Melting Solder Again

Kit Building - some quick hints

• Clean work surface with good lighting
• Use a small vise or helping hand to hold your work
  
• Good soldering iron and means to keep heater tips clean
  
• Assortment of small hand tools  (see below)
  
• Digital Multimeter (DVM) and knowlegde to use it well
  
• Collect and archive documentation for your projects
• Your brain sober and not too tired. Keep your work sessions short and pace yourself.
  

 

Introduction 

"Once upon a time I had created an entry like this Blog topic on my old Earthlink web pages but it must have gotten lost."

So off to the Wayback machine to search for it.  Did sort of had success in finding it and will try to recreate here.

Build Notes

 1. Get a couple of 'plastic' shoe boxes to store your unfinished projects. It keeps all the parts together and it makes it easier to haul out and get started when you find the time.

2. Clear off a table to get a good work surface and get a cheap desk lamp to provide good lighting and some sort of magnification with a hand or head mounted device.

3. Keep your soldering iron in good shape. Clean your heater tip and re-tin with flesh solder each time before you unplug it. An expensive temperature controlled iron is not required. Have extra tips and different heating elements.

4. Get a good iron holder with a cleaning kit.  Wipe the heater tip often and re-tin. It is hard to concentrate on your kit if you keep chasing the soldering iron from rolling off the table into your lap.

Operation Notes

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About simple hand tools

1. Small vise or "helping hand"
2. Bottle of flux and a dispenser
3. Solder braid
4. Vacuum solder puller
5. Plastic or wooden stick
6.  Small needle-nose pliers
7.  Small diagonal cutters
8.  Roll of masking tape in a dispenser
9.  Isopropyl alcohol in one of those pump bottles
10.  Small stiff brushes including old tooth brushes
11.  Assorted screw and nut drivers.
12.  Assorted cups, pans, glass jars, and small boxes to sort your parts and for storage. A Styrofoam egg carton works for temporary storage of small parts while building.
13.  Hemostats. At least two. Bent nose ones are the best.
14.  A dental pick or two.
15.  Exacto knife, for making tiny labels out of masking tape among other things....
16.  Jumper wires with insulated alligator clips. Several.
17.  A decent magnifying glass.
18.  Assorted sizes of heat shrink tubing.
19.  (to be continued)

Conclusion

 Melt solder and have more fun.

Revised: Saturday, January 08, 2022 at 01:06:07 AM (EST)