DIYstompboxes.com

Just more curious that anything else...
I usually clip after I solder.

put in hole, bend, solder, clip.

I put in the hole, bend, put more parts in the board and bend the legs. Then after I return the leg to the "unbending" position, solder and clip.

most of the components i use come from old vcrs, computers, radios.. so i don't need to clip them.. but when i have to buy some.. i usually clip it after i've soldered.  :)

Definitely after.

Alex

Well,being the kind of guy who clipped  his strings on the wrong side of the nut once on a sundayafternoon i definately clip them afterwards.
Ed

I clip before I solder... When I learned to solder, I was going to a school with very strict teachers... all the work we did there had to be mil-spec.  The habit started then and just continued on...

The reason for it is that if you clip after you solder, you allow bare lead to show which can cause oxidization.  If you clip before you solder, the solder flows over the clipped component lead and, if properly cleaned, protects it very well.  The second reason we did this was so that the ends of all leads could stick out the exact same length from the PCB, which in our case was the width of a 20 gauge wire.  Exactly.

How did I survive??  :shock:

Sometimes I 'thread' [into perf]...cut, bend [U shape on the end], pull [into adjacent OA hole with] now I have the socketpin and the wire pinned together in the perfhole...thin tip iron gets right beside it, soder takes good...beautiful...sometimes leaving enough lead for 'atop the board' connection, that [usually only resistors or bare wires make their connections atop my boards] component or wire definitely gets clipped and hooked over the board mounted lead.
 Other than that I clip 'post soldering and also after double checking to see if I don't need another connection at that node.
 I been using thin enough wire to thread through perfholes, and liking it. It's small enough that I just strip a 5/8ths inch deinsulation on the end, twist then clip the end [this makes a 'neat' end] then I can stick that through from the bottom of the board into a hole with a resistor lead or OA socket in it, this makes Real Easy tight area solder 'jig'...so I can plug the wire in where I want it, solder it, thread the other end through the adjacent perfhole [strength]...[either leaving insulation there, or solder where it touches the pad].
 I use the clippers to sharpen my wire stripper [thumbnail] 8)

I bend, clip, solder.

I looks cleaner that way.

As a newbie, I found it easier to clip, then solder.  I like the idea of covering the clipped wire completely.  Plus I kept reading about this horrible effect of sending huge shockwaves on the order of 7 or 8 on Richter's scale through the board and component as a result of clipping after.  It was enough to scare me never to cut after; never cut after....never cut after....never.....

how do you hold it in place if you clip first...

like...i mange with pulls but its a pain in the butt.  Much easier to clip after.

I personally use the Helping Hand product from Circuit Specialists, which is a cheap (few dollars) device with alligator clips and a magnifier on it.  When the clip is holding the component, and the board is "upside down," the weight of the board is enough to keep the tiny point of the clipped wire exposed through the holes for soldering.

ah i see...i ususally prob the board against somehitng, hold the component in, and end up burning my hand :-D  :lol:

For personal stuff I bend, solder, then clip. For production stuff I have "molds" that hold the parts on/in the board with no need for bending so I can focus on soldering the board quickly.

As for burning my hands I have done that in the past but recently I got into the habit of wearing machine shop type gloves when working. They provide my hands with protection in many different types of situations including:

- burning my with hands with soldering iron
- some isolation to prevent shocks when handling high voltage stuff
- hot or sharp metal shavings on the tops of may hands
- flying solder
- melting skin when handling hot part leads
- lead containation from solder
- general wear and tear from work and accidents

Cheap protection for $20. I highly recommend them.

Andrew

Solder, then clip. Don't always bend first, depends on what the component is. After the board is done, I sand the trace side to remove any points and level the pads. Then I hit it with a flux remover pen.

Speaking of clipping, Radio Shack is carrying a new line of cheap tools that aren't bad. Their $5 clipper works real nice, and gets in close. The head is slightly angled and the jaws are flat on the bottom, so it cuts right up to the blades. The usual mini wire cutters have both sides of the blades beveled, so they can't cut close.
http://www.radioshack.com/product.asp?catalog%5Fname=CTLG&product%5Fid=64-2959

(http://www.radioshack.com/images/ProductCatalog/ProductImage/64/64-2959.jpg)

FWIW, I solder then clip but after reading this thread I might try clipping first (after I go to my local RS and pick up a pair of those cheapie clippers).

As for burning myself with a soldering iron I'm forced to remember my highschool electronics class in which my lab partner thought it would be funny to burn my hand with a soldering iron for no apparent reason whatsoever...I still have faint traces of a scar on my knuckle from that burn YEARS later!

