Homebrew PCBs

On 19/11/10 05:26, DJ Delorie wrote:
> Couple of things to try...
[...]

Fixed it!

I made a squeegee out of a sheet of K&S 2mm aluminium sheet (cut in 
half), a piece of 0.001" spring steel and some M4 machine screws.

And now for the Fool's Guide to doing this (if you're as crazy as I am):

   - Cut your piece of aluminium in half. You should now have two 
pieces, each around 5" square.
   - Cut a strip of spring steel to the same width as your aluminium sheets.
   - Measure the width of your spring steel. Mine was 1" wide.
   - Measure half that distance up from the bottom of the aluminium 
sheets, and draw a line.
   - Draw crosses on that line one inch from each edge of the alu sheet, 
and one cross in the middle.
   - Drill holes where the crosses are, using a 4mm bit. Do the same for 
both sheets. De-burr the holes and make them level with the rest of the 
metal (hint: a countersink works wonders for this!)
   - Stick a piece of masking tape over the edge of each sheet of alu.
   - Insert the screws and screw them onto the nuts, but leave them 
slightly loose (finger tight is more than enough).
   - Insert the spring steel strip into the gap between the two sheets 
of aluminium, on the side nearest the screws (where the masking tape 
is). Tighten the screws with a screwdriver and bull-nose (electrician's) 
pliers.

Now I need to figure out why I'm getting solder bridges in between my 
QFP pads... :(

-- 
Phil.
ygroups@...
http://www.philpem.me.uk/