Just got my Crack kit, tubes look used?

[Doc B.]

Regarding sanding off the coat - if it's a recent spray job like this and hasn't fully polymerized I would be inclined to take it off with acetone rather than sanding. OK, I admit that I would probably just walk over the the panel stack, grab a fresh panel and start over. But you guys don't have that luxury. Use latex gloves (latex resists acetone, other glove materials like nitrile and poly don't), work outdoors with lots of ventilation and the other usual safety warnings.

Also, baking for 20 minutes at about 200 degrees will set Hammerite up pretty well. Don't go higher or longer as it may get brittle and tend to crack.

[jivex5k]

It had dried for 24 hours. I just used a hand sander and 60 grit, it took a couple pads but it got the job done. Good to know for next time though, I'm completely new to woodworking and painting. I used Rustoleum Universal Hammered Spray instead of Hammerite, seems like I can bake it just the same from some research.

I got some antique looking jewelry box feet today, they look really nice with the chestnut finish.
I made sure they lifted the box as high as the rubber feet for ventilation, they lift it slightly higher.

[jivex5k]

Got her finished today. I passed resistance checks, then blew the fuse. After going back over the steps I found the issue, had a rectifier in 22L instead of 21L, fixed that, cleaned up a couple of spots, new fuse. It passed voltage check perfectly and sounds great.

Thanks for all the help here! I'm sure I'll have more questions, I still need to install the upgrade but I'm going to sit with this for a little while first to get a better feeling of how it sounds.

[Paul Birkeland]

Looks like it turned out nicely.

[mcandmar]

And he has about 20 years of experience milling them for us.

Regarding the tubes, yes they are used. As others have said, there really aren't any new 6080/6AS7s. Even the Russian ones are most likely rebranded old stock. We test each one before we send it out to be sure they meet specification. Cosmetically they may show their age. People used to give me shopping bags and cardboard boxes full of 6080s before we came out with the Crack. Now after so many years of selling thousands of Crack kits they are still readily available one or two at a time, but it is getting more and more difficult for us to acquire the large quantities we need to supply kits. I spend time each day competing (yup probably with you guys) for tubes on ebay. Secret stashes of several hundred new old stock tubes are long gone. We know because we bought 'em and shipped them out in kits.

Have you thought about Russian 6h13c tubes, there seems to be a plentiful supply of them from sellers in eastern Europe.  I often see listings like this https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/184166318354

[jivex5k]

I'm chillin on it for now. It sounds real nice, jamming to some stuff right now and the bass is hittin. After a while I'll upgrade with the speedball but for now whats the rush. haha

[Doc B.]

Have you thought about Russian 6h13c tubes, there seems to be a plentiful supply of them from sellers in eastern Europe.  I often see listings like this https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/184166318354

Yes, those are the Russian tube I mention as probably being old stock. That price is quite high for wholesale quantities. If we have to go to those the kit price will have to go up.