This morning the power transformer for the 6L6 SE-UL arrived from Edcor. And even more importantly, I’ve got the spalted alder converted to dimensional boards. Now I just need to select what goes where and I can begin milling the chassis.
Here’s the transformer from Edcor. It’s an XPWR178-120. It has that characteristic Edcor new transformer smell. And it took only 14 days from order to delivery.
I took careful measurements from the transformer and verified the layout dimensions on the top plate. All holes are in the correct places. This means I can start milling aluminum.
This afternoon I spent a couple of hours converting the very rough spalted alder slabs into 3/4" (19mm) thick boards with planed surfaces and straight edges. The interesting thing about working with this type of rough lumber is that you never really know what you’ll find before milling. There are hints in what you can see, but the final surfaces remain hidden. Going into such a situation you really have to make the decision that you’re just going to work with whatever the wood decides to reveal.
Here are the boards after ripping to four inch widths and planing to a nice uniform thickness. These are the sides I consider to have the best grain spalting.
Each board has its own character and visual interest. Here are the reverse sides to those shown above.
I have already decided to use the board second from the bottom for the front of the chassis. But I still haven’t selected which side. It has incredible movement and visual interest. I believe I can get both sides from the board on the bottom. If I can’t work around a couple of checks to get both sides from that blank, I can get a side from the small board on the top. In that case the sides won’t match but that doesn’t bother me too much. The board second from the top will definitely be the back of the chassis. I have also already decided that this chassis will get several coats of oil finish to really bring out the grain and spalting.
So there it is. I now have all the parts and materials in hand for the amplifier, I just need to put it together.
As always, questions and comments are welcome.