Harbor freight Needle picks

[ratdude747]

Today, I found this at harbor frieght:



They also happened to be on sale this week... $2.99 instead of $4.99



Logically, one would aim for the striaght pick:



Which can be used like a dentist's pick:



... But on most boards will not go all the way through:



This is a problem... It makes it easy to accidentally push out the hole liners, which can kill a board.

However, the other picks work better on small holes, this one especially:



In addition to having a seemingly more gradual taper, they also prevent pushing too far:



The other non-straight picks also work to varying degrees. The straight pick also works well on larger holes (like on modern dual layer PSU boards).

I thought I would let the community know that this exists... heck, they work better thent he electronics soldering picks a few Aisles over. They also are a lot easier to come by than dentist picks, which can be hard to source locally.

Comments?

[Topcat]

Re: Harbor frieght Needle picks

they look a little big in the pics.....which is why I use the dental picks. Some boards have really tiny holes that I know those wouldn't get through without damaging the through holes....nice find though, worth the beans to try for sure.

[ratdude747]

Re: Harbor frieght Needle picks

they look a little big in the pics.....which is why I use the dental picks. Some boards have really tiny holes that I know those wouldn't get through without damaging the through holes....nice find though, worth the beans to try for sure.

the straight one, yes.

The tip of the angled one is actually small enough to fit any capacitor hole that i have seen while recapping...

[c_hegge]

Re: Harbor frieght Needle picks

Nice. I used to have a pick a bit like that (only it might have been a bit smaller), but I lost it. I just use braid now.

[Uranium-235]

Re: Harbor frieght Needle picks

I actually have a set of those EXACT same ones (and a few others). Not good really for that. Too big.

I use the smallest sewing needle I can find, held by a pair of wide pliers.

those joints look kinda bad rat. This is why I <3 my hakko 808 so much. After walking a cap out, I (with the hakko turned up to max) just suck that excess shit out after its wetted with good flux and leaded solder. I was doing a video card the other day with TERRIBLE solder and tiny joints. Was one time I had to actually use my hakko more then once on a few holes

[ratdude747]

Re: Harbor frieght Needle picks

That Board was a dead one that I had in the junk pile. no caps were actually re-installed on it. The joints look bad because they aren't completed joints. Besides, when I use this style of recapping

I previously used the needle+ pliers routine for this style recapping, IMHO it sucks. it is too clumsy and due to the local unavilabilty of SS needles (only nickel plated), It is a last resort. Not to mention that the needle snap in half really easily. I don't recommend it at all.

I don't have the $$$ for a hakko 808. I mainly use braid (now that I have a 60W iron).

Uranium, if you have a dead board, try the angled pick. it is NOT too big if you use it as I showed. Yes, the straight one is too big, as I demonstrated in post #1.

The only reason I did this was as a guide for those who don't have the $$$ for a nice professional iron/station or a Hakko 808. I actually think it works really well.

[Toasty]

Re: Harbor frieght Needle picks

Harbor FrEIght even has them....

[Junk Parts]

Re: Harbor freight Needle picks

I just wanted to point out something RatDude said so people who are new to soldering/recapping know it. Stainless Steel is what should be used because solder will not stick to it. Good job with this find RatDude.

[ratdude747]

Re: Harbor frieght Needle picks

Harbor FrEIght even has them....

Fixed. I guess the rule about engineers being unable to spell is true for Engineering students too.

-----------------

I took some more pics, this time using another dead Board:





Yes, it had some stupid stuff done to it in the past. I will performing a hole clearing on the hole marked by the silver arrow.

After heating the joint with a heavily tinned tip and getting the tip of the pick to go in, we get this:



After twisting out the pick, we get this:



Which this capacitor:



... fits right into:



I see no issues with this method.

[ratdude747]

Re: Harbor freight Needle picks

I just wanted to point out something RatDude said so people who are new to soldering/recapping know it. Stainless Steel is what should be used because solder will not stick to it. Good job with this find RatDude.

It won't stick to nickel either... the problem is that such needles are PLATED and the plating easily wears/flakes off, revealing plain steel, which solder DOES stick to.

I am not sure what the picks' tips are made from but so far I haven't had wicking issues.

[ratdude747]

Re: Harbor freight Needle picks

I will add a little note to the usage- on some boards the angled pick goes most of the way through with 1mm left. The key is to be close, as the method is about allowing leads to fit, not eliminating all of the solder.

[LLLlllou]

Re: Harbor freight Needle picks

Today, I found this at harbor frieght:



They also happened to be on sale this week... $2.99 instead of $4.99

They're also great to use as finger extensions in places you can't get your fingers into. I recently used them to jimmy a cap into a spot behind a heat sink that no human could have accessed without them. Saved me allot of time by not having to unsolder the heat sink, remove the transistors, etc. Pain in the ass, but still a life saver. I love my HF picks!

[ratdude747]

Re: Harbor freight Needle picks

I actually bought a second set of these awhile back... because the first set I abused the crap out of... the old ones still work for soldering but since I was replacing my needle files anyway, I figured I'd grab a fresh set. a fresh set which I have yet to solder with (since the old set is in my desk and right in front of me).