Front panel wired

After one last validation of the schematic to the layout and the layout to what I've actually done so far, everything seems to be in order. I labeled the leads hanging off the circuit board and laid the board in where it goes, then sorted out pathways of the wires underneath board to untangle them, minimize crossing, and to make sure there was enough length in each wire before starting to solder the connections. 

(checking board alignment and organizing lead pathways)

The first connections to solder were the grounds running from each ground rail (see star grounding on Aiken's website), and the B+ leads to each filter capacitor for each power supply stage. Once I wired in the first stage filter caps (the big blue things), I tested them to confirm I had the full "unloaded" DC voltage I should have at the top of that circuit - a few weeks/steps ago, I had tested the rectifiers and found that without the rest of the filter circuit, they produced well under 400 volts, so was relieved to confirm that with the filter caps and choke in place, close to the right voltage was present. I also tested the bleeder resistor (you see it nestled between the two caps) and confirmed it drains the circuit of stored high voltage down to a safe level, about a minute after I switch the power off.

(testing the B+ "A" node)

("doghouse" wiring complete)

(power supply and heater circuit points tested to date)

Then I completed all the front panel connections I could. The junctions and wires you see still unconnected also involve wires that connect to the tube sockets or elsewhere, so I'll complete those when I have those wires ready to go. 

(front panel connections soldered)

I'm finding it tricky to get the soldering iron tip, the solder, AND a visual line of sight to all meet at the right spot, and do a good job. Some of my joints are messy, but they all feel solid and I tested them for expected continuity and resistances and all seem good.

Next: secure the board (which has been unfastened so I could peek under it and adjust leads as I went) and connect the leads from board to sockets and back panel...