A lot of you might be wondering, "how the heck do you guys do all this stuff!!!!" Well, it's pretty simple some days, but other days we really go crazy.
The Basics
Lets start out with the basics. Both of us use these tools essentially. Maybe different forms of them, but its the basic concept. Brett here has provided us with a picture of them all NIB!! (new in box for you newbies) I'll list them all off for you.
- Heat Gun
- Soldering Iron
- Soldering Iron w/ Sucker
- Solder
- Picks
- Rosin
- Solder Wick
- Tip Tinner / Cleaner
These are the basic tools we use in modifications. Not always for everything, but most modifications involve soldering. There are many different soldering irons and solder. 60/40 lead/tin solder is pretty common. Figuring out which one works best for you might take some trail and error though. Brett like's to use a big ole 45 watt iron, while I use an 18 watt. He's just compensating…… Naw, really, it is really personal preference. The difference is he can heat up larger components easily while that is not as easy for me to do. I generally do really fine soldering or wire soldering, so the larger caliber is not necessary in my case.
What is this other stuff? Wick, rosin, picks, tinning block? Rosin is usually in the solder, but rosin helps pull the solder to the components. It is useful with components that are giving you trouble, or are not as easily soldered as other things. The wick and the sucker are for cleaning up components for soldering if there is left over solder on the board or part. Do not use solder wick unless you know what you are doing!!! I can not stress this more. Wick will ruin components on boards if not used properly!!!! I don't want emails from you about how you sucked solder out of the layered board your soldering on because you used solder wick. The picks are for .. well picking. They are handy for opening up component holes, or, well whatever you can come up with honestly. I usually use a screw driver, I do not have a pick set, but I have a lot of micro-drivers. I will talk about screw drivers in Part 2.
Pliers and hemostats are great tools as well. I use my hemostats all the time to fish out parts or to hold things together, hold parts in place to solder, I also use them as a heat sync while soldering. That's info for a possible soldering lesson however.
Pictured here is also a pair of helping hands, which assist in soldering by holding parts together or just holding parts for you, wire, wire, more wire, clips, box cutters, Volt/Ohm meter, various adapters and such. Screws. The works, these would be most of the basic tools used by a person doing basic mods, or just repairs. Oh don't forget about tape, that's important stuff too. These are just some basics though, there are many more tools then displayed here.
And no, we are not shooting up while modding out. The syringe is for oil. Using a syringe and needle can help you oil hard to get at parts with just that drop of oil they need, or oil a fan by pushing the needle though the rubber stopper at the oil point to give it a quick squirt. Thankfully I work with animals, so I was easily able to get these for Brett and I to use. I believe that the needle in the picture is an 8 gauge needle. I do not remember, he's been using it for over 2 years.
Stay tuned for Part 2 - Screwdrivers!!!!!
Just gotta know how to handle all that power :-)
That's why I have a v8 and you drive a V6. =)
That's right! and it's two wheel drive to boot!
I have an in line 6 works pretty good.
Of course its a jeep so already its a pretty good vehicle.:)
Wouldn't you include dremel set?
This is about the basics.
Were talkin about basics.
Not the game, basics. were talkin about basics.
QBASIC?