Workshop tools

Hold, see, protect: the three needs to cover first

Holding means the helping hand with a magnetic base and flexible arms, or the FEITA TE-805 model with a 5X magnifier and crocodile clips, rounded out by the PCB holder with magnetic posts. Seeing means the 5x LED magnifying lamp, whose three light tones change how a pad reads, and the 1080p digital microscope with eight LEDs. Protecting means the antistatic silicone mat and the mat with magnetic compartments, which stops a screw rolling under the bench.

ESD, antistatic and anti-magnetic do not mean the same thing

ESD tweezers dissipate electrostatic charges; anti-magnetic tweezers do not disturb components sensitive to a magnetic field. These are two distinct properties, and a tool may have only one. Nor does a mat described as antistatic replace a connection to earth. The double-headed ESD brush is made for a board, the rubber blower for the casing.

What it doesn't do

A magnifying lamp does not correct an imprecise hand and a microscope does not make up for missing flux. The deburring kit tidies an edge on a shell or a printed part, it does not sand a whole surface. Finally, none of these tools makes a diagnosis: that remains the job of a multimeter and a method.

Soldering irons and stations · Soldering consumables · Disassembly kits · Workstation · Measurement and inspection · ESD antistatic · Workshop and modding