An inexpensive and simple demountable X-ray source, having facilities
to excite X-rays either by bombardment of a target by electrons or by
fluorescence, has been developed using a stainless steel chamber havin
g six ports. A cathode assembly from a burnt out sealed off Machlett X
-ray tube was carefully removed and reused in the present set-up after
replacing the filament. A conventional vacuum system consisting of a
rotary and diffusion pumps has been utilized for evacuating the chambe
r. The set-up can be conveniently utilized to carry out X-ray emission
spectroscopic work.