Santa's little solder helpers.

[Beaker]

Here's a thread for anything - power tools, hand tools, home made jigs and fixtures, widgets and do-hickeys - anything that makes life soo much easier when you are making pedals.

I will kick off with hand de-burring tools which are fantastic for de-burring pot, switch and jack socket holes in enclosures. Noga and Shaviv make the best ones.

Here is a nice set that includes countersinks and rotary scraper blades for removing burrs from the inside of your enclosures, which are normally a pain to do - especially on the side walls.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NOGA-NG9200-Machinists-Deburring-Set-/320873677718?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4ab58fc396

[bogey]

Hi Beaker, I agree those are a fantastic tool I have an old Sykes-Pickavant one and use it all the time. But my most used building aid has to be,wait for it.....................Blu-Tac.HAHA

[Synsound]

I second that. The blue tack is great for holding everything in place.
After it was suggested by someone else on this forum, I picked up one of these:
30x-LED-Lighted-Magnifier
It has helped me tremendously.

[Muadzin]

Color me stupid bu what the hell are burrs?

[Beaker]

Burrs are the raised sharp edges around drilled holes, or in fact along the edges of any machined surface. They are often razor sharp, and responsilble for many a trip to hospital for stitches, as they can easily cut down to the bone!

I'm not suggesting that anyone needs to spend that kind of money on a set of de-burring tools - I only put up a picture of a good set in case people did not know what they were, or what they looked like. I have them because I worked in engineering tool rooms for many years.

Cheaper versions are available for only a few pounds/euros/dollars. They won't survive years of heavy industrial use like the Noga or shaviv ones, but for occasional pedal use, they will be fine.

BTW, I thought I was the only one who used Blu Tac! I hold components in place when soldering, fix wires inside enclosures with it, hold my boards to the back of pots with it, and use it to keep 9V batteries in place.

[dbat69]

Synsound wrote

After it was suggested by someone else on this forum, I picked up one of these:
30x-LED-Lighted-Magnifier
It has helped me tremendously.

I think that might have been me - I got so tired of struggling to see the spider sh*t on some of those components - even with my reading glasses on  - that I had to find something to help, and this little gem has been the dogs danglies

I would totally recommend these to anyone who struggles to read the writing on components, they are so cheap and you can get a 40x one too

[dexxyy]

I use these not just to ID components but also to solder cos my peepers are getting really fucked  I also use a step drill for all my drilling needs therefore have no need for deburring tools  these 2 along with my solder station are must haves for me

[Muadzin]

Beaker wrote

Burrs are the raised sharp edges around drilled holes, or in fact along the edges of any machined surface. They are often razor sharp, and responsilble for many a trip to hospital for stitches, as they can easily cut down to the bone!

I'm not suggesting that anyone needs to spend that kind of money on a set of de-burring tools - I only put up a picture of a good set in case people did not know what they were, or what they looked like. I have them because I worked in engineering tool rooms for many years.

Thanks! Now I know. Oddly enough, even though I do experience some burring around my drill holes I never had any problems with them. In all the years I've been drilling not a single injury, scratch or anything. I can hardly feel them, and I use cheap ass drills from the local home depot. Probably why this problem didn't register on me.