Wire cutters: Although you can use needle-nose pliers to cut wire, you’ll want a few different types of wire cutters at your disposal as well. Get something heavy-duty for cutting thick wire, and something smaller for cutting small wire or component leads.
Wire strippers: Figure 3-4 shows two pieces of wire that I stripped (removed the insulation from). I stripped the one on top with a set of wire cutters and the one on the bottom with a set of wire strippers. Notice the crimping in the one at the top, at the spot where the insulation ends? That was caused by using just a bit too much pressure on the wire cutters. That crimp has created a weak spot in the wire that may eventually break.YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FORWhen it comes to tools, the old mantra “you get what you pay for” is generally true. Good tools that are manufactured from the best materials and with the best quality fetch a premium price. Cheap tools are, well, cheap. The price range can be substantial. You can easily spend $20 or $25 on decent wire cutters, or you can buy cheap ones for $3 or $4.There are two main drawbacks to cheap tools. First, they don’t last. The business end of a cheap tool wears out very fast. Each time you cut a wire with a pair of $4 wire cutters, you ding the cutting blade a bit. Pretty soon, the cutters can barely cut through the wire. The second drawback of cheap tools is a consequence of the first: When tools wear out, they tend to damage the materials you use them on. For example, tightening a screw with a badly worn screwdriver can strip the screw. Likewise, attempting to loosen a tight nut with a worn-out wrench can strip the nut.There are a few situations in which I would endorse spending money on cheap tools. One is as a way of getting started in this fascinating hobby as inexpensively as possible. You can always start with cheap tools, and then replace them one by one with more expensive tools as your experience, confidence, love of the hobby, and budget increases. Another good reason to buy cheap tools is if you’re absentminded (like me) and tend to lose things. There’s not much point in buying expensive tools if you’re going to have to replace them every few months because you keep losing them!FIGURE 3-4: The wire on the top was stripped with wire cutters; the one on the bottom was stripped with a wire stripper. To avoid damaging your wires when you strip them, I suggest you purchase an inexpensive (under $10) wire stripping tool. You’ll thank me later.
Magnifying glasses
One of the most helpful items you can have in your tool arsenal is a good magnifying glass. After all, electronic stuff is small. Resistors, diodes, and transistors are downright tiny.
Actually, I suggest you have at least three types of magnifying glasses on hand:
A handheld magnifying glass to inspect solder joints, read the labels on small components, and so on.
A magnifying glass mounted on a base so that you can hold your work behind the glass. The best mounted glasses combine a light with the magnifying glass, so the object you’re magnifying is bright.
Magnifying goggles, which provide completely hands-free magnifying for delicate work. Ideally, the goggles should have lights mounted on them (see Figure 3-5).
FIGURE 3-5: The author modeling his favorite magnifying headgear.
Third hands and hobby vises
A third hand is a common tool amongst hobbyists. It’s a small stand that has a couple of clips that you use to hold your work, thus freeing up your hands to do delicate work. Most third-hand tools also include a magnifying glass. Figure 3-6 shows an inexpensive third-hand tool holding a circuit card.
The most common use for a third hand in electronics is soldering. You use the clips to hold the parts you want to solder, positioned behind the magnifying glass so that you can get a good look.
FIGURE 3-6: A third hand can hold your stuff so that both your hands are free to do the work.
The third hand is often helpful for assembling small projects, but it lacks the sturdiness required for larger projects. Eventually you’ll want to invest in a small hobby vise such as the one shown in Figure 3-7. This one is made by PanaVise (www.panavise.com).
Here are a few things to look for in a hobby vise:
Mount: Get a vise that has a base with the proper type of workbench mount. There are three common types of mounts:Bolt mount: The base has holes through which you can pass bolts or screws to attach the vise to your workbench. This is the most stable type of mount, but it requires that you put holes in your workbench.Clamp mount: The base has a clamp that you can tighten to fix the base to the top and bottom of your workbench. Clamp mounts are pretty stable but can be placed only near the edge of your workbench.Vacuum mount: The base has a rubber seal and lever that you pull to create a vacuum between the seal and the workbench top. Vacuum mounts are the most portable but work well only when the top of your workbench is smooth.FIGURE 3-7: A hobby vise.
Movement: Get a vise that has plenty of movement so that you can swivel your work into a variety of different working positions. Make sure that when you lock the swivel mount into position, it stays put. You don’t want your work sliding around while you are trying to solder on it.
Protection: Make sure the vise jaws have a rubber coating to protect your work.
Soldering iron
Soldering is one of the basic techniques used to assemble electronic circuits. The purpose of soldering is to make a permanent connection between two conductors — usually between two wires or between a wire and a conducting surface on a printed circuit board.
The basic technique of soldering is to physically connect the two pieces to be soldered, and then heat them with a soldering iron until they are hot enough to melt solder (a special metal made of lead and tin that has a low melting point), then apply the solder to the heated parts so that it melts and flows over the parts.
Once the solder has flowed over the two conductors, you remove the soldering iron. As the solder cools, it hardens and bonds the two conductors together.
You learn all about soldering in Chapter 7 of this minibook. For now, suffice it to say that you need three things for successful soldering:
Soldering iron: A little hand-held tool that heats up enough to melt solder. An inexpensive soldering iron from RadioShack or another electronics parts store is just fine to get started with. As you get more involved with electronics, you’ll want to invest in a better soldering iron that has more precise temperature control and is internally grounded.
Solder: The soft metal that melts to form a bond between the conductors.
Soldering iron stand: To set your soldering iron on when you aren’t soldering. Some soldering irons come with stands, but the cheapest ones don’t. Figure 3-8 shows a soldering iron that comes with a stand. You can purchase this type of soldering iron