Soldering Station

This is a simple soldering station. It has two claws for holding stuff, and an LED to light your work. 

Materials:
-block of 4x4x4" wood
-heavy gauge wire
-LED and 330 ohm resistor
-old USB cable for power
-heat shrink tube

Tools:
-drill and various sized bits
-soldering iron
-wire clippers
-epoxy

Step 1: Make a Light

Take your heavy gauge wire and find a drill bit with a similar sized outer diameter to the wire. 

Drill two holes next to each other in the top of the 4x4 block. Try and angle the drill in a little bit so that the holes meet in the center of the block. The swap out drill bits for a larger one, maybe 1/2 inch in diameter. Drill in from the bottom so that you can push wire through the holes and the top and it will pass through the bottom.

Now drill a hole in the back of the block, near the bottom. This hole should be about the size of the cable on the USB. 

Cut off one end of your USB cable and strip the wires. Red is (+) and Black is (-). Solder these to the heavy gauge wires that are poking out the bottom of the block, and make sure to add your 330 ohm resistor inline on the (+) side. 

Now solder an LED to the other end of the heavy gauge wires. Plug the USB into something and test to make sure the (+) and (-) are lined up. Add some heat shrink tubing to cover the solder joint. 

Now you should be able to pull the heavy gauge wires out the top, while pulling the USB out the back and everything should tuck nicely into the bottom of the 4x4 block. 

Step 2: Alligator Clamp Arms!

Take that bit that is the same size as the heavy gauge wire. Drill one hole in the left side of the 4x4 and one in the right. These holes only need to be about 1" deep. 

Put a tiny bit of epoxy in each hole and stick two lengths of heavy gauge wire into either side. 

Crimp/solder alligator clamps on each wire.

Now you have an awesome soldering station that looks a little bit like some sort of strange robot thing.

Don't forget to name your creation!