How to Make a Vacuum Tube by Hand!

The other day a friend jokingly told me "why don't you make your own vacuum tubes"; so I got curious about the manufacturing process and searching the Internet I came across this incredible video by Claude Paillard, a guy who makes his own tubes by hand. It's really astonishing to see the patience, skill, and meticulousness of this fellow: a true master! For vacuum tube enthusiasts, I share this beautiful video below.

Part 1.

Part 2.

Something amazing that you can't appreciate in the video is that the machines he uses in the process were mostly built by him, including the vacuum pump itself.

On a website I found a comment about these videos. The comment is in English and highlights how in today's world we've lost our admiration for these true artisans.

When you hear people say we do not need apprenticeships any more, you need to remember that this is a display of classic craftsmanship; a truly skilled artisan. In today\'s world, we place no value on such skills; assuming that they can be bought. But you need to build a society that respects and encourages such skill. France is such a nation. They still have many rural villages that retain the idea of the individual in their local community, providing everything you need from the local skill base, and respect the idea that an individual can make his mark through his individual skills as an artisan.

You cannot buy these skills at the local Walmart. You have to create a society that creates them within its structure as a society of artisans. But to do that, you first have to value such skills and do everything you can to encourage them, from childhood right through to old age.

The work of many artisans like Paillard today has been devalued by our consumer culture; objects acquire value by how they look and what they cost, but not by what they mean. The article I write is a tribute to Paillard and to all the artisans who, like him, still preserve the curiosity and passion for making things by hand.

Paillard's Blog: http://paillard.claude.free.fr

Interesting chronicle of the video: http://www.antiquewireless.org/otb/bboard0408.htm

P.S. By the way, after watching the video it became very clear to me how naive I was to want to make my own vacuum tubes 🙂