Well, there is this : https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=42824.0
LastPilot and I were talking about creating a group with the assemblers on geekhack lol
I'm on break from assembling (well, other than this one Filco cuz they're local) but I'll contribute as best as I can if anyone has questions or wonders how I do ****.
I just talked to ming and he's ordering them. I think he should have more by Friday
I just talked to ming and he's ordering them. I think he should have more by Friday
Well he's the one who confirmed to me today that mine was defective :/ luckily I shouldn't desperately need it any time soon.
It was shipped out today and ordered yesterday. Hmm.
Yes, I have a question. Can a hot air solder station replace a soldering iron, and if not, why not?some joints require too much power delivery. hot air also requires that the air be highly focused to not burn things around the area, since the air is carrying so much thermal energy. so there's a cross-section issue: some joints are physically too large, and there's a total power delivery issue.
Welcome to the official soldering and assembly thread!
Didn't see an active thread for this kinda thing, and I thought that since most of us are interested in custom keyboards, desoldering switches, and what not, it would be good to have a place to consolidate all information.
Generally this hobby has a lot of soldering involved in it, so having a thread like this with easily accessible information would encourage more people to try their hand at doing their own soldering and assembly.
I encourage questions, but discourage uninformed questions, so please do a bit of research first before posting questions, so we can keep the thread clean and informative. :thumb:
For me, I have at least 10 keyboard projects on the horizon, and figured this would be a good opportunity to invest in a proper setup and learn to solder well.
I have a Hakko FX-888D, with an assortment of chisel tips, tip cleaner, and a spool of Kester Rosin Core 63/37 .020 solder. Very excited about it, and will share my thoughts once I actually get a chance to use it.
Share your soldering setup, assembly tools, and methods with the community! ^-^
Interesting thread. I'm going to be assembling a KMAC LE with a Gon PCB/plate soon, but I've never worked on one before, anyone have any tips or things I should watch out for during my build?
I've never worked with PCB mounted stabilizers, just plate mount, so hopefully I don't mess something up and have to de-solder the entire board. :))
Share your soldering setup, assembly tools, and methods with the community!
Assembly-related question: I am soldering some switches and LEDs on a QF TK, going from brown to gateron blues on the alphas, keeping the browns on the mods.
Anyway, I am putting the LEDs back, and can't find a comfortable way to do it. If I just put the LEDs in the switches and turn the board around to start soldering, some fall all the way out, and the rest at least some of the way out.
How do I keep them in their place when they're upside down?
I bend mine. I recommend using tape. Its a ***** and a half to desolder bent LEDs.Assembly-related question: I am soldering some switches and LEDs on a QF TK, going from brown to gateron blues on the alphas, keeping the browns on the mods.
Anyway, I am putting the LEDs back, and can't find a comfortable way to do it. If I just put the LEDs in the switches and turn the board around to start soldering, some fall all the way out, and the rest at least some of the way out.
How do I keep them in their place when they're upside down?
Use some tape. :thumb:
Nice thread Karura! I hope you don't mind that I moved it to the making stuff together! sub-forum. ;)
Anyway, I use a Hakko 936 I picked up second hand at a local electronics thrift shop in '99. If and when it dies, I'll get an 888D. I primarily use the conical 900M-T-I tip and 0.6mm 60/40 solder. I solder in the front patio where one side is open to the garden. I clean residue with 70% isopropyl alcohol and some brushes.
Other stuff in my bin of soldering stuff: a pair of 3M comfort grip gloves, tweezers and forceps in various sizes, solder wick, desoldering pumps (big and small), soldering flux, helping hands with a magnifying glass, and wooden chopsticks.
== == == == == ==Interesting thread. I'm going to be assembling a KMAC LE with a Gon PCB/plate soon, but I've never worked on one before, anyone have any tips or things I should watch out for during my build?
I've never worked with PCB mounted stabilizers, just plate mount, so hopefully I don't mess something up and have to de-solder the entire board. :))
1. Install the PCB-mount stabilizers before you start soldering. Depending on the plate design, you may not be able to attach the PCB-mount stabilizers after the plate has been installed and switches soldered in.
2. If you will be installing through-hole components, do not solder them on the side of the PCB that you mount the stabilizers and switches. Solder them on the PCB side that faces the keyboard case. You may have fitment issues with stabilizers and / or switches...see the pic below.
(Attachment Link)
3. If it's your first time, take it easy. If you don't trust your soldering skills, develop them by practicing on old electronics (preferably non-working hehe).
Share your soldering setup, assembly tools, and methods with the community! ^-^
Assembly-related question: I am soldering some switches and LEDs on a QF TK, going from brown to gateron blues on the alphas, keeping the browns on the mods.
Anyway, I am putting the LEDs back, and can't find a comfortable way to do it. If I just put the LEDs in the switches and turn the board around to start soldering, some fall all the way out, and the rest at least some of the way out.
How do I keep them in their place when they're upside down?
Welcome to the official soldering and assembly thread!
Didn't see an active thread for this kinda thing, and I thought that since most of us are interested in custom keyboards, desoldering switches, and what not, it would be good to have a place to consolidate all information.
Generally this hobby has a lot of soldering involved in it, so having a thread like this with easily accessible information would encourage more people to try their hand at doing their own soldering and assembly.
I encourage questions, but discourage uninformed questions, so please do a bit of research first before posting questions, so we can keep the thread clean and informative. :thumb:
For me, I have at least 10 keyboard projects on the horizon, and figured this would be a good opportunity to invest in a proper setup and learn to solder well.
I have a Hakko FX-888D, with an assortment of chisel tips, tip cleaner, and a spool of Kester Rosin Core 63/37 .020 solder. Very excited about it, and will share my thoughts once I actually get a chance to use it.
Share your soldering setup, assembly tools, and methods with the community! ^-^Show Image(http://i.imgur.com/Wh1oHak.jpg)
Setup:
Edsyn CL1481 w/ PS536 power supply
Edsyn Soldapullt which is currently MIA
Edsyn EA439 brass sponge cleaner thing
Is there any issue with using that fan to draw away fumes from me? This work area is in a garage and I leave the garage door open when I solder but I'm unsure if it'll explode in my face one day.
Also there's a fire extinguisher right behind me just in case my cardboard mat would like to catch fire.
Is it just me or are solder wicks cumbersome to use? I was testing it on a junk pcb and can't get the usage down.
Is it just me or are solder wicks cumbersome to use? I was testing it on a junk pcb and can't get the usage down.
i've always had a lot of trouble with it, i've had much more luck with a pump
Due to confusion I've got seven Pro Micro controllers with no USB port, and an Atmega 32A8U instead of 32A4U. There are some pins on the board instead of the USB port, so I have no idea if these are good for anything. Should I just throw them away?
Is it just me or are solder wicks cumbersome to use? I was testing it on a junk pcb and can't get the usage down.
What's the verdict on those cheap chinese Hakko 936/937 clones? I got a 2-in-1 station with a hot air rework gun for $40. I realize they're cheap for a reason but I'm not exactly putting together a robot here... right?I bought one from hobbyking for $20 i believe, not bad at all, built few boards with it including some smd components and dragging, the stock tip is surprisingly good, it didnt stick at all and it has survived 50+hrs of use
Once, before I had my awesome setup (pictures to come) I needed solder wick, and I used the ground strap from an old CRT, which was surprisingly effective.Is it just me or are solder wicks cumbersome to use? I was testing it on a junk pcb and can't get the usage down.
You need wicks with good rosin in them. Generically speaking, wicks should be bright and shiny, and in use should produce little puddles of flux. If you don't get that, you might have a bad wick. Adding liquid flux, like MG Chemicals 835 will help. That said, wicks are typically more useful for cleaning surface mount pads and excessive solder rather than desoldering through holes.
What do you do with wooden chopsticks, infiniti?
What do you do with wooden chopsticks, infiniti?
Laaaate reply...
I usually use them to poke at the legs of through-hole components when I'm lazy to use tweezers to pull them out of the other side. :p
Try it on something non-important. For example, everyone has an aunt with a cupboard full of broken cellphones, radios and Ford Fiesta's. Get a broken radio or something, throw it on the ground (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAYL5H46QnQ) and then try first desoldering and then resoldering on some resistors or even chips if you can.Haha, thanks for the great tips! I actually planned on removing and putting back a few parts from an old graphics card I have but I'll look around and see what I have.
Bonus: You'll learn more about soldering by simply trying it than you could in any number of forum topics and youtube videos. As I found out when spending two hours removing 10 switches from a keyboard my first time.
Wasnt sure the best place to post this, but i just finished my first ever soldering.
I soldered all the diodes on to my WIP, a HHKB B.Face.
Its very relaxing, you just get into a rhythm and fly right through them. It took me about 45 minutes but it flew right by!
So excited to finish this and then my B.Face!
Wasnt sure the best place to post this, but i just finished my first ever soldering.I have the same questions as Bomble as well :P
I soldered all the diodes on to my WIP, a HHKB B.Face.
Its very relaxing, you just get into a rhythm and fly right through them. It took me about 45 minutes but it flew right by!
So excited to finish this and then my B.Face!
Wasnt sure the best place to post this, but i just finished my first ever soldering.I have the same questions as Bomble as well :P
I soldered all the diodes on to my WIP, a HHKB B.Face.
Its very relaxing, you just get into a rhythm and fly right through them. It took me about 45 minutes but it flew right by!
So excited to finish this and then my B.Face!
Also what size solder do you plan on using on the switches and LEDs?
Ah okay, thanks :) What do you think of the following solder? http://www.radioparts.com.au/product/38411190/29250mcs-60-40-250g-0.355mm-solder-60-tin-40-lead-multicoreWasnt sure the best place to post this, but i just finished my first ever soldering.I have the same questions as Bomble as well :P
I soldered all the diodes on to my WIP, a HHKB B.Face.
Its very relaxing, you just get into a rhythm and fly right through them. It took me about 45 minutes but it flew right by!
So excited to finish this and then my B.Face!
Also what size solder do you plan on using on the switches and LEDs?
I find 0.032" diameter (22 gauge) works well for switches/LEDs/diodes/through-hole keyboard stuff. It's thin enough to give you good control, but not so thin that you need to use heaps of it to do one joint.
I use MG Chemicals 63/37 0.032". I've also used MG Chemicals 60/40 0.032", and that worked great as well.
Ah okay, thanks :) What do you think of the following solder? http://www.radioparts.com.au/product/38411190/29250mcs-60-40-250g-0.355mm-solder-60-tin-40-lead-multicoreWasnt sure the best place to post this, but i just finished my first ever soldering.I have the same questions as Bomble as well :P
I soldered all the diodes on to my WIP, a HHKB B.Face.
Its very relaxing, you just get into a rhythm and fly right through them. It took me about 45 minutes but it flew right by!
So excited to finish this and then my B.Face!
Also what size solder do you plan on using on the switches and LEDs?
I find 0.032" diameter (22 gauge) works well for switches/LEDs/diodes/through-hole keyboard stuff. It's thin enough to give you good control, but not so thin that you need to use heaps of it to do one joint.
I use MG Chemicals 63/37 0.032". I've also used MG Chemicals 60/40 0.032", and that worked great as well.
It uses ersin core which I haven't heard of but I've heard good things about Multicore.
There's a 0.71 alternative as well, which would you personally use? I have a 25W iron that says its temperature range is 390 - 420.
I can find MG Chemicals 63/37 here in Australia which is great. Tried finding Kester 44 but had no luck. The MG Chemicals one is almost twice as much (61 dollars) as the Multicore one I linked above but it has a rosin core instead of ersin core. Which would you use give these prices?
Sorry for all the questions! I'm new to soldering and doing as much research as I can because I only want the best for my keyboard :D
Wasnt sure the best place to post this, but i just finished my first ever soldering.I have the same questions as Bomble as well :P
I soldered all the diodes on to my WIP, a HHKB B.Face.
Its very relaxing, you just get into a rhythm and fly right through them. It took me about 45 minutes but it flew right by!
So excited to finish this and then my B.Face!
Also what size solder do you plan on using on the switches and LEDs?
Wasnt sure the best place to post this, but i just finished my first ever soldering.
I soldered all the diodes on to my WIP, a HHKB B.Face.
Its very relaxing, you just get into a rhythm and fly right through them. It took me about 45 minutes but it flew right by!
So excited to finish this and then my B.Face!
That's really encouraging to hear :)) I haven't soldered before but have considered owning a Cherry MX board again just so I can own a keyboard that I built myself.
Did you practice at all before starting? Or did you just dive right in?
Wasnt sure the best place to post this, but i just finished my first ever soldering.I have the same questions as Bomble as well :P
I soldered all the diodes on to my WIP, a HHKB B.Face.
Its very relaxing, you just get into a rhythm and fly right through them. It took me about 45 minutes but it flew right by!
So excited to finish this and then my B.Face!
Also what size solder do you plan on using on the switches and LEDs?Wasnt sure the best place to post this, but i just finished my first ever soldering.
I soldered all the diodes on to my WIP, a HHKB B.Face.
Its very relaxing, you just get into a rhythm and fly right through them. It took me about 45 minutes but it flew right by!
So excited to finish this and then my B.Face!
That's really encouraging to hear :)) I haven't soldered before but have considered owning a Cherry MX board again just so I can own a keyboard that I built myself.
Did you practice at all before starting? Or did you just dive right in?
Hi guys, I didnt do any practice! Just watched a lot of videos and was pretty confident in how it all worked.
I used 22 gauge 63/27 rosin core solder, the kind that meow a cat said. I think mine was i different brand, but i dont have the packaging any more so im not sure.
I also got all my switches soldered in, and it was easier than the diodes.
My HHKB B.face is complete!