[Elecraft] To drill or not to drill, that is the question

[G3VVT at aol.com]

In a message dated 16/04/05 11:11:43 GMT Daylight Time,  
mike at corn2.freeserve.co.uk writes:

What I  use is a wooden cocktail stick ( bought in lots of 1000 for a 
quid from  your local Pound Shop ) or a wooden toothpick that I have 
previously  preformed by gently pushing it through an empty THP hole 
of the correct  size.
I then heat the hole to be cleared until the solder melts and then  
push the stick through the molten solder. Its easy, non destructive  
and very quick to do.

I also use this wooden tool to prevent  ingress of solder to ajacent 
holes when soldering a component located  close to other THP holes.


Reply--------------------------------------------
 
What a good idea Mike.
 
I had the misfortune to solder joints that should have been done later  
particularly on the K2 RF board. This idea would have saved me the grief of  
removing the solder in a THP hole that was required later without affecting  other 
joints in the area.
 
The builder who ended up having to buy a new board about a year back after  
clearing the THP holes with a Dremmel tool is a good testimony for not  using a 
drill bit to clear solder.
 
Bob, G3VVT