Your favorite DIY trick

birchoak said:
Speak for yourself! I will laugh at that paste's funeral!
Click to expand...
Tell that to the gunk that the previous homeowner used in my kitchen and one bathroom.
Imagine spending 15+ hours to carefully remove about 40 sq feet of paper, only to have to skim-coat the entire wall anyway to fix all the damage.
It was brutal.
 
robgmn said:
Tell that to the gunk that the previous homeowner used in my kitchen and one bathroom.
Imagine spending 15+ hours to carefully remove about 40 sq feet of paper, only to have to skim-coat the entire wall anyway to fix all the damage.
It was brutal.
Click to expand...

I feel your pain as I've destroyed walls trying to get the stuff down.
 
robgmn said:
Tell that to the gunk that the previous homeowner used in my kitchen and one bathroom.
Imagine spending 15+ hours to carefully remove about 40 sq feet of paper, only to have to skim-coat the entire wall anyway to fix all the damage.
It was brutal.
Click to expand...
I hear you. Had that in our dining room. Ended up grinding it off with 25# discs using a Festool rotary sander.
 
birchoak said:
Tips from a master. I like "unless the AC plug is in your pocket, act like the power is on." You really, really don't want to get electrocuted.
Click to expand...
In 1980 I got across + 390 VDC while soldering, making tone stack component adjustments on a guitar amp clone.
Smarting, not being smart. Since then I've put an unwired, orange colored female cord cap on the power cord plug of the piece of equipment that I have my sandwich hooks in. They are available for $4 or $5 at Home Depot stores.
You can still put the plug and safety cap in your pocket.

Having started my electronics career working on radars in the navy, I know exactly what birchoak is saying. Safety is
NO accident.
 
DEAFASABAT said:
In 1980 I got across + 390 VDC while soldering, making tone stack component adjustments on a guitar amp clone.
Smarting, not being smart. Since then I've put an unwired, orange colored female cord cap on the power cord plug of the piece of equipment that I have my sandwich hooks in. They are available for $4 or $5 at Home Depot stores.
You can still put the plug and safety cap in your pocket.

Having started my electronics career working on radars in the navy, I know exactly what birchoak is saying. Safety is
NO accident.
Click to expand...
Another great idea. Seems so obvious: don't get shocked. But we are human, folks, and humans (especially us brave but sometimes stupid men) can be a bit cavalier with safety when working on a problem.
 
This seems obvious but I certainly can forget: that solder you have spooled out and maybe draped over the chassis while you're putting in a new filter cap is conductive, very conductive, so don't forget to reel it back onto the spool and out of the way before powering the unit back on. Also, I try to avoid soldering above the guts of the receiver as bits of solder can drip, unseen, onto places that can cause shorts. If I must, I try to slip a scrap of cardboard or a clean, dry rag under the soldering site to avoid this.

Another thing I started doing is to pour a small amount of acetone out into a clean glass cup. It keeps the main container of acetone from getting contaminated and if I knock it over I've only lost a few ounces. I can also see how dirty it's getting as I clean off a board; sometimes I throw it out if it gets too dirty and add fresh acetone.

This also seems obvious, but I screwed my solder spool holder above my bench. That way I can pull down what I need, it's always there, and it's never in the way on my small bench (it gets crowded fast, and you guys know what I mean!). The dim bulb tester is screwed to the wall at the back of the bench, so that's not in the way, either.
 
View attachment 1480905
birchoak said:
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.
Click to expand...

In telco speak, "Jelly Beans". Available in colors. Some containing "ickypick" some without. Not the best connection possible, nor the worst. The pliers are well worth the cost if you are using significant amounts of these splices and more importantly they ensure the splice is properly made. As long as they are matched to the wire gauge, typically 24 AWG solid copper.
JELLY BEANS:
 

Attachments

  • JELLY BEANS.png
    JELLY BEANS.png
    74.5 KB · Views: 86
Last edited:
DEAFASABAT said:
View attachment 1480905

In telco speak, "Jelly Beans". Available in colors. Some containing "ickypick" some without. Not the best connection possible, nor the worst. The pliers are well worth the cost if you are using significant amounts of these splices and more importantly they ensure the splice is properly made. As long as they are matched to the wire gauge, typically 24 AWG solid copper.
JELLY BEANS:
Click to expand...
Yes, I bought the special pliers when I got the jelly beans. I don't use the jelly beans so much any more but the pliers are top notch and I use them for all kinds of stuff.
 
if you drop something small on the floor shine a flashlight horizontally on the floor. You will see every piece of dust on the floor, it works every time. During basic training our TI's (training Instructor) did this to see if we did a good job. You have to get your eye at floor level while doing this and look across the surface.
 
birchoak said:
BinaryMike's excellent milk jug trick made me remember my last DIY hack. Empty tuna fish cans are low profile, almost impossible to knock over, and just the right size for the fasteners on most mid-power amps and receivers. In a pinch, you can rest a soldering iron on top of one. Free, as long as you can make yourself eat tunafish.
Click to expand...
Pineapple chunk cans are about the same size and tastes a lot better than tuna. If you have cats cat food cans are also about the same size. Can't comment on the taste.
 
merlynski said:
Pineapple chunk cans are about the same size and tastes a lot better than tuna. If you have cats cat food cans are also about the same size. Can't comment on the taste.
Click to expand...

The taste is not good, even the fancy kind. I've tried, um, more than once because I'm really not that bright.
 
These are pretty basic, but I certainly didn't think of them right off the start...
81QRh-M9zfL._SX679_.jpg

71e%2BMv%2BrBKL._SX679_.jpg

41HJ04AwCAL.jpg


All these things have helped me to the point where I have no idea why I didn't get/learn about them sooner.
 
Two nice RCA jacks for $.29 is as cheap as it gets and you might even use the F connector at some point. I've used them in several amp builds and they are good quality. What makes it a diy trick is they were meant for a wall installation so you have to remove them from the plate.:D Parts Express must have thousands of these because I've been buying them for at least 10 years.

https://www.parts-express.com/rca-w...MI_abk6OPf4QIVrfbjBx2eVgLTEAQYBSABEgIqc_D_BwE




189-164_HR_0.jpg
 
Last edited:
Poultrygeist said:
Two nice RCA jacks for $.29 is as cheap as it gets and you might even use the F connector at some point. I've used them in several amp builds and they are good quality. What makes it a diy trick is they were meant for a wall installation so you have to remove them from the plate.:D Parts Express must have thousands of these because I've been buying them for at least 10 years.

https://www.parts-express.com/rca-w...MI_abk6OPf4QIVrfbjBx2eVgLTEAQYBSABEgIqc_D_BwE




189-164_HR_0.jpg
Click to expand...
I may order like 100 of those just to have.
 
What about the little nylon washers that prevent chassis contact?
Only an issue with metal chassis of course.

Recently i needed to remove a 3 pin regulator from a really tightly populated board.
My forceps proved awkward so i looped a wire thru the hole in the reg so i could gently tug while heating the other side and the part came right out intact
A little vac and solder wick and that was that.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom