Quick Helper for Surface-mount Soldering

You can make a jig to hold surface mount chips and other parts while you solder them out of a piece of wood and a wire. This beats trying to use a tweezers!

Step 1: Make the Jig

Get a piece of wood and a piece of wire. I used a piece of 2x4 and a piece of coat hanger wire.

Cut the wire and file it if necessary so that its end is reasonably flat.

Drill a hole in the wood into which the wire can fit snugly.

Bend the wire into a "U" shape and insert one end into the wood.

Tweak the bend in the wire so that the other end presses lightly against the wood and stays still.

Step 2: Use the Jig!

To use the jig, just put your board on the wood so that the free end of the wire will be near where you want to solder your part. Now lay the part on the board and position the board with one hand while holding the free end of the wire up with the other.

Release the free end of the wire gently so that it holds your part against the board.

Solder.