Underpowered Transformer and Powertrain Question

[Bondoloso]

Hello new friends. I'm building my first 18w (Superlite IIb with the parallel/cascade mod) for my nephew using the main pieces of an old early '50s Voice of Music console's amplifier chassis. It will be tube rectified. I have a few questions for you maestros. BTW, I posted part of this discussion on PP forum's http://www.wattkins.com/node/25259, but it seems more appropriate to continue it here now that I've been able to register on this forum. The link above has the VOM schematic and a description of the original transformers and voltages.

Q1- The secondary of the PT puts out 420 VCT @ 0.065A, which folks have said is underpowered--or won't get me 18 watts anyway. Can I adjust the values of the power resistors in between the nodes or just ahead of the preamp tubes to maximize the PT's delivery? The resistors listed for the Superlite may not be the best for my iron, and I am not savvy enough to calculate new values at this point.

Q2- The parallel/cascade mod has a gain and volume. Do those essentially act as a master volume, or should I still add one if I'm looking to keep my nephew from getting kicked out of the house and me disinvited from every Thanksgiving from here on out?

Q3- Considering the very cramped quarters of the chassis (10 1/2" x 3 1/2"), should I consider moving the power capacitors outside to get them farther away from the preamp? I know the general rule is to keep the node lengths as short as possible, but I will have a bit of room in the head and could put them outside the chassis. I'm using a 32x32uf can and two 22uf axials.

Thanks so much in advance.

[zaphod_phil]

Bondoloso, the fundamental issue is how much power your PT can deliver to the power tubes. No amount of tweaking resistor values in the amp can change that.

[Bondoloso]

Sorry, I think I may not have phrased my question correctly. I've spent my time working on the rest of the circuit and am now getting getting back to the power supply. I get that the transformer will only put out what it puts out. My question is really about getting as much of the available power to the plates of the power tubes as possible.

I think my question really relates to the dropping resistors. If you check out the original schematic for the console amp (see link above), the power section is quite different from the Marshall's, and the voltages don't match. I purchased the basic 2X 32uf and 2X 22uf capacitors for the build, but knowing the PT voltages are not typical for the Superlite IIb, what resistors should I use along with the new caps? It seems like the values from your March 2011 design wouldn't be correct for this PT and would probably drop the voltages even farther below what the tubes want to see.