Beginner Tools

[mattwells]

Since this isn't related to the "beginner project" I thought this may be the appropriate forum, apologies if not.  I almost tried to build a couple of pedals years ago, gave up, and am now considering it again (with slightly more realistic expectations I think).

I'm totally new to soldering, electronics, etc.  I have done a bunch of the background reading listed around and am thinking of taking the plunge.  My plan is to pick up the tools and start with a few simple projects just to learn a bit of soldering:  new guitar cables, an ABY box, and a footswitch for my Vox AC15c1.  Nothing seems too terribly complicated about these and they are all things I need right now.  I have found schematics for them that I think I even understand!  From there I was going to pick up the GGG breadboard-fuzz materials and start messing around with that.

In my cart from circuit specialists I have:  60w soldering iron, .6mm lead solder, desoldering pump, extra hand w/ magnifying glass, breadboard w/ jumpers, rosin flux, multimeter.

Anything else I need on the tool side? 

Next order will be parts for the cables from redco and then ABY and footswitch parts and/or the GGG Fuzz breadbord package.

Trying to do all my homework before jumping in.

[bluebunny]

Welcome!  Good idea to do a bit of homework and research before diving in.  Add some side cutters and wire strippers.  You may also find some kind of heat-shunt useful until you're well-practised with your soldering (you're aiming for in-and-out, in less time than it takes me to type this sentence).  You're bound to find things later on that you also find useful.  It may depend on what route you choose to take with various aspects of your building.  But you've made a good start.

Other than tools, read and absorb as much as you can right here, and via the links at the top of the page (GeoFEX, AMZ, etc.).

[mattwells]

I just came back to edit and add that I have strippers and side cutters already (along with a huge assortment of other pliers, snips, etc.) in my tool box.

Reading way too much is where I'm at now (wish the Beavis Audio site wasn't down, I was reading through an article, but now its gone!), but I'm starting to feel like I need to get my hands on things to start experimenting at this point. 

If there isn't anything I'm obviously missing, I'll probably put in the orders soon to get started on cables.

I'll add one of the clip on heat sinks to the order as well.

[GibsonGM]

Small needle-nosed pliers (or 2)!  Couple of Phillips screwdrivers, and one of those sets of tiny screw drivers for inside equipment. 
Electrical tape.   Hookup wire.  Alligator clips.   Sandpaper (oh, 220 grit or so).  Heat shrink tubing to fit hookup wire.  Canned air...pot cleaner...

You can get this stuff little by little, of course, don't rush out til you feel 'ready' to get into more than cables...just enjoy doing whatever you do - go for the 'job well done', and the addiction will follow!! 

Welcome to the forum, matt...

[bluebunny]

wish the Beavis Audio site wasn't down, I was reading through an article, but now its gone!

If Beavis is offline, check out the Wayback Machine.

[PRR]

A dumb 60 Watt soldering iron is far too large for most electronics.

If it is Temperature Controlled, it's fine, though IMHO generous.

My 45W dumb iron is over-kill for most stuff. 30W is OK for about anything you will be doing. Chips and capacitors on perf or PCB, I have done fine work with a 15W Princess. So the 60W temp-control iron will never cruise above half power.

You want needle-nose pliers, and dental-pick or nut-pick or needle in a dowel for fine poking.

You want good space, working position which does not crimp your back or legs, Good Light. As you grow older than 18 (or 36 or 54) you will want magnifiers- strong reading-glasses and hand-lenses.

I think SmallBear has a whole page about start-up tools.

[duck_arse]

get yerself a smallish sheet of perfboard or veroboard. practice soldering by filling all the holes with soldered resistors/resistor leads. and some solder wick, or a desolder pump/sucker.

[GGBB]

A stand for your iron; tip cleaner (preferably brass scrubbie type otherwise sponge); desoldering braid/wick; blu tack; liquid flux with brush applicator; cleaner/acetone.

[mattwells]

get yerself a smallish sheet of perfboard or veroboard. practice soldering by filling all the holes with soldered resistors/resistor leads

Good call.

Other concerns noted, and order will be adjusted or it was already in there.

[Kipper4]

This might sound odd but I now use hot water from the tap on my soldering sponge. Works a treat.

Lots of good suggestions from the guys.
I practiced desoldering on an old board that came out of a dial up router. Hooray for being a hoarder.
Finally gave in and bought a perfboard. My first pedal was a treble booster. Three years later and I've not long stripped it down and recycled the perf.
I could definitely see a difference from first efforts. Not just in soldering skill but in terms of layout too.
We've all come a long ways here thanks to the generous hearts and minds and souls that dwell here.

