Homebrew PCBs

> Use tape, pick the component up

Another great thing about tape is that the part can be nudged into 
alignment after it's held in place due to the nature of tape. The 
method (if any) chosen to hold the component in place while soldering 
really depends a lot on taste and the expectations of the individual. 
If you can get away with misalignment (usually the case with 
resistors and caps) and don't care how things look then the tweezers 
approach works well.

However, if you want pick and place alignment then expect to take 
more time just aligning the component then arrive at some method of 
temporarily fixing the part while soldering. I've tried glue, tape 
etc. but the most efficient way IMO for holding parts on a relatively 
small board is by using a reverse action tweezers like this;

http://rocky.digikey.com/WebLib/Cooper%20Tools/Web%20Photo/XHT412.jpg

The non-component side of the board should be covered to prevent 
minor scratching and the order in which components are soldered 
becomes important. You should be able to figure out the rest.

--- In Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com, Alan King <alan@n...> wrote:
>
>   The tip on Sparkfun is pretty useful.  Use tape, pick the 
component up 
> with one side sticking out and tape it down.  Solder that side then 
take 
> off the tape and do the rest of the pins.
> 
>   Just don't do it on anything super static sensitive, peeling tape 
can 
> generate sizable static voltages, great for all the small resistors 
and 
> caps though..
> 
> Alan
>