Homebrew PCBs

In a message dated 5/10/2003 2:50:02 AM Central Standard Time, 
stefan_trethan@... writes:

> these cylinders look like pop rivets,

Those are called "eyelets" and the conventional way to install them is to 
first make certain that your copper traces are shiny-clean, or tin/lead 
plated!, paint the top, at least, with appropriately-thinned "rosin flux" 
sold for the purpose, insert the "rivets", lay the "heads" (generally the 
"top") down on a steel  plate, and push an awl-tip into each, spreading them 
tightly on the bottom surface of the hole.  Then CAREFULLY solder them 
("sweat-solder") on top, wiping off any excess, so there is no "solder-lump" 
on the top, nor FILLING the hole (unless this was a via, only, not for a 
component-lead).  If the eyelets you use are not TOO long (you are not using 
those for 1/8" boards on 1/16" stock, for example), soldering a 
component-lead in them, and the eyelet-bottom to the trace below can be done 
as you would solder any lead "on the solder-side".  

Seems I recall a firm-name "International Eylelets"?  I got a sample-pack of 
VERY TINY gold-plated eylets from them years back, too small for anything but 
leads on a 1/8 W. resistor!  Try a Google search!  The firm KEPRO, which 
handles all kindsa PCB stuff surely has eylets, and/or can tell us where to 
go (yes, laff, if you must!).   I also got a few hundred "we don't stock 
such; just happened to have these!" HUGE ones from a local surplus house 
(1/16" O.D., and the flange-O.D. was like 0.110!) tin-ELECTRO-plated, so 
there wasn't enough tin to "DO anything", and they were years old, so not 
excellently-solderable any longer.  One must use experience, balance need 
with hassle, and tolerate one's own need to vent a gale of fetid wind, from 
time to time!

Jan Rowland, Old Troll


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]