Hack a Day » vice

DIY bench vice

Mike Szczys — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 20:08:08 +0000

A bench vice can be one of the most used tools in your workshop. For those that don’t have a workshop [Matt] built a vice that clamps to a table. He used scrap wood, MDF, threaded rod, washers, nuts, and wing nuts. Cheap, easy to build, and very useful!

[via Toolmonger]

Posted in tool hacks

C64 Twitter client

Eliot — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 23:38:34 +0000

The last of the Commodore 64′s shortcomings has been addressed; it finally has a Twitter client. [Johan Van den Brande] wrote BREADBOX64 for use on the C64/128. It’s running on top of the open source Contiki operating system. The hardware is an MMC Replay cartridge with an ethernet adapter. If you don’t have the hardware available, you can run it inside an emulator like VICE. Embedded below is a C128D running the program.

(P.S. all of our posts are on @hackadaydotcom)

[via Retro Thing]

Posted in misc hacks, pcs hacks

Reusing PCB components

Juan Aguilar — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 01:00:00 +0000

If you’re anything like us, you have a closet full of old electronics, some broken, some obsolete. You can stop using those as paperweights with the help of this guide that shows you how to recycle and reuse PCB components.

The first step of the process is finding electronics you don’t mind taking apart. Next place the PCB you’ll be stripping in a vice, with the components facing away from you and the solder side facing towards you. Grip the component you want with a pair of pliers, and apply a hot soldering iron to the solder that is holding the component. The solder will melt and allow you to safely and cleanly remove the component.

This process can be applied to virtually any component on an PCB, and the author of the guide, [Patented], got a lot of components this way, including resistors, capacitors, switches, audio jacks, and much more. Don’t forget to toss any free-floating metal or plastic parts in the recycle bin when you’re done. You can feel good about the fact that nothing was wasted, you found parts for your next project, and you cleared out some space.