Hey guys I thought I would post a few tips that I have learned from building pretty much all of the c2c builds Many of them multiple times. This is not the have to do way by any means but a simple way that I use that may help someone with there build. The two biggest trouble spots I see, as far as soldering goes, generally appears in two places. 1. The tube daughter boards and 2. The switching boards.
First, the tube daughter board is easier to get started first. The reason I do this is because you have a blank board and nothing to get in your way to get those tiny solder points. If you wait til the board is poplulated resistors can get in the way and you may damage them or not get the mounts great. I put the standoffs in the daughter board (long legs) then set the shorter legs into the main board. I rest it on my bench and solder a couple of the long pins on the daughter board. Don't try and get them all here. Make sure it still fits well to the main board then remove the daughter board. At this point I trim the long leads (not flush) leaving plenty of pin to solder around. The reason I do this is you have full access to every pin and it requires less heat to solder them to the board. Once you have the standoff soldered to the daughter board set it aside. Do not solder it to the main board yet.
Second the switching board. Once you have populated your main board it’s time to do the foot switch. I save the cutoffs from caps etc to use them as makeshift leads for the switch. I find they give me a little more length than traditional standoffs and if you have to remove the switch for any reason later they are a lot easier to remove. Do not mount pots or switches first. If you already have this will still works it just takes a little more maneuvering. I lay the board on a flat surface and place the cutoffs in 1 at a time. I have a cheap mat i found on amazon that works great. I usually start in the middle and work my way out but you can do whatever. When you are done you have mounting pins that are clean and allow you to drop the switch and switchboard right on.
****** One important thing to note is the switchboards mount with the logo or text facing you so you can read it. If you do it backwards you are not gonna be happy.*********
I also don't solder my pots until i put the whole thing into the box, which is why they are not soldered in my last pic
Hopefully this will help someone as they are all great circuits to build.
First, the tube daughter board is easier to get started first. The reason I do this is because you have a blank board and nothing to get in your way to get those tiny solder points. If you wait til the board is poplulated resistors can get in the way and you may damage them or not get the mounts great. I put the standoffs in the daughter board (long legs) then set the shorter legs into the main board. I rest it on my bench and solder a couple of the long pins on the daughter board. Don't try and get them all here. Make sure it still fits well to the main board then remove the daughter board. At this point I trim the long leads (not flush) leaving plenty of pin to solder around. The reason I do this is you have full access to every pin and it requires less heat to solder them to the board. Once you have the standoff soldered to the daughter board set it aside. Do not solder it to the main board yet.
Second the switching board. Once you have populated your main board it’s time to do the foot switch. I save the cutoffs from caps etc to use them as makeshift leads for the switch. I find they give me a little more length than traditional standoffs and if you have to remove the switch for any reason later they are a lot easier to remove. Do not mount pots or switches first. If you already have this will still works it just takes a little more maneuvering. I lay the board on a flat surface and place the cutoffs in 1 at a time. I have a cheap mat i found on amazon that works great. I usually start in the middle and work my way out but you can do whatever. When you are done you have mounting pins that are clean and allow you to drop the switch and switchboard right on.
****** One important thing to note is the switchboards mount with the logo or text facing you so you can read it. If you do it backwards you are not gonna be happy.*********
I also don't solder my pots until i put the whole thing into the box, which is why they are not soldered in my last pic
Hopefully this will help someone as they are all great circuits to build.
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