Double-posted to rec.radio.amateur.homebrew and r.r.a.boatanchors

Tubes in their original boxes are easy to store; just line them up on
little shelves which have enough "lip" to keep them from falling off.
But what about tubes which are NOT in individual boxes? I currently
have boxes and boxes (shoe-box size boxes) of loose tubes (mostly 7-
and 9-pin and octal bases; plus a few bigger ones, such as 807/1625,
1619, etc.) Has anyone found a really-good way to store loose tubes?

I've considered making some flat shelves (with enough "lip" ...) and
just laying the tubes down horizontally side by side. I've also drilled
some tube-base-diameter holes in a piece of 2x2 (actually 1.5x1.5) so
they'll stand on end; looks nice and would be easy to mount as shelves,
but will probably cost a fortune in spade drill bits!

Any suggestions?

--
--Myron A. Calhoun.
Five boxes preserve our freedoms: soap, ballot, witness, jury, and cartridge
NRA Life Member & Certified Instructor for Rifle, Pistol, & Home Firearm Safety
Also Certified Instructor for the Kansas Concealed-Carry Handgun (CCH) license

How about some 1/2 or 3/4 inch pink insulation "styrofoam" board? Cut
it to fit on top of a shelf. Maybe drill a hole for the tube's plastic
center indexing post (if it has one) and let the actual pins poke into
the styrofoam to hold the tube to it...



wrote:
Double-posted to rec.radio.amateur.homebrew and r.r.a.boatanchors

Tubes in their original boxes are easy to store; just line them up on
little shelves which have enough "lip" to keep them from falling off.
But what about tubes which are NOT in individual boxes? I currently
have boxes and boxes (shoe-box size boxes) of loose tubes (mostly 7-
and 9-pin and octal bases; plus a few bigger ones, such as 807/1625,
1619, etc.) Has anyone found a really-good way to store loose tubes?

I've considered making some flat shelves (with enough "lip" ...) and
just laying the tubes down horizontally side by side. I've also drilled
some tube-base-diameter holes in a piece of 2x2 (actually 1.5x1.5) so
they'll stand on end; looks nice and would be easy to mount as shelves,
but will probably cost a fortune in spade drill bits!

Any suggestions?


--
Scott
http://corbenflyer.tripod.com/
Gotta Fly or Gonna Die
Building RV-4 (Super Slow Build Version)

In article , wrote:

Double-posted to rec.radio.amateur.homebrew and r.r.a.boatanchors

Tubes in their original boxes are easy to store; just line them up on
little shelves which have enough "lip" to keep them from falling off.
But what about tubes which are NOT in individual boxes? I currently
have boxes and boxes (shoe-box size boxes) of loose tubes (mostly 7-
and 9-pin and octal bases; plus a few bigger ones, such as 807/1625,
1619, etc.) Has anyone found a really-good way to store loose tubes?

I've considered making some flat shelves (with enough "lip" ...) and
just laying the tubes down horizontally side by side. I've also drilled
some tube-base-diameter holes in a piece of 2x2 (actually 1.5x1.5) so
they'll stand on end; looks nice and would be easy to mount as shelves,
but will probably cost a fortune in spade drill bits!

Any suggestions?

Egg cartons? Cut a tube side hole in the top. In my location, they are
now using plastic ones rather than the old pressed paper ones.

Al

In article , wrote:

Tubes in their original boxes are easy to store; just line them up on
little shelves which have enough "lip" to keep them from falling off.
But what about tubes which are NOT in individual boxes? I currently
have boxes and boxes (shoe-box size boxes) of loose tubes (mostly 7-
and 9-pin and octal bases; plus a few bigger ones, such as 807/1625,
1619, etc.) Has anyone found a really-good way to store loose tubes?

Buy replacement boxes! Antique Electronics Supply stocks them, so do a
lot of hamfest tube dealers. They aren't expensive.
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

wrote:
Double-posted to rec.radio.amateur.homebrew and r.r.a.boatanchors

Tubes in their original boxes are easy to store; just line them up on
little shelves which have enough "lip" to keep them from falling off.
But what about tubes which are NOT in individual boxes? I currently
have boxes and boxes (shoe-box size boxes) of loose tubes (mostly 7-
and 9-pin and octal bases; plus a few bigger ones, such as 807/1625,
1619, etc.) Has anyone found a really-good way to store loose tubes?

I've considered making some flat shelves (with enough "lip" ...) and
just laying the tubes down horizontally side by side. I've also drilled
some tube-base-diameter holes in a piece of 2x2 (actually 1.5x1.5) so
they'll stand on end; looks nice and would be easy to mount as shelves,
but will probably cost a fortune in spade drill bits!

Any suggestions?

I'll add that either Antique or Angela Instruments have boxes galore.
Also, Antique and other have a egg-crate type dividers especially for
various tube sizes. I just bought several hundred boxes from Angela
with the Westinghouse logo. They're cheap if you can live with the
logo!!!! hi!! de Jeep/K3HVG

wrote:
Double-posted to rec.radio.amateur.homebrew and r.r.a.boatanchors

Tubes in their original boxes are easy to store; just line them up on
little shelves which have enough "lip" to keep them from falling off.
But what about tubes which are NOT in individual boxes? I currently
have boxes and boxes (shoe-box size boxes) of loose tubes (mostly 7-
and 9-pin and octal bases; plus a few bigger ones, such as 807/1625,
1619, etc.) Has anyone found a really-good way to store loose tubes?

