thebes Posted January 13, 2006 Share Posted January 13, 2006 Today class I have a cautionary tale for you about the ill effects of alcohol and electricity. Please observe Mr. Thebes, a hard-working dedicated family man. Shortly after arriving home from work on this particular day, though, something went wrong. It could have been the martini before dinner, or the glass of fine wine to accompany the meal. Perhaps it was the Calvados with the rum cake desert, or the brandy and after dinner cigar. No matter the cause, the genial Mr. Thebes was soon transofrmed into a raging drunk. After some sharp words with The Twins he stumbled to his seat and began working on his latest hobby, restoring an old tube amp. In his uncertain state, though, he threw basic safety cautions to the wind. First alcohol and a hot soldering iron do not mix, ashes from the cigarette are bound to affect the quality of the welds and when flames start coming out of the amp your taking to long to solder the joint. Also, leaving the amp plugged in with the power switch on does not bode well for his immediate future. As you know in yesterday's class we discussed basic electrical and soldering procedures, so let's review with a one question spot quiz. Here it is: When working on our audio equipment always: A: Discharge capacitors B: Unplug equipment before soldering C: Utilize soldering clips to prevent damage to electrical components D: If you see Mr. Thebes working on an amplifier run away and call the fire department E: Avoid turning on suspect equipment just to see if it will blow up F: All of the above For tomorrows class we will be discusssing safe sex. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BiggerIsBetter Posted January 13, 2006 Share Posted January 13, 2006 A: Around 30" Q: The minimum distance your face should be while desoldering wires from a driver lug after drinking. Background: After cutting corners and not using the desoldering wick enough, applying soldering iron and pulling the wire at the same time as the wire was wrapped around the lug. No matter what angle the wire is pulled, the result is always the same, molten solder flying off with the release of the wire and hitting you in the face. If your face is closer than 30" it REALLY hurts and leaves a mark. More than 30" and it cools down enough so by the time it hits you it's just hot enough to P you off. I'm not advocating drastic measures, like not drinking while soldering, just keep you face 30" away [] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacksonbart Posted January 13, 2006 Share Posted January 13, 2006 Classic. Sorry to hear about your tale.[] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edwinr Posted January 13, 2006 Share Posted January 13, 2006 Hey, Marty. You need to lay off either the soldering, or the booze. I reckon the choice is easy... You can always pay some sucker to solder for you. But you certainly wouldn't pay someone to drink for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soundthought Posted January 13, 2006 Share Posted January 13, 2006 LOL Thebes.....that is too funny. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoubleJ Posted January 13, 2006 Share Posted January 13, 2006 Where were the "Twins" during all this? Hopefully they are safe and sound!! JJ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3dzapper Posted January 13, 2006 Share Posted January 13, 2006 The answer is: D !!!!! Rick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tkot Posted January 13, 2006 Share Posted January 13, 2006 thebes.... always good for a hearty laugh!! one thing to remember is that ALL electronic equipment is packaged with some smoke inside. the goal when working on this type of stuff is to NOT let the smoke out, it almost never works correctly with out the prepackaged smoke inside where it belongs!!! one thing that i do when finished with my internal gambleing is to perform a SMOKE test? plug it in , turn it on, and if the smoke stays inside the unit, you're most likely OK lol jay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike stehr Posted January 13, 2006 Share Posted January 13, 2006 Marty is my mentor...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebes Posted January 13, 2006 Author Share Posted January 13, 2006 Never fear my stall (belch) , stallwart freeends, old Thebes iz um smarder den you think. Got my old bud, Mike wid me 'n he needs a sixer in 'em before he can (burp) even look at an amp. Sucker been's downing Mextaxa 'tho and he just (hiccup) passed right out on the floor, right out on the floor, right out on the floor (lurch). "Hey Mickey, put your finger on this big honking cap while I throw the switch. Der ya go buddy you're lookiong much bedder dan you did a minute or so ago, or so ago, or so ago...." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steamer Posted January 13, 2006 Share Posted January 13, 2006 some more tips,sorry no pics: http://www.aikenamps.com/SafetyTips.html Greg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daddy Dee Posted January 13, 2006 Share Posted January 13, 2006 Thank you Martin, for another good laugh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
customsteve01 Posted January 13, 2006 Share Posted January 13, 2006 Greg, I really laughed when I got to the end. Never solder in your underwear (don't ask!). hahah Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkBK Posted January 14, 2006 Share Posted January 14, 2006 Never fear my stall (belch) , stallwart freeends, old Thebes iz um smarder den you think. Got my old bud, Mike wid me 'n he needs a sixer in 'em before he can (burp) even look at an amp. Sucker been's downing Mextaxa 'tho and he just (hiccup) passed right out on the floor, right out on the floor, right out on the floor (lurch). "Hey Mickey, put your finger on this big honking cap while I throw the switch. Der ya go buddy you're lookiong much bedder dan you did a minute or so ago, or so ago, or so ago...." Actually, only problem I see with your methodology is that you failed to do this restoration work while sitting in a full bathtub. The water will prevent your listing from side to side while soldering and offers the fringe benefit of providing you with a religous experience at the same time..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laurenc319 Posted January 14, 2006 Share Posted January 14, 2006 hi, Some other things not to do while drunk 1. propose to someone 2. get married 3. lend someone money 3a. borrow money 4. buy something 5. try and teach the town bully a lesson 6. read something written by Henry Miller 7. eat something you cooked while snockered 8. try and make sense out of this froum feel free to add Larry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebes Posted January 14, 2006 Author Share Posted January 14, 2006 Oooohhhh does my head hurt! don't quite remember what happened last night but all the lamp shades are off the lamps, there's a midget sleeping in my bed and a lady with a beard in my shower. I think the amps done but boy there sure are a lot of leftover parts. Shouldn't hurt anything, I'll just plug it in and give it a whirl. What could possibly go wrong? Can't find Mike and The Twins either. I fuzzily recollect they said something about going clubing. A new one opened up called, believe it or not, The Science Club. If I'm not with the gals when they hit the town they've been known to disappear for days. Not worried, though, Mike's a Tennessee gentleman and I'm sure he'll keep a close eye (the only one still working after my capacitor joke) on them. Need aspirin, need a nap. How the hell do I get that midget out of my bed? My breath reeks of solder. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
st. patrick Posted January 14, 2006 Share Posted January 14, 2006 8. try and make sense out of this froum 9. or try to spell "forum" if you have been drinking breakfast Larry, just kidding with ya! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laurenc319 Posted January 14, 2006 Share Posted January 14, 2006 hic, I tink it was a typo eror Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebes Posted December 7, 2007 Author Share Posted December 7, 2007 A cautionary tale if ever there was one. Yes folks it's the "buy junk off of ebay" time of year but please don't try to get it working on Christmas evening with 3 quarts of eggnog in you. Sadly class there are many Thebes out there. Drunk (for shame) Lecherous ( not necessarily a bad thing) Incoherent (see drunk above) and Incompetent (see definition in Websters Dictionary under "dufus") I will now open up this lecture to questions from audience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nu2toobs Posted December 7, 2007 Share Posted December 7, 2007 Another lesson is do not, I repeat, DO NOT read Thebes' posts while drinking. I just sprayed my libation all over my nice Apple screen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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