We asked our resident electronics expert, to put together for us a list of the tools he uses and what he uses them for. You’ll find a description for each tool, a list of uses, how important each tool is, and how much and where you can get them. This will be great for those of you just starting out, and want a bit better idea of what you need. This is in no way a definitive list, and we’ll add more as we can. But it is a great start for you.
Needle Nose Pliers
Description
The needlenose plier - probably one of the most important tools you will ever own for BEAM electronics. Otherwise known as “Grabber-nabbers” around the office.
Uses
- Holding items while soldering.
- Pulling items out of breadboards.
- Free-forming.
- Metal bending.
Importance
Like mentioned above this is one tool you won’t want to be without!! They are easy to find at any hardware, auto parts, and/or electronics store.
Cost
Anywhere from a set with 5 pliers and cutters for to dollars for one needlenose. Cheap ones will bend out of shape easily - go ahead and spend more than a few bucks on these.
Wire Cutters, Wire Strippers and Shears
Description
Stop using that hobby knife to cut your wire. All you need is a set of wire cutters. This is one of those things that you just have to have to get the job done. These could be the best pair of nail clippers your will ever buy. Favorites here are a pair “Eram”, although a set of Xcelites do just fine.Wire strippers, these save the teeth from biting off the wire insulation. All you need is one of these guys and they’ll save you lots of time. Xcelites do just fine in this regard.
Got something you have to cut and you don’t want to use the kitchen scissors? Use shears, they can cut everything from perf-board, PCBs, metal, and even your fingers, so use caution. The orange-handled shears we use are the “Wiss M-300″ compound scissors - great for cutting anything from foil to thin sheet metal
Uses
- Cutting wire. ONLY copper wire - not the music-wire stiff stuff. Otherwise you’ll have a bothersome nick in it. We’ve trashed at least a 1/2 dozen pair over the years here.
- Cutting leads off of resistors and capacitors.
- Stripping the insulation off of wire.
- Miscellaneous cutting (Shears only!).
Importance
These range in importance from the wire cutters which are right up there with the pliers & the shears which are one of those things that you may buy when you got a bit of extra money. Strippers we’d recommend as one of the first tools you buy after the cutters.
Cost
- Wire Cutters: Anywhere from to for the blue pair on top! These can be found pretty much anywhere you buy pliers.
- Wire Strippers: From about dollars to about 0. You can find them quite often in the same places that you buy pliers and cutters. The ones shown here are quite often only found at electronics shops.
- Shears: From to as much you want to spend. These are one of those things you can find at most hardware stores.
Solder
Description
Essential for holding things together! No more using epoxy or tape to hold those wires in place (yup, we’ve seen that). Use this for all of your electrical and mechanical needs.
You can get all sorts, from the plumbing types, to acid core, rosin core, and Hydro-X. The best for electronics is Hydro-X which is usually 63% tin (Sn) and 37% lead (Pb). You can commonly find Sn60/Pb40 electronics solder, which works quite well. Never use acid core solders (I.e.: Plumbing!) for any electronics work. Only use Hydro-X and rosin cores. When using Hydro-X it is best to use an old toothbrush to wash off the circuits with water or isopropanol.
Uses
- Electrical connections.
- Mechanical connections.
Importance
One of those things that you need to hold together your projects. It is important and necessary for all of the products that we sell here at Solarbotics. It’s a necessity for being involved in electronics.
Cost
Only (USD) for 12 feet (from Solarbotics!)
Soldering Irons
Description
If you have solder you’ll need one of these. An essential tool that doesn’t even have to cost much. You’ll find one at hardware stores, electronics stores, and many other places. Weller and Unger are two of the more popular brands, although almost any brand will be suitable for beginners.
Uses
- Soldering solder!!
- Shrinking heat shrink insulation.
Importance
This is one of those tools you won’t want to go far without. It makes your projects much more permanent and sturdy. You can use any from a 20W pen iron to the workstations that have digital readouts and variable temperature.
