shop and tool tips & tricks

[CodeMonk]

Orange sticks are a great help:


You can make your own cheaply.
I usually get a package of shish kabob skewers at Walmart (About $2 for a package of 100: http://www.walmart.com/search/search-ng.do?povid=P1171-C1110.2784+1137.2772-L0&search_constraint=0&ic=48_0&Find.x=0&Find.y=0&Find=Find&_ta=1&search_query=shish%20kabob%20skewers&_tt=shish%20kabo), and grind, shave or sand the ends into a chisel shape.
Sometimes I cut grooves on the ends.
Very useful for holding down wires, resistors and other components.
Can also be used to pry an IC from a socket.

[peterg]

Box and lid holders for painting. One for an A box and one for a B box. I roll up a piece of masking tape to stick the box and lid on.  Stick in one hand and paint can in the other.

[bluebunny]

. . . saves wear and tear on . . . counter tops.

And keeps the good Mrs D from having to exact "punishment".  I have no workshop, so I'm very careful to leave the kitchen unblemished!

[greaser_au]

I may have posted these before, or not.
Anyway...
Good for when you need to bend a lot of resistors (can be had at Smallbear):
Mine has 1/4 watt on one side and 1/2 watt on the other. Don't recall where I got it from.
I have since drilled a hole in the top tab area so it can be easily hung on a nail or something.

So what is the KRAFT JALAPENO used for?  and FFS why the f*** can't I buy it down under?    

david

[deadastronaut]

. . . saves wear and tear on . . . counter tops.

And keeps the good Mrs D from having to exact "punishment".  I have no workshop, so I'm very careful to leave the kitchen unblemished!

i have an old breadboard (chopping board) i use as an all in one bench,  with added rubber feet, i use it for drilling, wet sanding, etching on , painting, i have holes of different sizes to hold stuff/pots/jacks/switches while i solder them..

i got fed up with my 'helping hands' they won't hold naff all...except tiny stuff....and usually just get in the way too....


before that i used to get in trouble with Mrs Astro a lot..

[vigilante397]

I don't know if it's just me but I can't solder on an empty stomach I decided a few months ago that the ideal soldering food is popsicles. Thus, out of necessity...



And yes, my workplace was/is a mess.

[PRR]

>> very fine tipped needle nosed pliers.

> straight & curved hemostats...

+1!!

I have *always* kept these near:


http://www.ebay.com/sch/Forceps-/19327/i.html

We originally stole these as roach-holders, but they are even more useful for massaging small wires or fetching dropped nuts.

> a magnifying glass ....with lights

YES YES YES ! ! !

While you can't "see electricity", you can SEE most electrical mis-connections. But on smaller electronics, you need help. BRIGHT light and magnifier.

> I can't solder on an empty stomach

I must point out that solder and food is a path to Lead Poisoning. Fairly serious, insidious, and doctors today don't think of Lead when an adult presents with vague symptoms.

> KRAFT JALAPENO .... why the f*** can't I buy it down under? 

AU must have laws banning noxious food-substitutes.

[vigilante397]

> I can't solder on an empty stomach

I must point out that solder and food is a path to Lead Poisoning. Fairly serious, insidious, and doctors today don't think of Lead when an adult presents with vague symptoms. 

I know  My EE teacher also informed me that it can lead to even more serious ailments than food poisoning, but I've been doing it for over 10 years and can't seem to kick the habit  I guess I rationalized that popsicles are okay because I'm not actually eating the part that makes contact with my hands 

[PRR]

> more serious ailments than food poisoning

Not to make light of food poisoning; but you ought to at least read-up on Lead Poisoning.

