Your favorite DIY trick

If you get up early to work on audio gear, then go to your day job, your mind will be spent from the early morning "session" and you won't be 100% at work. Trading one potential problem for another, right?

Negative, I don't do that. Never happens. That's why i specifically said I do this repair as a Hobbyist. That means since I don't do it every day, I'm have to *think* about what I'm doing - it requires a mental fortitude that isn't always there. I wouldn't get up early, repair\recap for 8 hours and then goto work? Is that really what you are saying?
 
I'd say never work with anything dangerous as Electricity or so when you are tired or worried with other things. You need to be at 100% (or near 90%) of your attention. It doesn't matter the hour of the day.

Another thing I see, is that I have some moments/days of "inspiration" , to face different problems. So sometimes I put a unit apart and sometimes I pick it from the shelf and solve a problem in one hour. I can't "force" my brain to solve a problem. It's like it's working in the background and the solution comes to the surface in that moment.
 
Negative, I don't do that. Never happens. That's why i specifically said I do this repair as a Hobbyist. That means since I don't do it every day, I'm have to *think* about what I'm doing - it requires a mental fortitude that isn't always there. I wouldn't get up early, repair\recap for 8 hours and then goto work? Is that really what you are saying?
It seemed to me that you said that if you go to work, do your chores, THEN recap....you can't recap very well because your mental capacity has diminished some from being tired. But it occured to me that it likely goes both ways. If you get up, eat breakfast, recap, go to work.....your mental capacity will be diminished while at work from recapping in the morning....right?
 
It seemed to me that you said that if you go to work, do your chores, THEN recap....you can't recap very well because your mental capacity has diminished some from being tired. But it occured to me that it likely goes both ways. If you get up, eat breakfast, recap, go to work.....your mental capacity will be diminished while at work from recapping in the morning....right?

Absolutely, I agree with the premise.
To be a mirror filp, I'd have to get up at about 10 pm. Work 8.5 hours and head to work. Start work at 7 AM. Dingin' right I'm not gonna be a ball of fire, LOL.
 
Here is another one I totally forgot about: how fun is it to strip, join, and solder those super-thin leads to the bulbs in an old receiver? Not fun at all says I! The gauge is too small for the smallest notch on my wire strippers and I end up doing bad things to get the insulation off, things that involve my teeth and shredded wire. I got a pack of those clear plastic buttons for phone connections at Home Depot, along with the special needle nose pliers that trap and squish the button's halves together. I am not describing these things well, but I believe they were created for quick, permanent, weather-tight splices on low voltage communications wires. You stick the two ends of the wires you want to join into the little button (no stripping needed at all), hold them there while you squeeze the top and bottom halves of the button with the pliers, and a mini-guillotine thingy presses down, along with a tiny blob of silicone, and you're all done. No soldering iron, no stripping, no teeny tiny heat shrink tubing, no dangerous heat near the damned dial string (yep, I've ruined one or two while soldering). Is it perfect? No. Is is what a professional restorer/tech would do? I'm gonna say no again. Is it good enough for me and my equipment? Oh, hell yeah. If anyone is actually interested in this, I can post some pictures. I doubt any professionals would do this, but it is good enough for any gear I'm keeping for myself.
Yes, pictures please.
 
Another AK member suggested this one: If you're having a tough time figuring whose solder joints are whose on a crowded trace side of a pcb, stand the receiver up on its side (trafo side! the weight will hold it there like a weeble) and shine a bright light through the component side. I point a sharpened pencil tip at the cap I want to take out and wiggle it around while looking at the trace side. You can then mark the trace side with a sharpie so you know where to unsolder.
 
Never wearing shorts while soldering.. Yes I've done that... also dipping my solder tip before and after each joint. Never ever scratch yourself anywhere while holding an Iron. Herb ox Bouillion plastic container makes a good handy solder dispenser solder roll fits inside and just drill a hole.
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Never wearing shorts while soldering.. Yes I've done that... also dipping my solder tip before and after each joint. Never ever scratch yourself anywhere while holding an Iron. Herb ox Bouillion plastic container makes a good handy solder dispenser solder roll fits inside and just drill a hole.
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Where were you when I bought my spool holder? What a great, simple idea (haven't had bouillon in like, 25 years!). Soldered without a shirt one time and yep, somehow flicked a blob onto my stomach. I think the more hours you log with an iron, the greater the likelihood of man-to-hot-solder contact. The last time it happened, I darted to the sink and immediately ran cold water on my fingers for as long as I could stand it--maybe 60 seconds--no burn and no residual pain, but you gotta get the cold water on it immediately!
 
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