I'm with the needle nose pliers as a haemostat clan. I just keep an elastic band round the handles. Depending if the band is at the back of the handles or the axis determines the grip.
Cables is a great way to get going.
I hope you enjoy your stay.

[monksanto]

I just came back to edit and add that I have strippers

Photos or it never happened.

[karbomusic]

Small needle-nosed pliers (or 2)!

Tweezers, I love tweezers.

[PRR]

A comment about tool collection.

I got my first tool-box (a fishing box) around 5 decades ago.

I go to yard-sales for tools.

The tool aisle is my second favorite aisle in the store. (I visit the plumbing aisle lady more often; she may be short wide and grumpy, but she KNOWS her fittings.)

So I have a lot of tools.

3 decades back I inherited my father-in-law's garage tool cabinet. Even with a total clean-out 5 years ago, it was beyond over-flow.

I just got a HUGE Milwaukee cabinet. Nearly 4 feet wide, top at eye-level closed and 6'5" open. I'm moving and splitting my collection across the old and new cabinets.

So I'm looking at every tool, hundreds of them, and thinking about tool use. I'm not sure I can capture the thoughts, but I'll try.

I *still* have a couple tools from the fish-box. I have them because they work good.

I have a LOT AND LOT of tools which seemed good at the time but have been used twice or once or never. (Not even mentioning the 13-point socket for an oil-switch on some long-gone car.) (Or the Acme combination wrench/clamp which I dunno what it does.)

I must have 2 dozen normal straight screwdrivers. I actually use about four of them (long, short, slim, fat). I don't mind spares I can leave at a task for a month, but some of these just do not get used.

MANY of my best-loved tools were CHEAP. Yes, cheap screwdrivers break, but I can bust 5 of 6 cheap screwdrivers to find one that was made well, much cheaper than Snap-On's $26 screwdriver (I have one and used it once, and it wasn't the best tool for that job).

And FWIW, the screwdriver I use the MOST, which I have four or five of around the house and garage, which holds up very well and fantastic for the price, is the Bucks Bros 6-in-1. $3 at HomeDepot. They sell so many that now they come with H-D's name on the handle instead of Bucks', but it is the same item.

While I do some more mech-work than most, and a much wider range of problems than just electric-bits, my thinking may be useful to pedal-builders.

The "best" tool is usually not the biggest or highest price. It may be something cheap or self-made, which fits the hand and the job, and leaves money for Parts.

You can't always guess up-front what tool is best for you. Sometimes it does come to 2-dozen screwdrivers, and learning which tool "wants" to be used the most, and which is fall-back for odd jobs, and which ones lay in the drawer un-loved.

When you fumble with a job and tool, think if there could be a better tool. Millions of mechanics have faced similar problems. A car-tool catalog is 300+ pages, and there are similar catalogs of tools for other work.

When you fumble and wish you had another tool, re-think your approach and technique and see if it could be done with the tools on hand a different way.

Self-made tools ARE valid. In one sad period of my life I repaired the old one-piece Macs. These have odd screws in deep holes. Perhaps to keep idiots like me out. Eventually the aftermarket started selling that special tool at a "special" price. After whining and crying, I took a bit, 1.5 feet of copper tube, and drilled a bit of broomstick, bashed them all together with a bit of epoxy. Worked great! Lasted longer than those Macs did.

Hammer (rock on a handle, the first tool) is useful but not the all-purpose tool. Neither are pliers. Yes, I hammer screws and plier nails, but not on "good" work.

[tommycataus]

Just my two cents, following on from PRR's comment about the best tool not necessarily being the most expensive... besides my cheap 25W soldering iron my most used tools are probably the small needle nosed pliers, a pointy bradawl looking object for poking, and also a 50c screwdriver that I filed down to roughly this shape:
_/\_
so that I can push the middle through the holes in the veroboard and twist to make a break in the copper track.

[GibsonGM]

X-acto knife.

[LightSoundGeometry]

my 30 watt weller is awesome, love it so far. 30 watts is hot too..60 is too much

get a component tester - a cheap chinese thingy works fine for part time hobby. I want a 75 dollar atlas one day

I love blu tac to hold stuff in place - a magnifying glass to read parts

invest in a good drill bit

[PRR]

> X-acto knife.

Everybody is different. I've had X-actos around forever, never use them.

[MaxPower]

Anyone mention those helping hands with magnifier? I use them a lot.

[Jdansti]

Maybe I missed it somewhere, but a pair of small curved tip locking hemostats is very useful.

[bluebunny]

Maybe I missed it somewhere, but a pair of small curved tip locking hemostats is very useful.

For when you cut yourself badly with one of Paul's pristine X-actos?