How to Solder Iron Tips for Circuit Bending

Circuit bending is a popular hobby that involves short circuiting ("bending") an electronic toy or instrument to utilize the circuit board to create new sounds controlled by additional switches you install on the toy. To successfully circuit bend, you need to understand how to solder iron tips of the wires and body contacts.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Soldering iron
• Solder
• Jeweler's screwdrivers
• Tape
• Wire
• Wire cutters/strippers
• Batteries
• Switches
• Alligator clips
• Drill/drill bits

1. Decide on the electronic toy you are going to bend and set up your work station. This should include a heat-resistant surface. If you do not have a heat-resistant surface, purchase a heat-resistant mat from a hardware, home improvement or craft store.

2. Gather the other tools you will need. You may find along the way you need to add tools to your circuit bending kit, such as needle-nose pliers or other handy items.

3. Explore the circuit board with the alligator clips to find different bends you can create and attach to installed switches, buttons and body contacts. Once you have found a bend to use, install the switch, then decide how the wire is going to connect the two.

4. Use a soldering iron with a fine tip to avoid heating the wrong circuits or causing pooling with the solder, which will then bridge some of the circuits. Take the time to practice soldering on another item before you work on circuit boards. Circuits are small and require a steady hand and concentration.

Tips & Warnings

• If you get too much solder on the circuits, clean up the solder with a soldering wick and start over on the circuit with which you were working.