Build log of my Crack-a-two-a

[jjhcunningham]

Just started my newest build.  I have previously built a Quickie and a Quicksand.  These are the first project I ever build or even the first time I ever soldered.  This will be a much bigger project and I am very excited.

I have painted and added a clear coat to the top plate and mounted primary components so far.  Note that I put the tubes in for this picture just to see how it looks.  I also got an 6AS7G tube mainly for the looks  ;D

 

[Paul Birkeland]

You're sure doing things in the right order!  The experience of building the Quickie and the Quicksand will help immensely with this build. 

What kind of paint did you use for the top plate?

 

[Natural Sound]

Looks like you are off to an excellent start.

 

[jjhcunningham]

What kind of paint did you use for the top plate?

I sanded the top with 220 then used a Rose Gold Metallic spray paint.  Did 3 coats of the spray paint.  Then added 3 coats of a Gloss spray on Polyurethane.  Waiting like 12-24 hours between each coat.  I did the same for the transformer cover. 

Going to add a dark stain to the wood like I did with my Quickie.

 

[jjhcunningham]

The small 7 pin tube sockets where a very tight fit.  I broke one trying to get it in.  After replacing that, I sanded the inside of the top plate cutouts for those sockets to allow then to fit.  Even doing that it was still a tight fit, but sanding away the layers of paint and Polyurethane plus some of the metal helped.

 

[jjhcunningham]

Finished!!!

All test went good.  And it sounds amazing!! I will post finished pics after I stain the wood base.  Build the majority of the amp over this weekend.

One thing I noticed during my initial test is the LEDs on the Low Current board did not light.  Is this an issue and what could be the issue?  It sounds great though.