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

----- Original Message -----
From: "Thomas P. Gootee" <tomg@...>
To: <Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Sunday, August 15, 2004 8:17 PM
Subject: [Homebrew_PCBs] Soldering a whole board at once?


>
> ---------------
>
> Everybody,
>
> I am interested in trying to solder whole pcboards at once, with something
like a solder pot. Has anyone here had any experience with that? Has
anyone done it "at home"? Anything to share about it?
>
> I'm thinking of using a rectangular stainless steel or cast iron
kitchen-type dish, on an electric hotplate (or, maybe an electric skillet,
or possibly even a converted deep-fryer) instead of a commercial solder pot,
to keep the cost as low as possible. Any foreseeable problems with that
part of it?

Someone told me recently about how he'd seen boards soldered like this in
China. Holding a board in tongs it was first dipped into liquid flux, then
swept through the molten solder bath, whilst it was turned, to create
something like the wave that is used when doing it with the proper
flow-soldering equipment. You'll probably need to practise a lot to get it
right.

Leon