DIY PCB plated thru holes?

[Jim Patchell]

    I know of only one person in my whole life who did DIY plated through holes
at home, and made it work.  It takes a lot of equipment, which you can purchase
surplus, I suppose, but I would think twice before attempting to do this.  The
plating process my freind did was basically done in sulferic acid.  The fumes
coming out of the tank were pretty nasty.  If you ever had an "accident", you
could be in for some trouble.  And, disposing of used chemicals could be a
problem.

    I would just send them out.  I don't even etch simple boards myself any
longer.  I just don't like dealing with the chemicals.

    -Jim

Hcabnivek at aol.com wrote:

> Any ideas out there on how to do diy plated through holes?  I'm working on a
> super compact design that is going to require a two sided pcb but I still
> want them to be DIY. I really don't want to have to solder one side and then
> the other side.  Any ideas?  I only need about 8 boards, each of which has
> about 200 holes, so I think it still makes sense for me to do them diy rather
> than go to a board shop.
> Thanks for any help,
> Kevin