Good advice I heard a while ago: When you're first getting into something, buy the cheapest tools and equipment that actually work for what you're doing. Then, when they break, buy the best ones you can afford. This way, if you don't continue with whatever it is you started, you didn't waste your money on expensive tools. But, if you use them enough that they break, you're clearly committed to it, so get the "good ones" that will last forever and perform the best.
In general I really agree with this, but I also know from experience a lot of times the more expensive tools make the job easier. So I'm always conflicted when talking to someone who's thinking about getting into a hobby, do I recommend the cheap tool that is kind of a pain to use, or the more expensive tool that's more beginner friendly. It's a fine line and usually comes down to how much the price difference is
@@ZacBuilds i think at that point if it's something where you're more experienced in, it may be wrothwhile to give that person a useful tip about the tool and if they're still interested (at a later point), let them know about the existence of the more helpful more expensive tool. Ideally this minimizes their suffering and gives them something to look forward to but idk. (also this philosophy described above is that of Adam Savage and i think he's a genius at making/creative work so)
I think it's also worth considering how wide the use case for such tools may be when recommending them. Will a newbie stick with the hobby long enough to require the more expensive/higher quality tools? Maybe, but even if they don't, if the tools they acquire can have further applications outside of that hobby, recommending the higher quality option may be a greater service.
I often feel like the more of a beginner you are at something, the more expensive a tool you need to buy. For example, a soldering pro could get decent results from that $10 iron, but beginner would buy it and give up on soldering cause it's too hard, when really it's just the crappy tools they bought. When what they need is a decent quality iron. Which ironically is what the more experienced are using.
@@kultledern it is legal up to a certain percentage. Also, old electronics (which he might desolder, i donno, never seen him do it but who knows for sure) do have a lot of it.
If you don't have them already, also pick up "reverse action" tweezers, also called "self-close" or simply "reverse" tweezers. They're tweezers that will hold your item until you squeeze to let go of it. They'll take a LOT of strain out of your hands because you don't have to maintain a grip depending on what you're doing, and in particular with the small surface-mount parts like tiny capacitors and resistors.
Omg 🤦♂️ they make those would solve alot of issues I keep trying all these expensive ones thinking I can get a better hold but nope reverse makes sense will have see if North Ridge Fix has these.
@_Dark__Mode_ Looking at their shop, they don't appear to sell them at all. Which is odd, in all honesty. So look around for a set and pay attention to reviews on how well they last, how quality they are, etc. I do need to replace my set. The tweezers that come with the iFixIt toolkit are still very high quality, but having a set of reverse tweezers to go with it will prove invaluable going forward. Especially if, again, you're doing a lot of work with small components.
@@ZacBuilds Not a big deal, but the title says "12 tools I can't believe more people done have." I believe you meant to type "don't," rather than "done"?
if I may, I would add something basic on which it is absolutely harmful to save money: the spool of solder, the flux and the desoldering wick. Never ever buy generic and cheap ones, because they are the best way to wrongly convince yourself that you are an idiot, buy quality ones and you will really begin to understand that the disasters you caused were not always your fault (personal experience)
FYI there's this small cracking sound in the audio every 1-4 seconds. It's pretty bothersome for me (sensory overload). It persists through the whole video, but it's particularly noticeable around 5:20. I switched over to Spotify to make sure it wasn't my headset, and I checked on both Android and PC to ensure it wasn't the UA-cam app. I'm still gonna watch the whole video, but just wanted to let you know in case your microphone or its cords are going bad. Keep up the good work!!
@@pandavova I went back and checked on my PC and it seems the crackling is throughout the whole video. It's possible that UA-cam encoded/decoded the audio incorrectly (I don't know how that stuff works), but I haven't come across any other videos with the crackling. Oh well. If it happens in the next video, I'll make another comment haha.
I received mine (A1) two days ago, yesterday I was able to print a small part 3 times in one evening after making some design errors, it's amazing to just hit print and not have to worry about the printing process!