Quote from: STOMPmoleFWIW, I solder then clip but after reading this thread I might try clipping first (after I go to my local RS and pick up a pair of those cheapie clippers).

They work good! I was in RS awhile ago and noticed them. The staff was so excited about their new tool line, that they forgot to try to sell me a cell phone!

Quote from: GreenEyeAs a newbie, I found it easier to clip, then solder.  I like the idea of covering the clipped wire completely.  Plus I kept reading about this horrible effect of sending huge shockwaves on the order of 7 or 8 on Richter's scale through the board and component as a result of clipping after.  It was enough to scare me never to cut after; never cut after....never cut after....never.....

GreenEye's got a point here. In Military grade and hi-end Electronics practice it's a totally no-no to clip after soldering. I don't care, never had any problems, maybe it depends on the cutter you use.
Regards, Bernt.

Surely ther ewould be more 'shock' running up the component leg if it was clipped BEFORE soldering? (think about the physics..).
I hate to think how many leads I've clipped over the years, never seen a problem from that! (I've heard about it, maybe in the very early days of semis when stuff was possibly more fragile?)

as for the shock wave, it's kind of like static electricity in the lightning form or in the tiny shock between your finger and the doorknob. the shockwave might be high on the richter scale, but like the tiny spark, is it enough to hurt something? maybe, if it's on a really tiny component. but i think the components we deal with are robust enough to handle it.

btw, a california earthquake = lightning bolt  :wink:

The shock induced by clipping after soldering is said to put a very large stress on the solder-wire connection, and could possibly cause a crack between the wire and the solder.
But remember: this is not my whim or idea; I just referred to some rules which I always break...
But think about it: in theory it makes sense. I mean,  if you want to send your "Fuzz-face II" to Mars you have to adhere to the rules!
Bernt.

Edit...sometimes I re-apply heat after soldering and clipping...mainly for looks I guess, I just like the smoother look...
 Electricity flows on surfaces of wires, very very little electro activity happens in the core of a wire with current flowing through it...well till it starts surpassing it's current carrying capability...and gets hot too...
 So...having a smooth surface on all the surfaces where current flows is probably not a bad idea, but I think the current will simply flow around the small 'top' of the joint where it's been cut /clipped.

I think that is hogwash. A pair of sharp cutters snips pretty clean and without a big shockwave to your components. If this were true, then every 1N34 Ge diode that I have in my circuits should be dead, that's a very tiny wire in there you know. You're 1000 times more likely to damage a component while soldering it than by clipping the leads off of it. (I don't think any of us going to Mars with our DIY stompboxes...)

Second, most components these days are made with materials that don't corrode very easily, so, whether it is clipped before or after it is soldered I think is largely irrelevent. The component is many times more likely to fail for other reasons that corrosion somehow getting in between the solder and the component's leads.

Of course, all of this is talking about the typical DIY stompbox and most commercial ones for that matter.

Pete:  

You mean you touch the iron to the solder to let it flow more after you've made the connection and initial solder?  I thought using the iron to touch/heat solder was a no-no.  Some of my joints could use that, but I've been afraid to try to "touch them up."

Yes, I don't know why I started doing that sometimes.
 I guess shear' marks bugged me, but I don't remember reading and certainly haven't had any problems with clipped solder/component leads.
 I haven't done any real testing other than everything I build that works works good...
 Yes I leave length, solder, then clip the excess [not close in through the blob of solder, just the longer lead protrusions] then, sometimes I just reheat/retouch the iron to the joint, and it forms a round joint, free of those unsightly shear marks the clippers leave.

I don't like the bend/clip/solder method because it's harder to get components out quickly that way - I tend to change things around a lot.
I prefer solder/clip/resolder. That way you have no exposed leads, leads that  are not bent, and the resoldering is easy because one or more other solder joints hold the component in place while reflowing. I use just a tiny dab of extra solder with flux core when resoldering and keep the initial joint as lean as possible to avoid having too much on there. If you resolder it's always a good idea to use a little fresh solder, although on a joint that new I doubt it really makes a difference.
I also quite like my new end-cutter.

GreenEye, touching up or resoldering a joint can save you from later having to de-bug a cold joint.

Yes, that is the drawback with the bend and solder method. Replacing a component is a lot more difficult when you do it that way, and sometimes the PCB gets damaged, too. 95% of the time, with the use of some desoldering braid, I can remove things without too much problem.

As of late, I do a very slight bend, just enough to keep the component from falling out of the PCB. Then I solder and clip. Seems to work well for me.

First I solder, then clip, then put in the component.

:shock:

RDV

Quote"First I solder, then clip, then put in the component."

Seriously?

Ah...that's what the hammer-drill is for. :shock: