Tools you didn’t know you needed

July 26th, 2007 by wd5gnr

See http://www.evilmadscientist.com/article.php/obscuretools for 5 electronic tools you didn’t know you needed. Truth of it is, except for the IC popper, I could do without these, although your mileage may vary (although I have used real vacuum tweezers and they are good for handling tiny parts — haven’t tried the unpowered kind). The odd tools I use all the time are:

  • Thermal wire strippers — these are amazing. I have a Teledyne Stripall, but they are horribly expensive ($400-600); there are other brands out there too like Hakko. Maybe you can get lucky on E-Bay
  • Vacuum desoldering tools — always cheap on E-bay
  • Jeweler’s loupes - get these cheap at Harbor Freight (around here, they are at the register)
  • Step drill bits - another item that is either ridiculously cheap at Harbor Freight or ridiculously expensive everywhere else
  • Nibbler - One of those metal punches that take out a chunk of metal. Great for making LCD holes and what not (case modders have made these popular again)
Add This! BlogLines del.icio.us Digg Diigo DZone Facebook Google Google Reader Yahoo! MyWeb Netscape Netvouz reddit SlashDot Sphere StumbleUpon Technorati

Leave a Comment

Please note: Comment moderation is enabled and may delay your comment. There is no need to resubmit your comment.