[Arran]

Ron;
  What I meant by putting back to original would be putting a 6A8G or a 6A8 or a 6A8GT, not the original wafer type socket, those were so so at the best of times, the octal ones used by Electrohome in the late 1940s were horrible. The large wafer sockets Philco used in some of their Transitone sets were almost as bad, they sometimes crack from the stress. If I were switching it back to using a 6A8 it would get a molded Bakelite, Micanol, Micalex, or a ceramic socket put in there, depending on what sizes and types would fit the existing holes. 
Regards
Arran