12AX7 Tube mounting solutions??

[trad3mark]

Hello all!

I'm looking at ways to mount a 12AX7 in an enclosure. now, there is plenty of space, it's a big box. I spent the last 2 days going to all sorts of hardware type shops looking for small enough L-plates, but to no avail. Found an interesting solution though. It's called galvostrip. It's about 1cm wide, and about 0.5mm thick. It's easy enough to bend and cut, but still strong enough that it can take knocks and bashes. It's got a load of holes running along it, so my plan is to cut 4 small strips of this, bend them all into L-shapes, and then have them in pairs, back to back, with the tabs of the tube socket then mounted to it. I've a bit to go before i do it, but the guy in the place i got it said he's used this stuff to mount a fillament bulb in a radio before, and it works well.

Now, onto the topic at hand. Can anyone suggest any other ways of mounting/supporting a tube internally? I'd love to see some gut shots if people have them. Most of the ones i've seen by big brands usually have things like the tube socket mounted to something else. So if anyone has some good tips, that would be awesome.

cheers,
tm

[frequencycentral]

[trad3mark]

thats awesome! Did you just drill out a hole in the board for it?

[puretube]

This so-called gentleman and so-called free stompbox-provider offers the following...



he even supplies the original schemoz from his homepage... 

[frequencycentral]

That's not my work above, but that's how I did my second Valvecaster. You can buy that perf with square pads from Maplin. It's made of fibreglass and is much stronger than regular perf. I suspect the regular brown perf would be too weak to do this with. I drew around a 2 pence piece for size, then drilled and filed it. Not a great photo, but here's mine mounted in the enclosure:

[slacker]

Some neat ideas here http://www.diyguitarist.com/DIYStompboxes/ST1590BB.htm and here http://www.diyguitarist.com/DIYStompboxes/PJM-Overdrive.htm

[PRR]

Small tubing 3/4" 20mm long, thin screws through socket ears, tube, chassis.

V-grooved wood blocks. No, a 12AX7 won't burn pine or oak.

That will rattle. Go to the car parts store for "Silicone O-rings". They seal water passages in engines. They will stand much higher heat than any soft-glass tube. Since you don't know "what car", ask to see the assortment: a box of O-rings from pinkie size to face-size. Or hold up a 12AX7 and ask for a neat slip-fit. They will usually sell you 1 or 2 rings at a per-each price which is highly marked-up from bulk-price, but cheaper than buying a case you will never use-up, or buying nearly the same thing in the AudioPhile market where a $1 ring is marked-up to a day's pay. Now your V-blocks will clamp better.

[sundgist]

That's not my work above, but that's how I did my second Valvecaster. You can buy that perf with square pads from Maplin. It's made of fibreglass and is much stronger than regular perf.

I recognise that valvecaster!! Actually, I think it was seeing that one of yours that gave me the idea.
Yes, that perf was bought from Maplins. It is quite solid, not much flex in it at all.

thats awesome! Did you just drill out a hole in the board for it?

Thank you. Drilled it out with a stepped drill bit and bolted on.

[puretube]

In reply to PRR`s reply#6: see the yellow rubberz...

[igerup]

You can also use a sheet of 3 to 5 mm thick aluminium and cut that to size, drill holes for socket/screws and bend the ends so you get "free"  L-brackets.
Or you can get this:

http://svalander.se/shoppen/tubesockets/9-pol-vertikal_500.jpg

[trad3mark]

Well i got somewhere. Now, the pictures ahead are SPECIFICALLY just of the mount, cos it's actually the entry i'll be using for the 666 but shhhhh it's a sekrit! I just thought i'd share it now, cos the project is nowhere near finished, but i'm really really pleased with the results of this solution. Basically, I went down to my local hardware, and showed them my problem. They're a little tiny shop, that's been there for years. i had a look at the smallest L plates he had, but they were all still too bulky. But then he suggested a thing called Galvostrip. It's thin galvanised steel with holes in it. It's about 0.5mm thick and about 10mm wide. It's easy enough to cut. It's also soft enough that you could bend it with a pliers, but strong enough that it's good and rigid. I thought i had enough of these cool old worn screws from a philips turntable, but i was one short, which is why there's a few shiny ones in the photos. It cost me a grand total of €1.29. (30c for the galvostrip, and 99c for the screws)

What i did was cut 4 pieces of the galvostrip. 2 were bent into L shapes, and the other two were just to add a tiny bit more height so the socket isn't in contact with the enclosure. What especially looks great is that it's mounted to the topside of the box, and the screws on the outside look awesome, but you wont get to see that till it's all done. Here's 2 pics of how it all looks now. Or the mount at least... You can even see yourselves how solid looking it is. INDUSTRIAL TO THE MAX!





Now, my next question is, how necessary is a vent?? and if it is needed, how big of a vent will i need?

[amptramp]

The 12AX7 heaters take a total of 1.89 watts (6.3 volts at 0.3 A or 12.6 volts at 0.15 A).  Each plate takes 0.5 mA at 100 volts (50 mW or 100 mW for both) or 1.2 mA at 250 volts (300 mW or 600 mW for both).  The total would be 1.99 watts to 2.49 watts.  This will not hurt the tube at all, but it would be a good idea to keep any semiconductors and film capacitors away from the heat.

Besides, a page 666 project should run hot.  It's the pedal from hell!

[Gordo]

Hello all!

Now, onto the topic at hand. Can anyone suggest any other ways of mounting/supporting a tube internally? I'd love to see some gut shots if people have them. Most of the ones i've seen by big brands usually have things like the tube socket mounted to something else. So if anyone has some good tips, that would be awesome.

cheers,
tm

This looks kind of promising....http://www.torresengineering.com/sumo9pintuso.html

[Paul Marossy]

Here is how I did it:

[FcKw]

Hi,
here is how I did it once... I took some of those distance pieces from the motherboard of an old computer and screwed them to the enclosure, so the tube is floating in the middle of it. Worked perfectly:



Patrick

[tubelectron]

Hi,

I choose the "hard" mounting, with the classical screwed socket on a set square, as my tube stompboxes circuits are point-to-point wired and 250VDC plate voltage powered :





A+!