In addition to the iconic bulb, there are two glass elements inside the 300B which are either cut, stretched, formed, flared, or sealed in large quantities by Western Electric’s tube staff. We process them on location rather than by a third-party because of their high-level importance to the tube’s overall quality. The glass machinery, four beasts from the electromechanical era, is possibly the most challenging to operate at the factory. Glass is temperamental by nature, so the mixtures of hydrogen, oxygen, and other gases are carefully and continually adjusted at each jet burner until optimized. Towards the end of the full stem assembly’s dizzying orbit, a single burner synchronizes with an air jet to create a blowhole at the base (you can watch this step at the 1:30 mark in the video). The same hole is later used to complete the high vacuum exhaust process. This is just one example of the timing and precision these machines must maintain at all times.
“The glass components, like many others, are produced in large batch quantities and placed in our warehouse. As we move from glass to the next production milestone, we’ll keep you updated.
The Rossville Works is growing with anticipation every day! We expect to schedule initial 300B deliveries in the next sixty days. Thank you to our loyal pre-orderers for your continued support.”