Since you're talking about things a new maker would be interested in... I would really appreciate some discussion of the things you *don't* make yourself. What does one need to know about ordering custom PCBs? When do you order professional 3D prints versus rolling your own? How do you weigh buying a pricey off-the-shelf component versus building a cheaper alternative? I'm particularly interested in PCBs now, but the project I'm mulling over would involve all of these questions.
I spent 3 months in EasyEDA tweaking a PCB design for a potential project, tested a cut-down breadboard version if it and printed a paper copy to scale to check if the components I had would fit, then one day I finally ordered it (default settings except colors) and because I spent so long tweaking the details I had no issue ^^ If you're on the fence about using such a service, and you have the money (about 35€ in my case, with shipping and some extra PCBs) I would say just spend 2 hours re-checking your design and go for it
Torque Test Channel rated the Denali electric screwdriver higher than all others including Dewalt, Milwaukee, Makita, and others. It's a little beast of an electric screwdriver. I will not call it "cordless" because a regular-ol' screwdriver your grandpa used on the farm is cordless too.
Been modding iPods lately and there is quite a lot on this list that Id like to pick up so its helpful you have done a lot of the shopping for me. Thanks so much!
For silicone mats ideally get one that is grounded, or check the reviews. cheap silicone is very staticky. You can get a silicone mat with a grounding wire for $25 usd.
You are 100% correct you don’t need name brand products to do your diy project. I did micro soldering on my tablet and i used a cheap soldering iron and my iPhone xr as a microscope and the only problem i had is I didn’t have flux, and after I got flux i fixed it immediately.
I finally learned to use the TORQUE limiter on my drill installing a bunch of fans this year. Turns out fan blades are now cardboard basically. So, if you don't limit the torque, you're going right through that blade and ruining it. Also helps with balancing it as well.
Hi Zac fellow Canadian... For board holder you should buy 2 Hakko Omnivise you won't be disappointed, big or small board no worries, you can also adjust the height they are small but heavy your board wont move half a millimeter while doing micro soldering and its ESD safe... I use chemwick to desolder like every electronic tech the brand not the Chinese knockoff but for desoldering pump i love the engineer SS-02 solder sucker, japan made with a silicone tip, the new model is the SS-03 i don't know what is the difference, also it comes with replaceable tips !! Adonstar microscopes are small and very useful also good quality i used to work with those for a long time but after sometime i was annoyed with the working height and also the small table so i bought a trinocular microscope with moving arm combined with an HDMI cam ... Although its expensive and not for everyone if you don't use it in a repair shop you better stick with the Andonstar the new AD409 max would have been awesome when i started. Another useful tool you didn't mention is an adjustable power supply at least 30v dc with adjustable knob for the voltage and the current with the option to set constant voltage or current, the first one i bought 5 or 6 years ago was a Kaisi 3005D+ and it still working today my employee are using every day i think they still made it and he are not really expensive, very useful for testing or doing diagnostics, before i bought this i was using for like 5 years a 20v power supply for tattoos that i had modified loll . Take care
I dont own a Bambu P1S, but i have had to luxury of trying one and it is amazing! Its quick and a lot of annoying calibration is automated and so on. The only complaint is the error messages seems like random messages but they all correspond to specific issues, as they are googleable
End of the year revenue push. All of YT is doing it. I watched my favorite car channel push a hair dryer to us yesterday. I literally can't stand it all but they are making money so,...
@Balsksks sorry, this is a new feature youtube is rolling out and I have no control over it. I only do English audio and English subtitles. Everything after that is AI generated slop unfortunately
Thanks for sharing all of these. I just bought a good handful of these things a few weeks ago, including the microscope you recommended. Looking forwarding to taking on some vita mods as well as controller mods soon!
As a person who works with electronics, making the jump from just a multimeter to also having a cheap oscilloscope is equivalent to the jump of getting a multimeter in the first place. Not only are you able to see what voltage something has, but you're able to see the quality of the voltage, which can first of all give significant insight into how electronics work, but also tells you if something is malfunctioning. Something you wouldn't be able to see with a multimeter alone.