I've considered making some flat shelves (with enough "lip" ...) and
just laying the tubes down horizontally side by side. I've also drilled
some tube-base-diameter holes in a piece of 2x2 (actually 1.5x1.5) so
they'll stand on end; looks nice and would be easy to mount as shelves,
but will probably cost a fortune in spade drill bits!

Any suggestions?


Toilet roll and kitchen roll cardboard formers?


Charlie.

--
M0WYM
www.radiowymsey.org

I'll add that either Antique or Angela Instruments have boxes galore.
Also, Antique and other have a egg-crate type dividers especially for
various tube sizes.

I have bought a few of the big flat egg-crate boxes from AES, and they work
fine.

If you have small glass miniature tubes, I found a cheapo solution by
accident last winter. The local hardware store sells replacement C-9
Christmas bulbs both in small 25-bulb egg-crate boxes (some of which I
bought to replace the previous year's burned-out outdoor lights) and loose
in bulk bins.

I found that the leftover bulb boxes were perfect for storing loose
miniature tubes. The mini tubes fit right in. Metal octal tubes fit OK if
you store them upside down, so the projecting base clears the divider.

I suspect that this store receives all of those bulbs in the same 25-bulb
boxes and then empties some into the bins for people who only want to buy a
few. Which means they probably crush a few hundred of those nifty little
boxes in the months leading up to Christmas.

Costs nothing to ask. If you volunteer to stop by on the nights when they
stock the bins, and carry away all that pesky cardboard, you might come home
with a bunch of free storage boxes, and even save a piece of a tree!

Phil Nelson
Phil's Old Radios
http://antiqueradio.org/index.html

On Aug 6, 12:10 am, wrote:
Double-posted to rec.radio.amateur.homebrew and r.r.a.boatanchors

Tubes in their original boxes are easy to store; just line them up on
little shelves which have enough "lip" to keep them from falling off.
But what about tubes which are NOT in individual boxes? I currently
have boxes and boxes (shoe-box size boxes) of loose tubes (mostly 7-
and 9-pin and octal bases; plus a few bigger ones, such as 807/1625,
1619, etc.) Has anyone found a really-good way to store loose tubes?

I've considered making some flat shelves (with enough "lip" ...) and
just laying the tubes down horizontally side by side. I've also drilled
some tube-base-diameter holes in a piece of 2x2 (actually 1.5x1.5) so
they'll stand on end; looks nice and would be easy to mount as shelves,
but will probably cost a fortune in spade drill bits!

Any suggestions?

If these are random used/unknown tubes of no particular value, the
economical solution is to toss them in shoeboxes or larger boxes and
not do anything to protect them. It's questional economics to keep
them lying around for another 20 or 30 or 40 or 50 more years!

If these are known good tubes with some value above zero, cardboard
boxes for all the common tube sizes (in particular the sizes you
mention) are available from AES, Angela, etc.

If you are a distributor with thousands and thousands of tubes coming
in from the far east or Russia, eggcrate-divider packing is popular.

Tim.

wrote in message ...
Double-posted to rec.radio.amateur.homebrew and r.r.a.boatanchors

Tubes in their original boxes are easy to store; just line them up on
little shelves which have enough "lip" to keep them from falling off.
But what about tubes which are NOT in individual boxes? I currently
have boxes and boxes (shoe-box size boxes) of loose tubes (mostly 7-
and 9-pin and octal bases; plus a few bigger ones, such as 807/1625,
1619, etc.) Has anyone found a really-good way to store loose tubes?

I've considered making some flat shelves (with enough "lip" ...) and
just laying the tubes down horizontally side by side. I've also drilled
some tube-base-diameter holes in a piece of 2x2 (actually 1.5x1.5) so
they'll stand on end; looks nice and would be easy to mount as shelves,
but will probably cost a fortune in spade drill bits!

Any suggestions?
-Carry Handgun (CCH) license

I used to use cigar boxes. I told the guys at the local drug store to save
them for me.
I would sort the tubes and if I had enough of one kind I would dedicate a
whole box to it and sometimes I would make dividers.
I know hey have stuff down at he Walmart better than this now..


Jimmie

"Tim Shoppa" wrote in message
ups.com...
On Aug 6, 12:10 am, wrote:
Double-posted to rec.radio.amateur.homebrew and r.r.a.boatanchors

Tubes in their original boxes are easy to store; just line them up on
little shelves which have enough "lip" to keep them from falling off.
But what about tubes which are NOT in individual boxes? I currently
have boxes and boxes (shoe-box size boxes) of loose tubes (mostly 7-
and 9-pin and octal bases; plus a few bigger ones, such as 807/1625,
1619, etc.) Has anyone found a really-good way to store loose tubes?

I've considered making some flat shelves (with enough "lip" ...) and
just laying the tubes down horizontally side by side. I've also drilled
some tube-base-diameter holes in a piece of 2x2 (actually 1.5x1.5) so
they'll stand on end; looks nice and would be easy to mount as shelves,
but will probably cost a fortune in spade drill bits!

Any suggestions?

If these are random used/unknown tubes of no particular value, the
economical solution is to toss them in shoeboxes or larger boxes and
not do anything to protect them. It's questional economics to keep
them lying around for another 20 or 30 or 40 or 50 more years!

If these are known good tubes with some value above zero, cardboard
boxes for all the common tube sizes (in particular the sizes you
mention) are available from AES, Angela, etc.

If you are a distributor with thousands and thousands of tubes coming
in from the far east or Russia, eggcrate-divider packing is popular.

Tim.


If you know what you have you are more likely to use it.

Jimmie