Classic Quickie

[stevenally]

    This was my first Bottlehead project.After nearly 40 years of high powered Solid State stereo I have started to put together a tube set-up to listen to vinyl.A Pro-ject turntable with Pro-ject preamp will go through the Quickie to a Dynaco 70 (current rebuild project) to a pair of Magnepan MC-1 speakers. Bass is provided through a Hsu Research sub.
  The Quickie went together without a hitch,thanks to the excellent instructions provided.I did make a few minor changes/upgrades to better fit my system.A second pair of outputs was added.The stock potentiometer was replaced with an Alps unit.Caps were replaced with ClarityCap ESA's.Wiring was all .999 silver with cotton sleeve.Stock knobs replaced with larger aluminum ones.(What can I say, everybody likes a big set of knobs.)
  As far as the cabinet I opted for a clean, one piece look as opposed to a separate faceplate/box.Also a cover was constructed for the batteries.Everything is MDF with multiplecoats of primer/filler,sanded with 1200 paper,and a base coat/clear coat finish.After trying and rejecting several options for a power indicator I settled on a pair of LEDs uplighting the tubes.The blue glow is a nice compliment to the Dynaco's glow.
  The pictures show the tubes provided with the kit, used for testing and initial power up. A nice set of NOS Telefunken tubes will soon be installed for burn in.(Early Christmas present from a friend travelling in Europe.)

 

[mcandmar]

Beautiful job on the enclosure, that must have taken many hours to achieve.

 

[aragorn723]

Nice!  Can you explain how you mounted and wired the LEDs?  That def gives it a retro sort of look!

Dave

 

[Grainger49]

Steven,

WOW ! !  How did you do that?  ???  The combination base top plate I mean.  I get MDF, but how did you assemble it?

A very nice layout.  Of course I, too, am a sucker for big knobs on audio equipment.  That makes any pot seem much smoother.  I'm also a fan of a good Alps pot and blue LEDs.

I don't think I have ever seen a battery cover before.  Nice touch!  And made even classier with the Bottlehead badge on it.

One last question, how do you illuminate the bottoms of the tubes?  Did you have to drill out the tube socket?

 

[aragorn723]

Grainger,

Looks like if you shine a really bright light underneath the tube socket, the tube will light up.  I just tried it with a 6 LED flashlight, but it wasn't very bright (might have to go with a darker blue LED-mine was more white).  Thanks,

Dave

 

[Dr. Toobz]

Very small LED's can literally be wedged in the center hole of the sockets. I tried this with my first Quickie, using orange LED's to simulate tube glow!

 

[JamieMcC]

Nice job adding the battery cover makes it look more complete.

 

[stevenally]

  The sides of the base are 1/2 inch MDF ,mitered and glued. A piece of 1/8 tempered hardboard ( a clipboard ) was glued to the top. All edges were routed with a 3/8 round over bit. About 5 coats of high build primer/filler smoothed it. 1/2 a bottle of Grey Goose , 6 sheets of 1200 sand paper, and 4 hours of labor and it was ready for the base coat, more Grey Goose,more 1200 sand paper,another hour of sanding and finally 2 coats of high gloss clear. The only drawback to using MDF is that it is like a sponge. You can not wet sand it. Wet sanding would have cut the time and materials for sanding quite a bit.
  As far as lighting the tubes, I found that it was necessary to remove the center metal from the socket to get enough light up to the tube.
BE AWARE THAT THE CENTER METAL HOLDS THE SOCKET TOGETHER. I first epoxied the socket together , then drilled out the center post.
LEDs are from a 3volt battery operated Christmas light set from Walmart. $5 and pick your color. LEDs are hot glued to the bottom of the sockets.
  The white finish is a perfect match for the Pro-ject Genie turntable the Quickie lives next to. All in all I am very pleased with the way this turned out. Now if I can get off of my lazy butt and finish the Dynaco ............

 

[Grainger49]

Ok, I think I have it, but does the Grey Goose go into the paint or the painter?

 

[guf]

This is my favorite quickie I've seen. Awesome!

 

[Mike B]

Yup, best quickie award to you.

You deserve it.  That box took a lot more time than the Quickie.

Sweet!