclosure and switches, etc.