Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Mark Bliss on February 1, 2011 at 1:26am

All this poking around on circuits concerns me a bit. If its a battery powered circuit you are ok, worst that might happen is you let the smoke out of something somewhere. But if its a 120 volt ac powered circuit, please dont let the smoke out through your fingers!

It takes very little current to injure you, trust me, I wear the scars of a childhood electrical injury, that damn well could have killed me.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by petey twofinger on February 1, 2011 at 5:55am

mind if i ask , what you tapped into that lit cha up ? i'd really like to know the story behind the shrink ray you have developed , was that a heathkit , PIAA ?

 

that is a good point , if its runnin off ac , i check the voltage comin out of the transformer , and use probes .  when i spliced cable for AT&T the line voltage was 90 volts AC , we used to get lit up all the time . it wasnt as bad as the time i laid into a hot tv tube as a lil kid , or a lil later when i ripped into live AC cable with some side cutters , i was a bit miffed , those were some nice ones ! all in all , giving safety advice to a guy who goes by the name two-finger , you may be a little late on that one , but i appreciate it . did i mention i use plumbers flux , on EVERYTHING ?

 

anything tastes better , on a ritz .

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by anotola humbuckker on February 1, 2011 at 6:30am

my boombox has a twelve volt adaptor, and i didn't touch anything too big, but thanks for the concern

Mark Bliss said:

All this poking around on circuits concerns me a bit. If its a battery powered circuit you are ok, worst that might happen is you let the smoke out of something somewhere. But if its a 120 volt ac powered circuit, please dont let the smoke out through your fingers!

It takes very little current to injure you, trust me, I wear the scars of a childhood electrical injury, that damn well could have killed me.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Mark Bliss on February 1, 2011 at 6:43am

Shrink ray.... That is highly proprietary information!

You like my miniature collection? It has about doubled lately, I'll have to update the pics.

 

My accident involved a lamp cord. I was very young and did a very stupid thing. But it taught me to respect the potential of live a/c circuits. Now dont get me wrong, I have done some risky things since, and yes, I know exactly how you feel about those side cutters. Been there, done that. Just remember to yell "I'm alright!" so the wifes heart starts beating again while you look for the blown breaker.

I hate to admit it, but I have done some dumb things like "tap" a wire with my finger to see if it was live, enough times to detect accurately if I am on a hot wire or a wire through a load (light bulb) by how much it "hurt" while attempting to trace say... a three way light circuit. I dont recommend such foolishness. Get some basic test equipment fool!

My point is be careful. If you dont know what you are messing with treat it like it could kill you, cause if you dont, it might.

The right "plumbers flux" is fine on wires. Most modern stuff is different than the stuff we commonly had around decades ago that was a no-no on wiring. I use "no-corrode" a lot. Heres a trick for you. Find a medical syringe and cut a med guage needle off about half way with a cut-off tool. Heat the bottom of your "no-corrode" tin with your hot soldering iron, melting a little puddle at a time and draw it up into the syringe. Now you have a precision applicator. Also, if you are like me and appreciate a good iron with a propperly cleaned and tinned tip, find yourself one of those tip cleaners that looks like an old metallic pot scrubber. Mine looks like an old tin ash tray with a brillo pad in it. The cleaner has a mild coating of flux and an occasional rub of the tip of your iron during use and after each use will keep it working like it was freshly tinned.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by petey twofinger on February 1, 2011 at 9:13am

that srynge idea is really smart . i use a red plastic wd40 straw , cut at an angle , but it gets a lil messy sometimes . i use "harveys" flux , its like a dollar at weepis (home depot) . im pretty  sure thats a huge blunder if you are a real pro book learned ohms law tattoo guy , but we always clean it off with a lil rubbin hooch .

one question , were do i get the hype ?  i dont normally go to the methadone clinic every day , so . . .

 

i got a wire wheel mounted on a larger dowel rod / wooden handle to clean my tips . im sure this is a huge faux paux as well . i saw a guy who crocheted himself a cotton yarn 3 inch by 3 inch double layer pad . he says its way better than a sponge for cleanin . i found the wire wheel method to be really quick , i have seen those super size spring coil lookin brass(?) tip cleaner things , just never saw one in a dumpster . been using the wire wheel method for a few years (i solder quite a bit more than your average sports fan)  and it hasn't effected my tips at all , but they were pretty tore up to start so . i will say this , having NEVER purchased an iron , (i have 7 or so) , tips , solder , its not that big a deal to me . i just prefer a 45 watt for normal . got a 15 for sensitive chip stuff and a few guns for quick jobs / larger wires but i usually use a propane torch on "monster" cable joints .

 

 i built a home made temp control like in the old Craig Anderton book so i run the iron on low when i'm not cuttin . its really a nice time saver . i also made a temp control for my hot glue gun . it uses a ceiling fan dimmer , im sure this is a fire hazzard as well , but ive been usin it for 3 years no problems . i just cut in a 110 volt mini lamp from a curling iron as an idiot light , one of those on the solder station as well .

 

when i opened the solder station up to install the dummy lamp i noticed that i had failed to ground the box that holds the resistor / switch / outlet . so i grounded it up , then i mounted a spring  iron holder to sit next to it , and put 4 rubber feet on the bottom . i cut a dowel and mounted that upright on the far left corner, slid a spool of garbage picked solder on it , and put a large washer screwed down to the dowel to hold the solder spool so i can pull solder to my work area , several feet away .  this is prolly tough to picture , but bear with me .

 

i was runnin this set up for over a year , the other day , we are sittin at the kitchen table workin , i pull the solder over and BOOM ! lighting / liquid solder flying everywhere followed by smoke , the power is out . when i pulled the solder it slid in between the ac input plug for the iron , then it contacted the GROUNDED chassis .  pretty glad i got faulty eyes and wear glasses , cause some of the hot flying solder melted two nice craters in my spectacles . one case were taking the proper safety precautions (grounding the chassis) turned out to be an actual hazard !

 

thanks for stepping up and stressing safety . i just got back from the kitchen were is installed a lil strip of wood to reroute the solder path away from the outlets , i am sure that would a happed again . i honestly meant to do something about that and forgot . i can post a pic later , if anyone cares . i also cut a lil piece of kitchen sponge and put that in the solder station tray so i can try a "more conventional cleaning method . i dont know though , then i have to wet the sponge , i spose i could pour some beer in it , but i drink brass monkeys . lately i been puttin black cherry juice concentrate in my icehouse , cause its good for gout ! (i know) . it looks way more feminine than an orange brass monkey , the beer has a giant pink head on it . but dang , there adaptable .

 

come to think of it i did purchase that 15 watt iron , for cuttin in mod chips on playstations . sorry if i ramble , ive been "laid up" for a few years (back injury) and i'm here by myself for most of the day , so just ignore me :)

 

• ▶ Reply

• ‹ Previous
• 1
• 2
• Next ›
• Page