MOTM

I've heard the term 'crimping' used to describe what I do, but I 
understand your meaning.  I do fold the leads 90 degrees to lie flat on 
the board and then cut them before soldering.  I've never found this to 
be a problem for desoldering.  A good quality solder wick will suck up 
all the solder and leave the wire easily lifted.  (Is there a good video 
on desoldering, I wonder?)  Then again, I've done a lot of circuit board 
repair, so maybe it's not as big a deal to me as to a novice.  Replacing 
a resistor or capacitor is isn't that difficult, especially if you have 
a Panavise (http://www.panaviseonline.com) for holding the board.  The 
alternative is to make a 45 degree bend in the leads, cut them and 
solder.  The drawback to this technique is that you have to do one 
component at a time.

Richard
http://www.pugix.com

Graham Atkins wrote:
> Richard,
>
> On 1 Mar 2009, at 15:50, Richard Brewster wrote:
>   
>> I
>> always press leads all the way over to the board, so they are not
>> sticking up, but are lying flat. This is called crimping the lead to
>> the board. I'll crimp lots of parts, then cut all the leads, solder,
>> wash. They don't fall out, because they're crimped. I received some
>> kits from John Blacet with all resistors installed and crimped, but  
>> not
>> soldered. They stayed in place during shipping.
>>
>>     
> "Crimping" means forming the leads in some way. Some radial capacitors
> for example have the leads cut short and formed with a small "wave"  
> which
> helps them to be pushed into the PCB and holds them whilst soldering.
> Just folding the leads through 90 deg to be flush with the board is  
> not really
> crimping and also makes the component much harder to desolder and remove
> the component to change / repair.
>
> Graham
>
>