Although it’s possible to buy a soldering setup out of the box, the one that works for you will likely develop over time. Honestly, it may never stop evolving. Sure, you can start with el-cheapo helping hands or a nice hobby vise, but it probably won’t end there. Why? Because no one of these tools will be right for all applications, unless you plan to solder the same thing over and over again. Sometimes it’s just easier to alligator clip a board in place than to slowly manipulate the jaws of a vise, but those helping hands have such a limited range of motion.
Have you been meaning to build a soldering squid out of coolant hose because that stuff just looks so dang cool and bendy? Well, then let Hackaday alum [JeremySCook] show you how it can be done. A few years ago he built a similar squid with a wooden base, but it just isn’t heavy enough, so he redesigned it with a concrete base. He took the opportunity to make some nice tweaks, like zip-tying a small PC fan and 9 V to make an endlessly repositionable ventilation system, and adding a big clip in the back for extra stability while soldering. And of course, threading the solder spool on to one of the hoses is genius.
If you follow [Jeremy] at all, you know he’s been playing around with concrete for a while now, and it’s neat to see him cement his devotion to the stuff by using it in the pursuit of better tools. He’s got the files for the printed mold up on GitHub, and the build video after the break should be all set up by now.
Not custom enough for you? Fire up that printer and make your own ball and socket arms.
Like his comment about “may be not” referring to whether I live in a free country. Humorous.
The project is interesting.
Glad you caught that. Figured I should include everybody, ha.
Put some grease on the plastic parts and it will be much easier to peel them off.
True.
Diesel fuel used to be what was used in the trades. Still works, although there are less smelly (purpose made proprietary) options used far more frequently now. But the price can’t be beat….
Worst cement job done ever
Because it’s concrete, not cement?
Why is that?
“cement his devotion to the stuff” – nice. Thanks for the writeup Kristina!
Hackers, please save old wall warts instead of using disposable batteries on the workbench or on any stationary modes. I simply go into my WallWart Mart and pick my voltage and current. There are plenty at any thrift store, trash can etc. These things are like rabbits. Expensive throwaways to run a fan is not a hack. A good rule is the battery should last a year or more in normal use, remotes are a good example. Everything portable should use lithium now.
What if people are saving their smoke alarm batteries, which may be only 10% used if changed every 6 months as all Fire services constantly nag you to.
That’s all very nice, but I’m using a big slab of titanium for mine