Tools of the trade

Assembling a keyboard can be a fun weekend activity. Assembling isn't hard when you use the proper tools.

The tools you buy don't have to be top of the line: each tool can be bought relatively affordably. When you decide this is going to be something you'd like to do more often, it can make sense to splurge for more expensive tools.

The bare minimum

You can make do with just a little. You'll need the following tools to get started.

Soldering iron

A soldering iron is needed to form joints between the PCB and its components.

When buying a soldering iron, we recommend the following:

• Look for an adjustable temperature setting. Specifically, look for one where the dial lists the temperatures, instead of going from "low" to "high".
• Look for an iron with an exchangeable tip. The tip is the first part of an iron to wear down. You can usually make them last, but it's a waste to throw away a perfectly good iron just because the tip isn't replaceable.
• Look for an iron that doesn't directly plug into a wall outlet. They're usually for more heavy-duty use, and can be rough to work with. Instead, look for a soldering station, or get one which is powered with a separate power supply such as a Pinecil.
• Wattage isn't everything. Some irons are vastly more efficient than others, so a higher wattage isn't necessarily better (or even required). That said, especially when looking at budget soldering stations, a wattage of above 60W can reduce the time you need to wait for the soldering iron to heat up or recover its heat after a forming a joint.

You can expect to spend around €65 for a budget soldering station. For our kits, there's usually no reason to spend over €100, unless you have specific preferences or plan to work with your iron frequently. The soldering iron is the most expensive tool on this list.

Solder wire

Solder wire is the part that joins two metallic parts together, such as a pad of the PCB and a component. You can read the full writeup at Choosing solder, but the gist of it is that you can choose any flux-core, 0.7mm diameter solder wire.

For soldering one keyboard, you'll need roughly 15g of solder. Buying larger quantities usually saves some money, a roll of 50g or 100g will last you for quite a bit.

Flush cutter

A flush cutter allows you to clip off the legs from diodes, resistors and headers.

The difference between a flush cutter and cutting pliers is the placement of the cut line: with a flush cutter, it'll be very close to the surface at which you're cutting, while with cutting pliers the cut will be placed toward the center of the tool.

Cutting pliers can work in a pinch, but won't give you a nice finish, and won't be good enough for builds using Kailh Choc low profile switches.

Tweezers

Tweezers make it easier to pick up and hold tiny components while soldering them. These are only needed when you solder the SMD underglow LEDs, you won’t need them if you use an RGB strip.

You can find normal metal tweezers, but there are also ESD-safe tweezers. For peace of mind, you can opt for ESD-safe tweezers, but so far we haven't ran into issues using normal tweezers yet.

There are also special SMD-tweezers, which grab by default and only require force when opening them. For our kits, we find it easier to just work with normal, budget-friendly tweezers.

Screwdriver

For assembling our keyboard's cases, you'll need an M2 flat head screwdriver. If you have a pocket knife, it'll usually include a small enough screwdriver too 😉

Personal protective equipment

If you're not already wearing glasses, I can recommend to use safety goggles when cutting component leads using a flush cutter. The leads are sharp and can fly off quickly and unexpectedly, and safety squints make for a poor explanation as to why your vision suddenly declined.

Equipment such as a fume extractor or air filter can be nice, but are not required. Do ensure proper ventilation while soldering, which can be as simple as opening a window and placing a common fan near you. If you're going to be soldering frequently, it can be worth to spend some money here, but for a first project there's no need to do so yet.

Nice-to-haves

Well, I did mark them as nice-to-have, but some situations will require the tools below. Those situations are usually to repair a mistake or to make the work easier. I'll explain what these tools are and when you need them below.

Isolating pads and holding work

Kapton tape can help keep components in place while soldering. It's heat-resistant, so it won't melt while you work.

In some builds, tape is required to isolate certain overlapping components such as OLED displays. That doesn't require kapton tape specifically, though - any electrically isolating tape will work, and in a pinch, painter's tape will work too.

Removing solder

A solder sucker makes it easier to desolder a component if you made a mistake or if the component turned out to be defective. A solder sucker isn't expensive: spending a few euro's can already net you a solder sucker that's good enough.

Desoldering braid can also help with desoldering. Usually, you can get by with just a solder sucker, but the braid is better suited toward precision work and finishing what the solder sucker fell short of. Braid is a consumable item, so you will eventually deplete it.

Desoldering braid is one of those items where splurging is worth it and doesn't break the bank. A roll of nice braid with a length of 1.5m (5 feet) will only set you back around two euros. We recommend using braid coated with flux, such as Techspray No-Clean braid.

Reworking and desoldering

If you're reworking old joints, such as when you're desoldering switches from an old keyboard, you may find that the joints have been corroded. That corrosion makes it difficult to melt the joints.

To combat that, you can use flux. We find tacky flux in a syringe the easiest to work with, as liquid flux is quick to evaporate and leaves quite a stingy feeling if you accidentally breathe it in.

Troubleshooting and testing

A multimeter with a continuity mode is indispensable for testing your work when you run into issues. It's nice if the multimeter can emit a sound when it detects continuity, as you won't have to keep looking at the multimeter while poking at your PCB that way.

A multimeter suited for this use won't have to cost more than €20. There's no reason to splurge on a multimeter for most DIY kits, so we recommend to buy the cheapest one possible that still offers a continuity mode. An example is the UNI-T UT133B.

Fixing broken traces

It doesn't happen often, but it can happen: a broken trace. It's usually the result of damage to the PCB, which can be caused by scratching it too deeply or by lifting a pad (due to excess heat and/or force).

Either way, that can be fixed! Since a PCB is a collection of conveniently placed wires, if such a "wire" breaks, you can simply put an actual wire in its place. Such a wire is also lovingly called a "bodge wire".

For such wires, we recommend using thin, non-stranded wire. We usually use 30 AWG wire, isolated with some plastic coating. Thin wires are flexible, and the solid core makes it easy to solder to.

In a pinch, though, any cable will do: you can sacrifice an unused USB cable for example.

We do not recommend using common heavy-duty household electrical cable as it's very stiff and thick, and hard to form a proper joint with using your relatively low-power soldering iron.

Bending component leads

A bit of a luxury item, a lead bender is a cheap and effective tool to easily bend the leads of diodes and resistors with. If you have a 3D printer, you can easily print this tool instead of buying it.

Cutting traces

A hobby knife can be used to cut traces. In our kits, you only need one if you have a very specific use case, so you probably will already have one if you know you need it.

Other tools

There are some basics, such as helping hands and PCB holders. Those can be nice to have, but can be hit-and-miss in terms of quality and ease of use.

Instead of helping hands, I can recommend getting a protective desk mat, such as one made of silicone, which is heat-resistant. You can also use a regular cutting mat, though heat may damage the mat.

If you have problems with eyesight, it can be helpful to get a loupe. Good lighting will help out a lot as well. This is particularly helpful when working with SMD diodes, as it can be hard to make out their features in bad lighting.

More advanced tools are not needed, including digital scopes, oscilloscopes, power supplies and others. If you're into electronics, you may already have such tools, in which case you probably won't need our advice 😉