Filing solder joints to make them less pointy

[amptramp]

One of the professional circuit board assembly houses I used to deal with had a rotary cutter set to 0.040" above the board surface on the solder side.  Everything above that height got cut off so you could then design to a solder-side board clearance above a chassis.  The cutter was about a 1" diameter Dremel type cutter with a very thin, sharp blade.  This was common for military and avionics work.

[EBK]

Im thinking about ordering the Xuron LXF cutters.
$21.80 (USD) through Amazon.
Or the Xuron 170-IIF for $10.99.

Too many choices. Too little data.

[armdnrdy]

I'm an electrician...and while at my wholesale house...I spied flush cutters made by Klein in the tool rack.

Klein is great quality...and the standard in the electrical trade.

This flush cutter is very reasonably priced.

Search for Klein tools D275-5

[karbomusic]

Xuron Micro-shears - they cost a bomb in the early 80's, I think they are still being made. they came with a cutting bar that would hold the cut lead from flying into the ceiling, and the blades were designed so's one rode over the other, to properly shear the lead.

and don't use them for guitar strings, kids.

Yep, that's the ones I have and mentioned before. Love em.

[Ice-9]

Filing down the solder / lead ends will compromise the solder joint which is not a great idea and will lead to problems. A decent pair of lead cutters will do the job just fine, if you are making electronics on a scale of 8 hours a day then spend the money on a good set as suggested, if you make a pedal once in a while a cheap set will be just as good , spend the other 18 dollars on parts to build another pedal. Just replace the cheap cutters when they are no longer sharp.

[EBK]

Filing down the solder / lead ends will compromise the solder joint which is not a great idea and will lead to problems.

I'm assuming that when you said "will", you meant "with a needlessly high probability". 
At any rate, I'm agreeing now that filing is inferior to using flush cutters. I'll probably take my chances with what I have at this point, unless the circuit doesn't work when I finally power it up, in which case reflowing all of the solder joints will be my first debugging step. But filing down joints is coming out of my collection of useful building techniques after absorbing some generous wisdom.

A decent pair of lead cutters will do the job just fine, if you are making electronics on a scale of 8 hours a day then spend the money on a good set as suggested, if you make a pedal once in a while a cheap set will be just as good , spend the other 18 dollars on parts to build another pedal. Just replace the cheap cutters when they are no longer sharp.

That makes a lot of sense.  I think I'll skip the lead retaining clip upgrade and go with the $8.28 Xuron 170-II Micro-Shear Cutters.  I think I consider that safely on the non-crap end of cheap.

[duck_arse]

yep, 170-II is yer man.

[tubegeek]

A tough, cheap, thin, easily-available insulator is a cut piece from the flat sides of a plastic milk carton. Any recycling bin should yield a few pedals' worth.

[davent]

A tough, cheap, thin, easily-available insulator is a cut piece from the flat sides of a plastic milk carton. Any recycling bin should yield a few pedals' worth.

They sell our milk in paper cartons or plastic bags but recycle bins should have all kinds of suitable materials for the job, no need to buy anything except... standoffs rule.

dave

[deadastronaut]

i just got a pair of flush cutters too...excellent tool...highly recommended.

[bloxstompboxes]

I've always had good luck with these. Good name brand. Same as the soldering tool company, I believe.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00FZPDG1K/ref=ox_huc_add_on_msg_title_1?m=ATVPDKIKX0DER

[EBK]

i just got a pair of flush cutters too...excellent tool...highly recommended.

Together, we bravely march into a modern age defined long ago.

[deadastronaut]

sure do....my old cutters....well they just werent cutting it..literally, they just chewed..

now i have snippy lil buggers..

and nope, they will not be used for any other job. 

[LiLFX]

After the many hours spent in IPC inspection and soldering classes this idea scares me. You could avoid this extra work by fully clinching your lead, cut it with a sharp cutter, and then solder. It eliminates any risk of damaging the solder joint which could have you chasing down issues later.

[Chillums]

Lindstrom are good quality too.  The company is out of Sweden and I'm not sure if they are still around.  If you can find them you won't be disappointed!! 

[stallik]

I remember reading, in these pages I think, the specification for a proper solder job. Length of lead, shape of solder, length of lead protruding etc. Perhaps it was a military spec but I can't remember.

Anyhow, I started trimming my leads before soldering in an attempt to 'do it right'. The cutters I used left just the right amount of wire protruding. I thought that it would make my work a little more reliable but the inverse was the case. The spec didn't take into account a half blind operator and I kept leaving joints unsoldered. At least with leads as long as a palm tree, you can see the ones you're meant to be doing.

So, I reverted to trimming after soldering. Just worn out my second pair of super soft
Maplin specials and like the look of those recommended but would prefer something with a return Spring....

[stallik]

Lindstrom are good quality too.  The company is out of Sweden and I'm not sure if they are still around.  If you can find them you won't be disappointed!! 

Available from Amazon. They do indeed look high quality but come at a price

[EBK]

Got my semi-cheap flush cutters today, and I feel like a new man!
It's almost like that part of any infomercial where they exaggerate a made-up problem and show the simple solution:

"Don't you hate it when you try to open a can of tomato sauce with an ordinary can opener and splash tomato sauce all over your face, walls, and ceiling?

[Images of tomato sauce splashing everywhere]

Or, worse, sever one or more fingers?"

[Show a person suddenly wincing in pain and cut to an image of the tomato sauce on the wall again]

"Well, now there's a better way!"

I apologize to those who cringe at the thought of me cutting without clenching/crimping, but at least it is better than the thought of me cutting with diagonal cutters and complaining about pointy ends, I hope. 

[greaser_au]

One of the professional circuit board assembly houses I used to deal with had a rotary cutter set to 0.040" above the board surface on the solder side.  Everything above that height got cut off so you could then design to a solder-side board clearance above a chassis.  The cutter was about a 1" diameter Dremel type cutter with a very thin, sharp blade.  This was common for military and avionics work.

I've used a rotary cutting machine for trimming leads on PCBs. The one I used had a cutter head with  a 3" plain bevel-edge flat blade running at 20,000 RPM, mounted on an X-Y slide carriage (the board mounted with leads up between rails underneath the cutter).  The problem with these is that as the blade has cut 98% of the lead thickness, the waste flips over before detaching, and the end result is that there is a thin 'flag' of material on the side of the lead, which got worse as the blade blunted.

david

[thermionix]

I think summa y'all are getting a little too serious about techniques here.  It's pedals, not ICBMs.  The components are generally lightweight, and not subjected to high Gs or extreme environmental conditions.  And rather cheap, flimsy Pacific-rim junk to boot.  I've never had a solder joint go faulty because I soldered first and trimmed the lead afterward.  Nor from filing, but that's something I've only done rarely.  Not arguing against quality workmanship, but there's a point of diminishing returns and all that.

They sell our milk in...plastic bags

In some circles, "milkbagger" is a slang term for a Canadian.