Biohazard Posted June 19, 2004 Report Share Posted June 19, 2004 Hi, I hope no one will mind much if I have this in the wrong section of the forum but i guessed that it will get viewed by more of the target audience in this section. My question is simply: what are all the tools etc that you will need for working on guitars and repairing them (in the electronics department)? Thanks for any responses guys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hy_dro66 Posted June 19, 2004 Report Share Posted June 19, 2004 A good soldering iron would be numero uno. I use weller solder stations and they are freakin' awesome. They heat up really fast. Usually it takes like 10 seconds and they are ready to use. Plus the heat is adjustable. I have a cheaper one and it just doesn't cut it since I started using the weller. They are expensive but well worth it. Wire strippers are handy and so is a solder sucker. I also keep a pair of hemostats close by. Things that aren't really must haves but are helpful...the aligator clip stands from Radio Shack(they hold stuff for you while you solder), an ohm meter(to test pots and pups), shielding paint is nice but expensive and not always necessary, some cables with aligator clips on the end so you can test stuff without soldering, I'm sure the list could keep going but that'll get you rockin'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovekraft Posted June 19, 2004 Report Share Posted June 19, 2004 I use a Xytronic soldering station (379), and I'm quite happy with it, especially for pc work, it controls the heat quite well. I'm sure it's not as nice as the Weller stuff (and no cool digital readout, either ), but I got it for about $40.00, so I can't complain. The only things I'd add to hy_dro66's list are a magnifier loupe and a high-intensity lamp, so you can see what you're doing, and a really good pair of miniature wire cutters (I don't even want to put Dad's rusty 25 lb. lineman's sidecutters on the same table as my guitar!). I also consider a multimeter a must-have for checking both components and wiring, and you can pick one up for about 3 bucks at the closeout stores. Other nice toys include a solderless breadboard, a signal injector, a heat gun, a variable voltage bench power supply and a selection of tiny drivers, dental picks and pliers - you don't really need any of these last ones, but they sure come in handy! And don't forget supplies - solder, heat-shrink tubing, electrical tape, crimp terminals and cable ties help keep the job reliable and look professional. And if somebody leaves you a large inheritance or you win the lottery, an oscilloscope and a spectrum analyzer (yeah, I'll never be able to afford 'em, but a guy can dream, right?). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biohazard Posted June 19, 2004 Author Report Share Posted June 19, 2004 Lol i doubt i'll go for the oscilloscope. Anyway thanks for the replies guys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KeithHowell Posted June 21, 2004 Report Share Posted June 21, 2004 I use a software scope with the sound card on my PC. At the audio frequencies we deal with the work fine. Have a look at:Sound Card test gear Keith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovekraft Posted June 21, 2004 Report Share Posted June 21, 2004 Keith, that looks great!! Have you bought the programs, or are you working around the limitations of the shareware versions (I assume there's some glitch to encourage you to buy the reigstered version)? Gotta make sure psw finds out about this... thanks very much!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KeithHowell Posted June 21, 2004 Report Share Posted June 21, 2004 I haven't bought it yet as I haven't been doing much audio work. I played with it in demo mode. Everything works but it times out , after I think 30 minutes and has to be restarted. The only downside of going straight into the sound card is the cards low impedance but have a look at: Sound Card Buffer for a solution. You would need to beef up the buffer as well if you wanted to use it on tube amps! There are other sound card scopes available as well. Do a google search and you will come up with a few. Keith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovekraft Posted June 21, 2004 Report Share Posted June 21, 2004 Brilliant!! That's a nice buffer, but even a single JFET follower should up the impedance enough to work with most sources, except maybe tube amps, as you mentioned. I know what I'm gonna be doing this afternoon! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KeithHowell Posted June 21, 2004 Report Share Posted June 21, 2004 Have a look here as well: Buffering Keith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Mariah Posted June 21, 2004 Report Share Posted June 21, 2004 Let's see if I can remember everything I had at work... - Angle nose pliers (if you've done any work in small control cavities, you'll know why this is my #1) - Various screwdrivers - Soldering iron - Needle files - Fret leveling file - Fret crowning file - Razor blades - Nut files - Truss rod wrenches - Fretting hammer - Wire strippers - Wire cutters - End nippers - Electric drill That's pretty much everything I used on a day-to-day basis. Other things might be useful but not neccesary, like a buffing wheel and fret benders. You can do pretty much anything with the above stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnnyG Posted June 21, 2004 Report Share Posted June 21, 2004 one thing that you may find very useful if your doing alot of soldering thats not on circuit boards is a can of flux. for tinning wires and a whole host of other things it makes life so much easier, your also less likelly to fry things if you dont have to heat them up loads to get the solder to flow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biohazard Posted June 21, 2004 Author Report Share Posted June 21, 2004 Should you be using flux on all non circuit bard joints? Thanks to all wh posted above and that sound card oscillator looks cool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnnyG Posted June 21, 2004 Report Share Posted June 21, 2004 personally i would say that if you're tinning wires, soldering ground connections to the backs of pots, attatching wires to pot lugs then a bit of extra flux is very useful. normally if you're trying to solder a wire to the backof the pot you gotta heat the sucker up a fair bit, with the flux the solder will flow more easilly so you end up melting the solder onto the back of the pot more quicklly hence you actually heat the innards of the pot up less, therefore less chance of any damage being done. i think that when it comes down to it its not so much a must have, but it does make life alot easier. i use it whenever itinwire since otherwise the solder just forms a nasty blob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biohazard Posted June 21, 2004 Author Report Share Posted June 21, 2004 Cool, thanks, what do you mean by tinning wires by the way? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnnyG Posted June 21, 2004 Report Share Posted June 21, 2004 if you have a stranded wire and you strip the plastic coat off then you end up with the wires all poking in different directions. if you twist them up, put a bit of flux on them and then coat them in solder then they stick together and its alot easier to attatch them to things. its not really so important forguitar wiring as it is for when your putting things in a PCB but it does make life a bit easier Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biohazard Posted June 21, 2004 Author Report Share Posted June 21, 2004 Cool, thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.