"...symptoms usually don't appear until dangerous amounts have accumulated."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lead_poisoning
http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/lead-poisoning/basics/symptoms/con-20035487
http://www.med.umich.edu/yourchild/topics/leadpois.htm
http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2013/01/lead-crime-link-gasoline
http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2013/mar/21/lead-poisoning-ignored-scandal/
http://www.patient.co.uk/doctor/Lead-Poisoning

[duck_arse]

"we don't need no stinking KRAFT JALAPENO", we've got vegemite.

a magnet on the end of a telescopic aerial. with a short aerial, you can put the magnet on the hand-holding end, and the tip will be a little magnetic, instead of stick-to-everything magnetic. pick out dropped nuts. and washers. and bolts.

[davent]

^I use a small telescopic magnet to start the nuts on impossible-to-reach-with-fingers/needlenose pliers predicaments i paint myself into.

[soupbone]

I may have posted these before, or not.
Anyway...
Good for when you need to bend a lot of resistors (can be had at Smallbear):
Mine has 1/4 watt on one side and 1/2 watt on the other. Don't recall where I got it from.
I have since drilled a hole in the top tab area so it can be easily hung on a nail or something.



Cap tester and IC inserter:
(Cap tester from Seeed)



Wire holder for tinning wires:
Just a spring a few pieces of wood.

I store a lot of my parts in medicine bottles too!Where did you purchase the cap tester from?Do you have a link you can maybe share?

[tubegeek]

https://www.sparkfun.com/products/9485

[boogietone]

Orange sticks are a great help:


You can make your own cheaply.
I usually get a package of shish kabob skewers at Walmart (About $2 for a package of 100: http://www.walmart.com/search/search-ng.do?povid=P1171-C1110.2784+1137.2772-L0&search_constraint=0&ic=48_0&Find.x=0&Find.y=0&Find=Find&_ta=1&search_query=shish%20kabob%20skewers&_tt=shish%20kabo), and grind, shave or sand the ends into a chisel shape.
Sometimes I cut grooves on the ends.
Very useful for holding down wires, resistors and other components.
Can also be used to pry an IC from a socket.

I will include this in my next Walmart run.

[soupbone]

https://www.sparkfun.com/products/9485

Thanks!

[R.G.]

Orange sticks are a great help:
...
You can make your own cheaply.
I usually get a package of shish kabob skewers at Walmart (About $2 for a package of 100:
...

I will include this in my next Walmart run.

Or just pick up several packages of the chop sticks that are typically left on tables at fast-food Chinese places.

[CodeMonk]

I couldn't do any pedal building without one of these.
They have 2 basic types:
One with a circular bulb that goes all the way around the lens and one that uses a regular bulb.
I prefer the type with the standard bulb, much cheaper and more readily available to replace the bulb.


http://www.staples.com/Magnifying-Lamps/cat_CL142806



I have 2 of these but without the magnifying lens




And IMO, besides thermal wire strippers, these kind are the best:




There are a few things in this picture, but mainly wanted to show the toilet paper rolls.
I cut out some round pieces of cardboard and hot glue them in the bottom of the rolls.
This works great for holding short pieces of wire for off board wiring and such.
I have, on more than one occasion, spent an entire day doing nothing but cutting and tinning wires.




And for the record, I don't eat and solder at the same time.
I ALWAYS wash my hands before eating after handling any solder or doing and work on PCB's etc.
And Jalapeno Cheese is AWESOME.

[Buzz]

Solder outside the box and make a jig.

After drilling out the enclosure the holes can be copied onto a piece of scrap timber and drilled out to the same dimensions.

Good for fiddly jobs. The one in the photo was done this way because I only had PCB mount pots in the value needed.  It gave me plenty of room to use Gator clips.

This was my first pedal jig, and have since made an improvement. I now use timber screws as feet under the jig. This is to allow the stompswitch to sit all the way in to the hole. 19mm thick timber comprises a lot of my scrap.



Bingo, easy fit.

[alanp]

You're hugely more patient than I am if you do that.

[davent]

For the wiring jig i hold it with the drillpress vice wth jaws set so the jig is parallel with the table top. Use 1/16" plywood and need a new one for every pedal as the layouts are always different.