I got bus wire in the mail and I put a run on a board. I am trying to solder 30 guage wire to it but I can't figure out how to do it with just my two arms. Does anyone have a nice trick to do this?

Thank you

 

PS - The bus wire is conductive so when I try to solder a wire to it, the other wires I've already soldered can come undone! I need to put dozens of wires on a bus so I'm not sure what I can do about this...

 

You have three options: one, make a mechanical connection for each 30 AWG wire to the bus such as wrapping the smaller wire around the bus wire; two, hold the wires in place with a clamp; three, use a small aluminum clip-on heat sink to isolate the completed joints while working from one end to the other.

 

You have three options: one, make a mechanical connection for each 30 AWG wire to the bus such as wrapping the smaller wire around the bus wire; two, hold the wires in place with a clamp; three, use a small aluminum clip on heat sink to isolate the completed joints while working from one end to the other.

As a novice ham 40 years ago, I was taught that solder is for electrically connecting things that are already mechanically connected. I know that's old school, but I still lean that way.

 

I'm in favor of both the old-school method of making a sound mechanical connection prior to soldering, and also using a heat sink. I find surgical hemostats to be very handy in this application.

 

+1 on hemostats.

I hate the curved versions.

The best can be got from your dentist, and don't forget to get a dental pick from him! The REAL dental picks make the look-alikes look like toys. Perfect for scratching/feeling between pads for shorts.

About $20 ea. from dentist if you ask him nicely, that's the price he pays.

 

Got it all sorted out, thank you folks. As for the medical equipment, I won't be using those. If I'm ever in a terrible accident the last thing I want to think about while looking down at my hastily reconstructed body on an ER table is soldering, and that's what I'll think about if I start using that stuff.

 

Got it all sorted out, thank you folks. As for the medical equipment, I won't be using those. If I'm ever in a terrible accident the last thing I want to think about while looking down at my hastily reconstructed body on an ER table is soldering, and that's what I'll think about if I start using that stuff.

You are gonna think of it anyway now. Dentist or ER. The imagery will just come back to your mind and you'll be wondering how that seed got planted. Especially after they give you the pain meds. You'll be asking for all sorts of stuff that could be useful when building circuits.

 

In our zeal to build or repair electronics, we borrow, adapt and modify all kinds of other tools. Some of the odder ones that I've used include a nylon pie spatula blade used to disassemble the credit card slot on a point-of-sale terminal, a crochet hook used to maneuver wires on a densely packed breadboard and wooden tongue depressors used as soldering fixtures.

 

Hemostats are arguably one of the most handy tools that you can have when you are soldering something.

Besides, if I'm on a table in an operating room, I would MUCH rather be thinking about soldering up a circuit than what old "Doc Sawbones" is doing to me.