upcycled chopping board..... Soldering/mini project platform.

[Divided he ad]

Firstly.... HAPPY NEW YEAR 

So, it's been a while. I've not had anything new (style/creation wise) in the making for some time. But as luck would have it I took my standard NYE tradition and made it work....

That tradition being workshop time.


A little story first, I gifted a soldering iron and a couple of soldering kits to my nephew for Christmas. it was a battery powered iron, thought it might work.... Disappointed to be fair 
So I went and got a gas one .

This then gave rise to the issue of excessive heat from the catalyst at the tip and him working on my sisters dining room table!

I came up with "he needs a protective mat" This lead me to searching the house for a candidate. A slightly split chopping board was selected.

The rest is in mostly pictorial form (they sigh with relief  )


First, draw out a plan of attack....




Then ATTACK!     18mm ball nosed cutter.




Recess shaped by using hand wheels while feed was on slow....  a bit rough but close enough to start with.




I then fitted a chamfered edged endmill to create the pocket at the end.




My holding device to save having to remove the vise and rotary table...




I then got to work putting in the channels. These are useful for not only keeping things from rolling away but to help separate the components before soldering.




Recesses were then added for the circuit board and other component placement.




The hole for the cleaning sponge was made with a 20mm slot drill and then opened out with the boring head.




The channels were then cleaned up  using a carving tool ~10mm curved gouge.




The board was then sanded all over with a vibratory sander for speed and the channels sanded by hand.




Then it was sealed with an oil.




Now at this point I thought there was something missing..... So I ripped an Ikea lamp apart and made an adapter out of a bit of nylon M8x1.0




Ready for the male power adapter to be soldered on and screwed into place...





The board was re-mounted to the mill and a hole 8mmx15mm was drilled into the board and recessed 10mmx3mm




Then cross drilled, a female power adapter was soldered to a twin wire and fed through...




Another female power adapter was soldered on the other end and glued into position. The other socket was then glued into the rear of the board.




The lamp plugs into the top socket and can be adjusted easily as it will rotate in the socket....




And finished...








Well, that's it..... Not is the test. As I finish this my nephew is here and ready to learn to solder 





Ralph.

 

[John Rudd]

Very good Ralph.... and even better that you have captured the interest of a youngling...

[John Swift]

Hi Ralf

I can see your soldering board being a useful to other members here
a simple solution when you don't want a dedicated electronics work bench

   John

PS
I find burneze  useful for minor accidents when cooking or using a soldering iron

http://www.hssproducts.co.uk/acatalog/Burns_Care.html

[DMIOM]

Cracking "up-cycling" Ralph,

Only one observation:

..... Then it was sealed with an oil. ....

The last thing you need when soldering, especially electronics, is oil or grease. Shellac or varnish might be OK but I would fear any slightest oil would run the risk of spoiling his work - and bad solder joints can be more frustrating/dis-heartening. If you can seal it with shellac or varnish I think it might be much better.

Dave

[RobWilson]

Hi Ralph

Very nicely done 


What battery soldering iron did you have ?  , I borrowed a Hakko FX-901/P cordless soldering iron from a workmate to do a repair job on a container handler 20 ft in the air and was well impressed with it .

I think they are about £30 , planning on getting one for my work toolbox .  Anyway much better than the gas ones that toast everything in the vicinity of the tip 


Rob   

[Divided he ad]

Hi Guys, Thanks to you all 

John Rudd, He was here all afternoon, we completed one circuit board of a light activated switch. He has an infared barrier to build too.


John Swift, The board is similar to one I've made before for my mum to use making jewellery, It's a very versatile design   
We only had one very minor incident with the back of one finger.... It's a learning curve! (info passed onto my sister)

Dave, The upcycling thing... I heard the phrase. Thought I'd give it a whirl    I get what you mean about the oil.... It'll be well soaked in in a day or so I guess.... I didn't use tons of it. It's not affected the board we made today.... I'll inform my sister of your concerns and get here to give it a wash 


Rob,  It was a Maplin one that took 3AA's.  It was an absolute nightmare to use.... He struggled to keep the button held in while trying to control the tip and solder at the same time.... The gas one although radiating lots of heat is at least 20 times faster to use.

I will investigate the iron you used for my own purposes 




ready for action.....




And an "action" shot   






Ralph.

[DMIOM]

                      

Dave

[RobWilson]

                     

Dave

I second that 

Rob

[John Rudd]

Hi Guys, Thanks to you all 

John Rudd, He was here all afternoon, we completed one circuit board of a light activated switch. He has an infared barrier to build too

Ralph.

Impressive....and encouraging..
Most younglings would probably be out the door after 5 mins wanting to get back to computer games in front of the tv.....

[Divided he ad]

Not bad for a 12 year old eh!?

I figured I can get him above the curve before his school teachers bore him with all teaching and very little actual doing.  (Obviously drawn from my own experiences)
I'll try to get him to a competent level of doing     so he wants to learn the boring stuff rather than switching off in classes....  Just my way of learning.   It might work with him?

I give him a basic explanation (all I know these days!)  of what the component is and what it does and then how to prepare it for soldering, and how to apply the solder etc.



He's spent whole afternoons in my workshop wanting to see how I make stuff... A few more years I'll start training him on the lathe and mill 





Ralph.

[Kjelle]

Good Job!!

[RobWilson]

What about this for a wee project Ralph http://www.banggood.com/Digital-Soldering-Iron-Station-Temperature-Controller-Kits-for-HAKKO-T12-Handle-p-993248.html   

video at the bottom of page .


Rob

[Divided he ad]

Thank you Kjelle 


Rob.... I just spent 30 quid on the gas one for him! I think I'll let him see if he likes the stuff he's doing before I spend much more.... You know how it is, the way we flutter about from one form of engineering to another. 



I see there's some thought going into circuit board design on another thread.... All this Cad stuff is leaving me well behind!
Interesting to see what people are doing though 




Ralph.

[Brass_Machine]

Nicely done Ralph!

I might have to steal that and make one myself. Timing is about right as SWMBO is going through he cutting boards. Not only that I have been inspired to make a banggood order for some kits.

Eric

[Divided he ad]

Cheers Eric,

Steal away   

I might make myself one one day.... I always give the good stuff away   


Kits.... What you upto now?