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

I've been trying to do some larger boards using a laser printer and
the Staples Picture Paper applied with a clothes iron. This worked
fine for smaller boards (3"x4") - but didn't work at all when I tried
it with a 8"x10" board. The paper just wasn't sticking - and the
toner didn't transfer.

I concluded the problem was not enough heat - my iron just wasn't
getting the board hot enough when there's that much surface area.

So - I decided to try flipping it around - heat up the board - and
then apply pressure with a cold clothes iron from the front.

My BBQ (propane) seemed like a logical source of heat. Yes, I put the
board directly on the grill. Didn't even use any olive oil.

I "cooked" the board for about 2 minutes on high as I applied pressure
with the clothes iron.

To my shock - it worked really well. The paper didn't stick like it
normally does - but the toner transfered perfectly.

The back of the board didn't show any ill-effects from flame exposure
(I was using a one-sided board - with the FR4 getting exposed to the
flames). FR does indeed stand for fire resistant.

Not sure if anyone else has tried this before - but it certainly seems
to work - and has advantages over a clothes iron at least for larger
boards.