[Amps] Building an Amp 101

[k7fm]

Hello Jerry:

Decades ago, when I was as poor as a church mouse, I wanted to do some 
build some wooden cabinets.  But all I had was a circular saw and could 
not cut a board straight.  I knew that I needed a table saw, but did not 
have enough money (Craigslist had not been invented yet).  I saw a base 
unit in Popular Mechanics for $19.95 and bought it.  However, it needed 
a wooden stand and platform.  So, that was the problem.  I needed the 
table saw to build the table for the base.  And, it had to be exact, but 
all I had was the circular saw. So, I was forced to measure very 
precisely and use aids to make sure my cuts were straight.  With care, 
the table was built and came out perfectly.  Just before I plugged it in 
to try it out, it dawned on me that I had proved to myself that I did 
not need the table saw. All I needed was to take care in my work.

Since then, I have acquired a nice woodworking shop, a number of metal 
lathes and milling machines and am just learning to use my CNC mill.

I am now building an airplane with a couple friends.  We needed to cut 
holes in the skin for controls to come through.  Some were arcs.  I 
designed a portable milling machine to cut surface holes for the 
straight holes and it works great.  But, it did not work for the arcs.  
But, using a drill and file, we made the arc perfectly, and it looks as 
good as my milled hole.

With basic tools and a strategy, you can do excellent work and have 
great pride in construction.

But, please do not use Dymo tape for the labels.  New and inexpensive 
labelers are marvelous.

73,  Colin  K7FM