I've just purchased a larger silicone mat from the Gamers Nexus store. It hasn't been dispatched yet but it looks great quality so definitely worth a look as he also does some incredible work holding tech companies to account and it was a great way to support their work!
legit all the stuff I'm currently working on getting and/or upgrading. a poor man pays twice and i never thought some cheaper quality things i got would matter. and tweezers being one of those damn things for me too! haha. Love your vids zac , always excited to see what projects you are getting up to ! :D
Looking at my electronics bench, I'd say all your suggestions are really good... the only ones I don't have are the 3D printer and the thermal camera... but I do have a couple of other things that I think are really handy, like an electric vacuum solder sucker, a bench power supply, and an oscilloscope.
Perfect timing. I was debating the wire strippers, and was looking for a PCB holder to replace defective PS5 joysticks with HE. Ordering both tomorrow.
If I may, I think I'd recommend the Bambulab A1 for a beginner's printer if you're going for a good price:quality ratio without breaking the bank too much I just got one with the AMS and it's so much more comfortable to use than my old Sovol Sv06 Plus(Which, for the record, isn't a bad beginner printer, as it can teach you a lot through trial and error about how printers work, but it's too slow and clunky for my liking)
Those wire strippers look amazing, gotta get me one of those! Something you should also recommend when buying a soldering station is a fumes extractor. You really don't want to be breathing those fumes in! You can get simple ones with a carbon filter for cheap.
I second your list of tools aside from the branding. Pinecil by pine64 is the best soldering iron I've ever owned and it runs off of USB C ! and all for $25! Get yourself a fume extractor fan too Precision screwdriver: better to support ifixit that is heavily involved in right to repair rather than ltt 3D printer: a creality K1 is 1/3 the price of a bambulab printer and does 90% of the same things other than that, 3D print your own PCB holder with built-in phone holder and use that as a PCB soldering station (with 3x or 10x mag depending on your phone!)
I typically follow this sort of advice when buying anything-if it does one thing, it usually does it better than something that tries to do more things. But I’m interested why you feel it doesn’t work well specifically with soldering equipment. I don’t have any experience with these combination units.
@@blackhawkthepirate those items are usually sold to newbies who won't use them so much so they also won't argue when something is badly built. the insides are usually crap. and if one part breaks you're stuck with both on your desk anyways and it's annoying. plus the power draw from one part will influence the other and if you run both at full blast with weaker units it can burn out the power supply. anyways think of it as a sporknife. useless in all situations.
Thanks for the list, added a couple of your aff links to my cart. I've been doing electronics for 50 years, here's a list of tools off my bench. Wick Techspray 1803-25f Dumont Tweezers Style 00 Antimagnetic
I think I'd probably add a tool, myself: a lightbox. You can even make these yourself with some high-gauge printer paper, an LED, and a box from amazon, or just buy one of the ones they make for taking pictures of products from Amazon itself, but multi-directional, diffuse light is an ABSOLUTE game-changer compared to overhead spotlights. Work-lighting is an underrated thing that I think UA-camrs ignore because they have studio lighting. The other one, for me, is
Thinking about it now and I honestly can't name a single tool that I regret not buying sooner. For me when I have a need I look for something that will fulfil that need and I get it. I don't sit around reading reviews and hemming and hawing asking "Do I REALLY need this?" or "Which one would (insert name here) recommend?". I see a need, find something that will solve that need, buy that something and then move on. When a tool breaks or wears out I'll do the math and weigh price/durability/quality and in some cases I'll buy a better one but in others I'll buy a cheaper one. I'd rather buy something for $20 twice than $50 once. I also don't get caught up in the hype of "influencers" or people who get caught up in image. I have my grandfather's 80W soldering iron he used to use on ham radios when he was in the London underground during WWII. The tip is 3/8" wide and solid copper and has NEVER needed any form of repair. I challenge anyone to find a modern soldering iron that could claim this. It gets HOT and stays hot for a long time. It's ugly and has no temp control but I can say with absolute certainty that for soldering jobs that need a lot of heat and don't need to be pretty this is my go to.
