Chris -
Several possibilities occur to me: Assuming you don't remove any portion of any circuit trace (Duh!), I would suggest an Adel "nibbler". It is designed for metal work,but works well on circuit boards. It is essentially a hand-powered shear that removes a small "bite" of material about 1/16" by 1/4" each time it operates. If used carefully, it can make very precise holes and slots, and of course shorten material as well. It does require a minimal amount of clearance to operate. It will accommodate material up to perhaps 3/32" thick, so circuit board should fit OK. Lacking that, the next thing I might try is to mount the BL2 on a piece of scrap wood (as a handle), and VERY carefully and SLOWLY trim away the excess material using a band saw or jig saw. Keep your fingers well away from the action, of course. It is important to have something large enough to grip (the piece of scrap wood) so that if the saw tries to grab the material, you won't lose control, causing possible injury and almost certainly ruining your BL2 in the process. Personally, I would use my milling machine, but not everyone has access to one of those. However, many model railroad enthusiasts, R/C airplane pilots, and other hobbyists do have small machines, so ask around. Your local hobby shop may have some names of people that are amenable to helping others. I have done these sort of modifications many times on various boards and assemblies, and with a little care you can end up with exactly what you want. As a last thought - I would stay away from any sort of sheet metal ships or similar tools around PC boards. In my experience, attempting to use these types of tools carries a high risk of causing cracks and splits in the board. - Jim, KL7CC Christopher Kimball wrote: > I have a BL2 minimodule that's about 1/4" too long for my purposes. I'd > like to cut off a piece of it without zapping the functionality of the > board. > > What's the neatest way to do this with commonly available tools and 5 > thumb hands? > > Thanks, > > Chris > WB4WZR > > ______________________________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
