Using a Washer as a Soldering Aid

Very clever trick from next month’s issue of The Family Handyman, submitted by reader Joseph Johnson.

If you have “helping hands,” clamping wire leads against a washer, as shown, stabilizes the whole setup dramatically by connecting the two arms with a rigid member, so you can bear down a bit more with the iron without pushing things out of alignment. But the hole in the middle of the washer still allows all-round access to the junction.

If you don’t have helping hands, you can just use a washer, as shown, with a pair of alligator clips (or even small binder clips) as a pretty effective improvised workholding jig for this kind of soldering.

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