Brian--Reflecting on what you said, another way to put it is that for the "9" position method, the pitch antenna field gradient has to be steeper than for the "4" method. All very sensible.
My pleasure to post my T-max construction progress; it's amazing how many mistakes (imperfections?) can be concealed by sanding and stainable wood filler! BTW, I was made to feel such an incompetent by my fifth-grade woodshop teacher that I hardly dared to drive a nail until I was well into graduate school--and my landlord, an old finish carpenter, got me past the psychological problem. My woodworking skills are probably about on a par with my musical skills; I often joke that my stuff is immediately recognizable due to the "exquisite old world craftsmanship," but I've built quite a bit of serviceable stuff. I mean to have the same attitude carry over to the theremin. After all, I probably have at least twenty years to learn how to play it, so what's the problem?
RS--My only previous experience with electronics construction before the t-max was some vacuum tube ham radio equipment about 45 years ago. The most memorable part of that was the shock I got when carrying the (improperly grounded) power supply across the shop. It had two of the biggest paper condensers I ever saw, in parallel, 44 microfarads total, and they discharged through my arms--which of course meant the current continued up and through my chest. I just stopped stock still, my mouth fell open, and I dropped the power supply (fortunately I had removed the rectifier tube already). Much the worst shock I ever had--the 900,000 volt one from the Tesla coil wasn't in the same league at all. So temper your envy of the tube theremin builders with consideration of the electrical hazards to which they expose themselves.
