[Elecraft] Bending component leads

[Ron D'Eau Claire]

I never hurts to be more careful, unless it causes other problems such as
breaking the lead or the part because it's being held by needle nose pliers.

 
I've yet to break a glass diode (or other part) by gently bending the lead
while holding the part and letting the lead take up its own radius of bend.
I couldn't say how many hundreds (or thousands) of such parts I've handled
since I picked up my first glass diode some decades ago.
 
What is dangerous, and I've seen it happen in labs where someone is trying
to work too quickly, is holding the lead with pliers up against the body,
and then bump the body or the opposite lead. There's TREMENDOUS force placed
on the body of the part if that happens. It'll snap one end right off of a
glass diode. I prefer soft fingers to hard steel when working around fragile
parts. 
 
So whatever system you use, be g-e-n-t-l-e and don't work when you're in a
hurry or tired. 
 
I'd guess that the biggest source of all errors in building is trying to
work quickly or when tired. 
 
Ron AC7AC

-----Original Message-----



I favour the method of holding the leads of the K2's D36 in needle nose
pliers then bending the wire end with finger pressure to form a smooth bend
to the required hole spacing. Bending the leads directly with needle nosed
pliers alone would be really asking for trouble by the increased stress on
the diode body. The same rules apply to all other fragile small components
which could be damaged by stress.
 
Agreed, other relatively more robust diodes such as the 1N4148 and similar
are able to have their leads bent with finger pressure alone without any
apparent ill effects. All a matter of learning by experience of what is
permissible and finding out the hard way what is not.
 
Bob, G3VVT
K2 #4168