I've found hand syringe dispensing to be pretty forgiving. Sometimes I even connect both pads of an 0805 with the paste on accident (momentary loss of dexterity). So far it has always reflow process has always sucked the paste back onto the pad and has never left me with a short.
Also I have been using Cash Olsen's technique (site now defunct) where you only heat the skillet up to 100 or so degC and then pop each component with a heat gun for a few seconds. The down force of the air will mitigate tombstones, but there is there is the danger of blowing the component off the board completely if you get the gun too close.
Good luck!
Royce
--- In Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com, Henry Liu <henryjliu@...> wrote:
>
> >
> > Yes, you can use a syringe. I've done that plenty of times. Not as
> > predictable as a stencil, but it certainly does work.
>
> Does the drop size matter?
> Does it need to flat?
>
> >
> > If you have a photo-UV home-etch setup, you can make stencils with
> > aluminum foil pretty easily.
> >
>
> Any links to the aluminum foil method?
>
> I saw http://www.pololu.com/ will print mylar pretty cheap.
>
> Some people seem to use a cricut machine
> http://www.instructables.com/id/Create_Solder_Paste_Stencils_with_Cricut/
>
> Finally, you can buy a laser cutter on ebay for about $1000-$1500 if
> you're doing this often.
>