How to Hold the Contacts in Place for Circuit Bending

Circuit bending is a popular form of creating alternative music. To do this, you need to bending the circuits of an electronic toy or instrument with rewiring and installation of switches, jacks and body contacts. You can then create new sounds using the sounds programmed into the toy and the new circuits you create. In order to circuit bend effectively, you need to hold contacts in place.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Soldering iron
• Solder
• Jeweler's screwdrivers
• Batteries
• Switches
• Metal tacks
• Tape
• Wire
• Heat-resistant mat

1. Decide on the toy you are going to bend, set up your heat-resistant workstation and gather the items you will need for the circuit bending project.

2. Take the back portion of the casing off the toy by removing the small screws with the jeweler's screwdrivers. Be careful when lifting the back off as there may be wires that attach to the other side. Lay the casing open if it is attached. If not, set it aside.

3. Consider the open areas to determine where to install body contacts and drill small holes for them. The body contact itself is going to be a metal thumbtack or small nail. The head of the tack or nail will be the contact, visible from the surface of the toy, and the tail is the conductor.

4. Place the tacks or nails through the drilled holes and use tape to hold them flush against the front casing of the electronic toy. This will keep them from falling out while you are soldering them in place and connecting the wire to them.

5. Solder a piece of tinned wire to the tail of the tack or nail using the soldering gun to heat the tail of the nail or tack, then placing the solder on it to melt into the hole and form a puddle over the hole that surrounds the wire. This puddle will help to hold the tack or nail it in place permanently.