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Step 6Position and Shrink the Heat-Shrink Tubing
Once all the wires are soldered, and the plastic positioned, slide one piece of heat-shrink tubing (1/4" if you made them different lengths) along each wire and over each connection. This will help stabilize the connection and take a little stress off the solder joint. Make sure the tubing covers the solder joint and doesn't slide all the way over to the plastic (maybe a good reason for using 3/4" for all pieces of tubing).
When all the tubing is in place, you can use a heat source to shrink it. I use an old hand hair dryer. But, if you have a heat gun, you can use that too. In any case, be careful not to burn yourself or anything else. I actually use a silicone rubber trivet from a kitchen store as the backing for heating the tubing. It's heat resistant and reflects heat from the heat source back to the tubing and seems more efficient. Note: if the hair dryer overheats, it will often shut off (thermal breaker of some kind) and won't start again until it's cooled down. And, did I mention to be careful?
When all the tubing is in place, you can use a heat source to shrink it. I use an old hand hair dryer. But, if you have a heat gun, you can use that too. In any case, be careful not to burn yourself or anything else. I actually use a silicone rubber trivet from a kitchen store as the backing for heating the tubing. It's heat resistant and reflects heat from the heat source back to the tubing and seems more efficient. Note: if the hair dryer overheats, it will often shut off (thermal breaker of some kind) and won't start again until it's cooled down. And, did I mention to be careful?
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