Do you like your hotplate setup? What is it? I seriously need to figure something out sometime in the future…
I really like the jaxman e2l as a host, and it requires very delicately reducing a 20mm triple board down to about 18mm without shorting the + or - to ground. Its a pain but I enjoy the end product. (and mostly enjoy doing the work too)
Ohh, I did end up ordering the one Unloco linked: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/UYUE-946-1010-LED. It's the best price on Ali for this model. Talked to my EE friend at work and he thought it was a good deal as well. Thanks everyone!
Hotplates are a godsend, especially if you have a stencil.
For components that have low thermal mass, it makes it so easy to just reflow, slowly raise the heat, and the part is soldered down.
For high thermal mass parts, like springs on tailcaps/drivers, or parts very sensitive to heat, using a hotplate can be very useful to preheat the part and solder it using a soldering iron.
Heck, to make my job even easier, I use SnBi solder paste, since its very low melting point is perfect for stuff that should never get close to 100C, like springs and low power builds, making the job that much faster too.
Also, is there someone who would like a triple 3000k/3500k build on an MCPCB? I have one left that I can use for this.
Just used 4 of the small springs on a mod of the infamous "TESLACOM" flashlight. There was a 1/2 price deal on Amazon for it. First I thought it was a junker, umoddable, cheaply made, but ended up getting it apart and could see a couple things about it could be fixed up, one of which is better springs.
This is it, but I only paid $18: https://www.amazon.com TESLACOM. Beleive me it's not worth $37, not even sure if it's worth $18.
Cool, figured as much (and in the mean time I managed to score a few of your springs from a fellow modder for use now) but I can’t wait to stock up and not have to worry for a little bit!