I don't think drilling out a THP hole is a very good idea. What I use is a wooden cocktail stick ( bought in lots of 1000 for a quid from your local Pound Shop ) or a wooden toothpick that I have previously preformed by gently pushing it through an empty THP hole of the correct size. I then heat the hole to be cleared until the solder melts and then push the stick through the molten solder. Its easy, non destructive and very quick to do.
I also use this wooden tool to prevent ingress of solder to ajacent holes when soldering a component located close to other THP holes. hope this helps someone. atb Mike W, G8NXD qthr On 16 Apr 2005 at 9:11, Stephen wrote: > Gentlefolks, > > I did not explain myself very well in the previous post. What I did > was to > use a very small drill, with a diameter smaller that that of the hole, > and twist it gently between my fingers. This was sufficient to remove > enough of the solder to allow me to insert the component leads without > damaging the through hole plating. I was lucky enough to find a small > box of 50 or so PCB drills in different sizes, from very tiny through > to about 2 mm at a stall at Dayton some years back for, I think, $10. > > > I only resorted to this approach because my Weller de soldering > station, > which i was given for free seems to have developed a fault and I had > nothing else to hand. It is a Model DS 801, The symptom is that whilst > the tip heats up, no matter what the temperature setting, it will not > melt solder ;-(. The green LED flashes at about 1 Hz which is possibly > a fault indication. if anyone has a manual for one, or knows what the > fault is i would be greatful for some assistance. > > Of course the real answer is for me to pay more attention to the > manual in > the first place. ;-). It is a beautiful morning over here in Norfolk, > England...do I melt more solder...or garden...that is the > question..... -- Stephen Farthing > _______________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list > Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to > the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): > http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft > > Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm > Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com > _______________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
