Making vacuum tubes - by hand!

Claude Paillard is a French amateur radio operator who makes triodes by hand. The embedded video is Part 1 of 2. Those who enjoy it can view the last steps in Part 2, or view the entire process of the "Fabrication d'une lampe triode" at this site or at Mr. Paillard's website (English version).

If you have the patient to watch one or both of these 10-minute videos (or use the timeline to skip to various segments of them), I think you will be impressed by what a skilled craftsman can do. We are so used to having everything made by automated equipment in a factory that it is startling to see human hands actually fabricating intricate electronic equipment.

The musical background is irrelevant; the video can be enjoyed mute.