Variacs and possible alternatives

[danrulz98]

I was just thinking about this last night, variacs seem to be really expensive.
Just thought I'd compile my thoughts, maybe helpful for someone.

So, where would be a good place to find a cheap one.

I found one on ebay that I might just get, but for the time being is there anything I might have around the house that would work?

Well, there's the dim bulb tester which kinda does the same thing. You would just need varying wattages of light bulbs, possibly some big resistors mounted in light bulb sockets.
I almost want to make something like this and include a dimmer switch for greater control.

Well, why not just use a straight dimmer switch?
I guess the simple answer to this is it just isn't the same. It uses a variable resistor instead of an autotransformer. It also wouldn't be able to handle a lot of amperage.
But, I really don't know on that one.

The other idea I thought up, is why not find where the plate voltage from a tube tester goes, and tap into that? On my tube tester at least, it goes from 0 to 100 volts with some fairly accurate indicators along the way.
Well, tube testers seem to be more expensive than variacs and I really don't want to fry it. I'd imagine they're not meant to take a whole lot of amperage on the plate voltage circuits. With the way my tube tester specifically is made, I don't think its designed to take much amperage in any situation.
The control for the plate voltage also seems to be a dimmer switch and not an autotransformer.

So, I'm not sure. I'm gonna watch that one and see what comes of it.

What would you guys recommend and what do you use?