Homebrew PCBs

On Mon, 10 Jan 2005 10:54:16 -0800 (PST), Tom Stathes  
<newphreak_16@...> wrote:

> Ok, so now I have this lovely double sided board that
> I just etched and drilled. (good old TT and dremel
> drill press)
> What is troubling me now is I don't know how to solder
> the top side of the board.
> There is a 10 & 20 pin connector and a 40 pin dip ic
> socket that have traces on the top side of the board
> covered with plastic. I would have to melt into the
> plastic of the sockets and connectors in order to
> solder the top of the board.  Is there a "poor man's"
> way to plate through the hole so i can just solder
> everything on the bottom?
>  Any tips or tricks for double sided boards would be
> welcome.
> Thanks,
> --Tom

You need precision turned IC sockets, noting fancy just slightly better.  
they have ~~2mm of the metal exposed under the plastic above the PCB. then  
you take a narrow tip and 1mm or less solder and it will be easy to  
solder. I usually only solder the top-pins which have tracks attached.
For connectors, if you mean 0.64mm square, 100mil pitch connectors you can  
leave the plastic 1 to 2 mm over the PCB and solder in the same way as the  
sockets. There are connectors with longer pins, that helps.
You should solder all pins top then, for mechanical stability reasons.

ST