Cost
From for a economic pen iron up to 00 for a very advanced workstation. Most of the ones shown here are about to 0, and are excellent tools. Start inexpensive, and if you find you’re using it quite often, upgrade to a better iron - you’ll appreciate it! Find the basic irons at places like Radio Shack, or your local hardware store. The more advanced ones are found at electronics stores like Active Components and Digikey.
Solder Suckers and Desoldering Braid
Description
If you are soldering and make a mistake or want to make a change, this is what you’ll need! They are essentially syringes with springs on the end. You push them closed and heat up the solder, then release the pin and it sucks all the excess away.
Desoldering braid (or “desoldering wick”), is also an effective method of removing solder. It doesn’t work as well on large quantities of solder, but is great for SMT (Surface Mount) and other small applications.
Both work similar by removing the molten solder from the circuit you’re working on. For the Solder Sucker, re-heat the problem solder with your iron, and just suck it up the tip. For the braid, place it on the solder, heat it up with the soldering iron, and when it’s hot enough, the solder will melt and wick into the braid (hence, the name “desoldering braidâ€Â).
Due to legal concerns with using the name “Solder Wick” previously on this webpage, we recommend anything other than Chemtronics “Solder-Wick®” (note the spelling difference?). Use something suitable from a more reasonable company, like Multicore’s “No-Clean Desoldering Wick”.
Uses
- Removing Solder.
Importance
The more electronics you do the more you’ll want one of these. Not something that you’ll need on your first project. But, if you build many projects, especially your own designs, you’ll want to add these to your toolbox. It’s one of those things that are very handy to have around.
Cost
- These are usually only sold at electronics suppliers.
- Solder Suckers (aka: “SoldaPults”): They range from about to for a manual one. You can also buy workstations that are quite expensive and work similar to your vacuum.
- Desoldering Braid: This costs about for a small 5 foot roll. It depends a lot on how much you buy. You probably won’t need lots.
Helping Hands
Description
Ever needed to hold three things at once? Don’t have a third hand growing out of your chest? Oh well, this’ll have to do instead: A basic Helping Hand will let you hold your PCB or perf board and solder onto it without worrying about pieces falling out. Very useful if you do lots of electronics work.
Uses
- Holding PCBs and perforated board (perf board).
- Holding small components while soldering.
- Free forming circuits.
- Holding pretty much anything!
Importance
If you took one of these away from us while we were working you’d hear quite loudly from us! It is a great tool to have, and is used more as you do electronics and even other hobbies. Great tool, but not a necessity.
Cost
- Anywhere from to . You can find them at Jeweler’s shops, electronics stores, and hobby retailers.
- It is possible to make your own, as demonstrated by the bottom picture, by stapling a piece of heavy copper wire to a board and have two alligator clips on the ends. Very useful, and not very expensive.
Miscellaneous Tools
Description
Just other things you might want to have around.
No handyman would be anywhere without some Jeweler’s screwdrivers. Great for disassembling all those appliances that you are going to steal (ummm, borrow?) components from. We prefer “Wiha” screwdrivers - they are very strong and hold their tip shape very well. Although a few bucks more a piece, they’re much better than the traditional set of 5? you buy at the hardware store for a few dollars. A set of 5 Wihas will run about $20.00 to $30.00.
The hot glue guns is for when you can’t solder something down. Great for temporary connections, like holding solar cells to your robot. Hot Glue guns come in several sizes, but we used the smallest with the HOT sticks, not the COOL sticks. By the way, you can easily break hot glue bonds with isopropanol or any other alcohol-derivative product.
Uses
- Miscellaneous work.
Importance
These are some of the tools that you’ll want, and will need for various projects. There are many, many more in the drawers in our workbench, and
Cost
- Screwdrivers cost vary with the quality of the tool. We usually get ours from Active Components.
- Hot Glue Guns shouldn’t cost more than to at your local hardware store.
Safety Glasses
Description
Good idea to have, especially if you tend to send those resistor leads across the room. Especially useful when working with mills and lathes, and just a good idea to have around.
Uses
- Protect your eyes.
Importance
Safety is always first, so therefore these are very important.
Cost
- Usually around but can be more for specialized and/or fancier types.