A Vacuum Diode for Make: Magazine

Automated excerpt

The Ol’ Flare and Pinch The hardest part of making a vacuum tube is fabricating the base, where the pins pass-through from atmosphere to the high-vacuum side. With the proper combination of metal and glass, a pinch seal can be extremely robust. Because Tungsten is brittle, I first spot-weld short Tungsten pins onto longer pieces of Nickle wire. I usually make a preliminary pinch, to capture the pins in place before heating the glass more thoroughly to make the final pinch. G(B)lowing Filament With the tube complete, I archived my photos and sent them off to Make: Magazine.

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