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Tangentially, this is a beautiful (with no music or narration; text notes only) high quality video of modern artisanal (i.e. all by hand) nixie tube manufacturi

Tangentially, this is a beautiful (with no music or narration; text notes only) high quality video of modern artisanal (i.e. all by hand) nixie tube manufacturing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxL4ElboiuA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxL4ElboiuA

omnicognate 5y ago
"I needed more room so I moved from the garden shed to a local castle." What a guy.
Slartie 5y ago
I love the glass working parts especially. And the creative use of Ikea-sourced "lab equipment".
rx_tx 5y ago
This is the actual manufacturer of the tube from the article! A modern nixie tube manufacture, they have had to (re)learn the processes and tooling again, from old books, and acquiring old tools like that awesome glass lathe. Their youtube channel is great to watch, they explain a lot of their steps. https://www.daliborfarny.com/ https://www.daliborfarny.com/
dylan604 5y ago
This guy deserves every dime he gets from these. What a tremendous amount of effort to make them.
jacquesm 5y ago
Amazing video. I noticed some small imperfections in the process but the end result is very nice and the fact that they are made by hand probably adds rather than detracts from their charm, each tube being a little bit 'off' rather than that they all come out exactly alike. Especially during the spot welding phase there is some burn through and the height of the stems is different for every tube. But likely that doesn't impede their final operation or longevity at all. I really like how clean he works. They must cost a fortune the way they are made. edit: prices are listed, 135 euros each, so 810 euros for the tubes for a six digit clock, the clocks go from 1400 to 2000 euros. It depends on how you look at it: for the utility value of a clock that's pretty high but for the amount of work it is probably on the low side, and by keeping them 'hand made' there is some scarcity effect at work, they'll never be things that everybody has so that's probably a happy medium for him. I wonder how many he's making and whether or not he is tempted to move away from the artisanal process to move into more automated production, larger batches and so on. I also wonder why he fires the getters prior to sealing the exhaust tube, traditionally the getters were ignited after achieving high vacuum and sealing the envelope and removing the remains of the exhaust pipe rather than induction heated prior to sealing (they're the cause of the metal deposit at the top of many vaccuum tubes). The way he does it you risk re-contamination after/during the gas is introduced with any one of the following process steps, the getters really should come last. But it works well enough I guess :) That video is a masterclass in how to produce something like this, quiet, just the work, no distractions at all. And the website looks great as well. This guy really has something to be very proud of.

omnicognate 5y ago

"I needed more room so I moved from the garden shed to a local castle." What a guy.

Slartie 5y ago

I love the glass working parts especially. And the creative use of Ikea-sourced "lab equipment".

rx_tx 5y ago

This is the actual manufacturer of the tube from the article! A modern nixie tube manufacture, they have had to (re)learn the processes and tooling again, from old books, and acquiring old tools like that awesome glass lathe. Their youtube channel is great to watch, they explain a lot of their steps. https://www.daliborfarny.com/ https://www.daliborfarny.com/

dylan604 5y ago

This guy deserves every dime he gets from these. What a tremendous amount of effort to make them.

jacquesm 5y ago

Amazing video. I noticed some small imperfections in the process but the end result is very nice and the fact that they are made by hand probably adds rather than detracts from their charm, each tube being a little bit 'off' rather than that they all come out exactly alike. Especially during the spot welding phase there is some burn through and the height of the stems is different for every tube. But likely that doesn't impede their final operation or longevity at all. I really like how clean he works. They must cost a fortune the way they are made. edit: prices are listed, 135 euros each, so 810 euros for the tubes for a six digit clock, the clocks go from 1400 to 2000 euros. It depends on how you look at it: for the utility value of a clock that's pretty high but for the amount of work it is probably on the low side, and by keeping them 'hand made' there is some scarcity effect at work, they'll never be things that everybody has so that's probably a happy medium for him. I wonder how many he's making and whether or not he is tempted to move away from the artisanal process to move into more automated production, larger batches and so on. I also wonder why he fires the getters prior to sealing the exhaust tube, traditionally the getters were ignited after achieving high vacuum and sealing the envelope and removing the remains of the exhaust pipe rather than induction heated prior to sealing (they're the cause of the metal deposit at the top of many vaccuum tubes). The way he does it you risk re-contamination after/during the gas is introduced with any one of the following process steps, the getters really should come last. But it works well enough I guess :) That video is a masterclass in how to produce something like this, quiet, just the work, no distractions at all. And the website looks great as well. This guy really has something to be very proud of.