what do you use to remove your tubes?


Happy Holidays! ! ! I want to pull my preamp and signal tubes (12AU7's and 12AX7's) to see what brand they are. They only stick out of my Rogue Cronus Magnum about 3/4 of an inch. Do I have to use cotton gloves / towel or could I use latex gloves? I'm thinking I could get a better grip with latex gloves. Once I know what they are, I would like to post a thread on what other tubes people are using in their Cronus Magnums and what effects they are having on the sound.
donjr
Can't think of any reason you can't use latex gloves, as long as they are not hot when you do so. Just be patient when you remove tubes, this is one case where being gentle will save you some heartache.
Fingers.
I've always believed the myth came from other types of bulbs that get very hot. In a previous job I dealt with 1000w bulbs and the word there was don't touch. We always had latex gloves on (clean room) and we were told to put a clean pair on before we touched those bulbs. But those bulbs got many times hotter than a power output tube.
Do you put gloves on to change a light bulb? Ever had one crack?
Quartz Halogen, and some Metal Halide bulbs, will immediately go bad, if any kind of residue is left on their envelope(they get that hot). Personally, I just don't want anything leaving, or collecting, funk on the glass or bases of my tubes, or anyone else's that I service. I'm not worried about them going bad.
I used 1200 thread count Egyptian cotton sheets washed in perfume free detergent to remove tubes. Lower count risks oils to be left on the tubes.
They only stick out of my Rogue Cronus Magnum about 3/4 of an inch.
Donjr 12-18-09

Donjr,
3/4 of an inch?! Getting them out may be the easy part.
Reinstalling the tubes, trying to line up the tube pins with the tube socket may be a challenge.....