Homebrew PCBs

i personally use a razor blade in a pair of vice grips.  not sure how big your board is but for the small boards i have done this comes out excellent (could see doing it w/ up to 4"x6" boards no problem).  i may have to clean the paste off the razor and put it back on the stencil, but that is about it.

bob

--- In Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com, Philip Pemberton <ygroups@...> wrote:
>
> Hi guys,
> 
> I'm having a play with solder paste and a homebrew reflow oven -- 
> basically an Argos "Cookworks Mini Oven", 1640W quad-element (two top, 
> two bottom), onto which I've grafted a Labfacility K-type thermocouple 
> socket, a West Controls/CAL eCAL E6C PID controller, and a Crydom 
> EZ480D18 solid-state relay.
> 
> Problem is, the squeegee I'm using isn't quite working...
> 
> What's happening is that the paste seems to go into the apertures in the 
> stencil for the first inch or so, then all the paste starts making its 
> way up the squeegee, towards the handle. The squeegee is a hard plastic 
> handle, moulded onto a ~2mm thick piece of metal (stainless steel?).
> 
> Questions:
>    1) Am I using the right tool?
>    2) If not, what do I need? I've seen the squeegees Beta Layout 
> (PCB-POOL) are selling for a couple of Euros, but I'm not keen on the 
> idea of spending EUR5 on a squeegee, and EUR20 in postage.
>    3) If I am using the right tool, what am I doing wrong? I left the 
> paste out of the fridge overnight to warm up, so it shouldn't have been 
> excessively cold...
> 
> Does anyone have any suggestions? I've seen the Sparkfun tutorials, and 
> the PCB-POOL video, but haven't found any useful info on debugging the 
> process...
> 
> -- 
> Phil.
> ygroups@...
> http://www.philpem.me.uk/
>