Archive of the former Yahoo!Groups mailing list: Homebrew PCBs

Do any of you guys have any trouble with the thick photo paper trying
to bubble or lift from the hot PCB or substrate when you stop ironing?
If so, have you figured out any solutions. I think the aluminum panel
labels I've been messing with are the worst, maybe because the metal
heats so well, and the paper cools off quicker.(?)

I've still got my new roll of Reynolds release, and have noted down
two papers people were using here that I haven't tried, so maybe a
different one won't be as bad. I'm usually using Staples photo paper
and JetPrint for labels sometimes (no residue wanted).

I've also gotten my toner technique down to where I'm not really too
interested in moving to anything else, but I'm always interested in
improvements or tips. I'd really like to get it to the point where I
can do decent transfers to lots of different stuff without too many
test runs.

BTW- I noticed a big difference after JBWelding an eighth inch
aluminum base to my iron. I think the holes and the inconsistency of
the iron's heating element can really screw some stuff up. I was
wondering once about squashing boards into a modded George Foreman
type thing or an electric waffle maker, but anything small enough to
do that with isn't much trouble with the iron.

On the bolted plates- I do a bunch of cabinetry and have to rig up
weird clamp arrangements like that sometimes. I've gotten wary of
hold-downs which overlap the item(s) being clamped. I usually try to
shim the center up a bit thicker, to make sure that pulling down on
the edges doesn't loosen up all the clamp pressure there. That would
be too much of a "crap shoot" solution for PCB work, but with thick
enough clamp material, it would probably stay relatively flat on it's
own anyway.

Happy New Year!

George