According to Torque Test Channel, that Denali has been renamed to Amazon Basics and is made by Skil… even though it outperforms Skil’s own self-branded powered cordless screwdriver.
If you don't need the volume, and aren't too fussed about it. the Bambu P1A is also pretty stellar. Its a very small 3D printer but it might be enough for you needs. But, it is Open Air, meaning it doesnt have and enclosure of its own, but it is like 300 dollars, so spending a few bucks on a 3d party one if you want one may not be a terrible idea.
The A1 and little brother A1 Mini are great starter printers. Don’t pass them over just because they’re cheaper. Most hobbyists don’t need an enclosed printer.
itd have been nice if the sequence was in some way cost to bang for buck regret , like silicon mat and tweezer , and maybe PCB holder . 3d printer opens up a vast array of opportunities but everyone has some idea of why 3d printer would be useful, but the mind blowingness of good soldering tips is not even imagined until one actually uses the good stuff, till then 'its good enough' keeps them trapped. same with the electric screw driver of which the magic isn't known till one actually has it and has to work on 20 screws to open something. wire strippers also in similar basket, I have the other style of cheap automatic wire stripper which looks like seahorse (knipex style maybe ) which was eye opening, and id definitely buy a good one next when this breaks.
just get the pinecil soldering iron, those station heatin element seperate from the tip take ages to heat up, cartridge type soldering iron is much easier for newbie
On the theme of small screwdrivers/drills I cannot recommend enough wowstick drills and micro electric screwdriver. And also battery powered Dremel (I can't recommend chinese copies because not once their cutting disks exploded in my hands). And oscilloscopes gotten pretty cheap also, particularly Owon and Hantek, quite reputable brands.
Oh wow, the bearings on your electrical screwdriver are toast. This can also wreck screws. As for using a regular ("pistol shaped") battery powered screwdriver - many of these come with adjustable torque limits nowadays. You set a low value and the clutch/ratcheting mechanism will simply disengage before you have any chance of destroying the screw head.
Gamers Nexus has an excellent silicone mat I use all the time for PC building, repair, and painting minis. Much bigger and great utility. Highly recommend. Also, I deeply feel the pain of not having that E torx socket as a Supra (aka a BMW Z4) owner. LMAO
I'll definitely look into the GN mat! I cant remember what I was trying to change on the car but I got halfway, found an e-torx and had to go order a set and wait 3 days to finish the job lol. Also, B58 gang, represent ;)
BY the WAY, As a man who has bought 4 different thermal cameras for phones, FLIR is EASILY the WORST OF THE BUNCH, NOT EVEN CLOSE TO BEING GOOD. 1) Temp range is freezing to boiling, 2) flir watermark plagues everything, 3) can't use a USB C extension cable on it. 4) EXPENSIVE FOR LACK OF QUALITY, 5) 8FPS 6) EXTREMELY LOW RESOLUTION. Best one for the money and around the same price, TOPDON, more than double the resolution, 3x the FPS, less lag, can use it on your PC, can use a USB Extension cable with it, 1200F top range and -10F bottom range, usually on crazy sales, and all around GREAT. Only negative, doesn't have the cool adjustable height USB C.
The other cool thing about using it on PC is you can graph values, so you can point the camera at a PCB and get a graph of the temperature on specific areas. Unfortunately the US has regulations on thermal camera frame rate so most stuff from FLIR is capped at 8fps, the higher frame rate of the Chinese units is much nicer.
@@slinkytrips I bought mine on Amazon. And yeah I heard about that weird "CAP ON FRAMERATE" which doesn't make sense. Radiation issues? I don't understand what the restriction is there.
@@ZacBuilds I just checked on both, it doesn't show up anywhere. Maybe it's got something to do with the automatic translation? I'm in Germany, and UA-cam shows me a German video description, which I assume is automatically translated. Maybe some links got lost in that process?
@lennartcordes7605 ahhh that may be the issue! Didn't know they auto translated the description too. Because I can see the links just fine and double checked on a few other devices. Can you try switching to English and see if that fixes it?
6:04 Yeah, please do NOT do that! Especially if you aren't using lead-free soldier. This is where you put the dishes where you eat from, man! You are going to end up with microscopic lead dust on your dishes; it doesn't matter how much more dense lead is compared to water. The pressure, heat, and abrasive particles in the tabs will fling the residue EVERYWHERE.
The only thing we'd probably disagree on is the drill. I really really don't like those types of drills that you recommended. They're a "pipe nightmare" for me. They're uncomfortable for me to use, they're difficult to switch directions (Depending on the model) and they're sometimes just as unfriendly to screws as the over powered ones, and sometimes they're just not strong enough when someone puts lock tight on the screws (I don't -- Never owned a bottle -- But I've come across server drives that DO have that lock tight on the threads and holy cow...). I much prefer the style of the regular looking drill or hammer drills rather than those longer ones. Fits my hand better, gets me more pressure when needed, gravity is typically the only pressure needed, when you get one with a VERY loose clutch on them they won't over torque the screw, and they're so much easier to handle the directions with the flick of your fore finger or thumb. I'll lightly hold the drill in my hand, tight enough so I don't drop it, but loose enough so that when the screw gets to the end that the drill jerks and my finger "falls" off the trigger. Although I have a soldering station with a temperature gauge, the soldering iron side is not digitally controlled. It's an analogue dial. It works, but I am eyeing the exact model you showed on Amazon. Great price, just haven't pulled the trigger because I'm typically dealing with wires and buttons more so than PCBs and ICs and such, but the digital control... So nice
For the automatic wire stripper: get the one from Jokari. For around 10€ it’s awesome. I also got the Knipex 1240200 and that thing is a piece of shit. The blades don’t rip the isolation mostly apart, so you have to push it more together with your fingers at the tip.
get a proper dual eyes 👀 microscope for electronics, it is HUGE different. I used to use the lcd microscope for nearly 5years bcos I refused to spend more on the dual eyes microscope, last year i decided to get one and it is so much fun and so much easier to work with especially when come to micro soldering bcos u can see 3d view and get a sense of "depth" with dual eyes. definitely must have imo, it is getting cheaper now too.
In the early 2000nds this video would list as teleshoping 😂 Hell, I feel like in front of one of these cheap tvs in the home depot shop where the praise the new tool for cleaning pipes. The best thing ever for just 39.99 if you call right now 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
Hey, around 5:55 you tell people they could throw their solder mat in the dishwasher but you should be careful about leaded solder contamination if used. I don't know about you personally if you use ROHS solder but not everyone. Leaded still plenty common personally. I could easily see a situation where it could contaminate the future dishes and thats bad news.
To be clear, LTT did not sponsor this video. They sponsored another one of my videos and sent me the screw driver. I just really like it so I included it in this list.
Quality soldering tips are indeed super-important, but there's no explanation here for how to tell good tips from bad. The Jungle Site listing in the description appears from our perspective to be just another generic set of tips. Sixteen bucks for a full set is ridiculously cheap, though it's good that this channel is giving them a good review here. Yes, the listing says it's "high-quality" and uses "imported, oxygen-free copper", but that's just standard marketing for Chinese sellers; it means nothing. The worst tips you can buy may include that same text as they might have copied it from some popular listing; it's easier to copy English advertising that's known to work than to translate your own. Price is also not a good measure as the prices on Amazon have nothing to do with the quality of most products; they sell for whatever they can get and products that become popular *stay* popular even after price increases because most customers have so little information that they simply look at the popularity and ratings on Jungle Site; a feedback loop of ignorance. The only viable alternative is to buy tips directly from Hakko, JBC, or other established brands. Unless sold through a legitimate store on Jungle Site, even stuff claiming to be from those brands there is likely to be counterfeit. The tips will be overpriced from the real brands, but at least they'll be legitimate. Don't believe store-hosted reviews when it comes to technical products as most buyers wouldn't know a good product from a bad one if their life depended on it; they either give a product 5 stars if it works at all and 1 star if it doesn't. If Michelin stars were given out by the general public, Hardees would be a 3-star restaurant. When Amazon first expanded beyond books I thought that online reviews would greatly improve the consumer products market, but I was incredibly wrong; I greatly over-estimated the competency of the average human :(. That's uncomfortable to say, but it's true.
Good advice I heard a while ago:
When you're first getting into something, buy the cheapest tools and equipment that actually work for what you're doing. Then, when they break, buy the best ones you can afford. This way, if you don't continue with whatever it is you started, you didn't waste your money on expensive tools. But, if you use them enough that they break, you're clearly committed to it, so get the "good ones" that will last forever and perform the best.
In general I really agree with this, but I also know from experience a lot of times the more expensive tools make the job easier. So I'm always conflicted when talking to someone who's thinking about getting into a hobby, do I recommend the cheap tool that is kind of a pain to use, or the more expensive tool that's more beginner friendly. It's a fine line and usually comes down to how much the price difference is
@@ZacBuilds i think at that point if it's something where you're more experienced in, it may be wrothwhile to give that person a useful tip about the tool and if they're still interested (at a later point), let them know about the existence of the more helpful more expensive tool. Ideally this minimizes their suffering and gives them something to look forward to but idk.
(also this philosophy described above is that of Adam Savage and i think he's a genius at making/creative work so)
I think it's also worth considering how wide the use case for such tools may be when recommending them.
Will a newbie stick with the hobby long enough to require the more expensive/higher quality tools? Maybe, but even if they don't, if the tools they acquire can have further applications outside of that hobby, recommending the higher quality option may be a greater service.
I often feel like the more of a beginner you are at something, the more expensive a tool you need to buy. For example, a soldering pro could get decent results from that $10 iron, but beginner would buy it and give up on soldering cause it's too hard, when really it's just the crappy tools they bought.
When what they need is a decent quality iron. Which ironically is what the more experienced are using.
I would say for DIY they should start with the midrange, its not too cheap to break after a year and not too expensive either
Putting the silicon mat in the dish washer is WILD work...I really hope you don't work with leaded solder
leaded solder is forbidden in most countries now btw
Hopefully not as he hasn't bought a fume extractor yet.
@@kultledern it is legal up to a certain percentage. Also, old electronics (which he might desolder, i donno, never seen him do it but who knows for sure) do have a lot of it.
Good thing that the dishwasher is able to wash away that lead, am I right?
Lead is not THAT bad 🙄
If you don't have them already, also pick up "reverse action" tweezers, also called "self-close" or simply "reverse" tweezers. They're tweezers that will hold your item until you squeeze to let go of it. They'll take a LOT of strain out of your hands because you don't have to maintain a grip depending on what you're doing, and in particular with the small surface-mount parts like tiny capacitors and resistors.
Doesn't the ifixit kit have that? Ik getting one in the next week
Omg 🤦♂️ they make those would solve alot of issues I keep trying all these expensive ones thinking I can get a better hold but nope reverse makes sense will have see if North Ridge Fix has these.
@_Dark__Mode_ Looking at their shop, they don't appear to sell them at all. Which is odd, in all honesty. So look around for a set and pay attention to reviews on how well they last, how quality they are, etc. I do need to replace my set.
The tweezers that come with the iFixIt toolkit are still very high quality, but having a set of reverse tweezers to go with it will prove invaluable going forward. Especially if, again, you're doing a lot of work with small components.
Me using them as a blunt holder
@_Dark__Mode_ It looks like they do have them in the Pro Tech Toolkit.
I'd say adding a digital caliper to the 3D printer buy would be a pretty useful tool
Good call! I'll add it to my list for 2025 :)
+1
essential for 3D printing whether modelling or not - just to make sure it fits in the real world
@@ZacBuilds Not a big deal, but the title says "12 tools I can't believe more people done have." I believe you meant to type "don't," rather than "done"?
The first video in the "regret not buying sooner" category that I actually enjoyed, and found useful!
Thanks for the recommendations!
You're so welcome!
if I may, I would add something basic on which it is absolutely harmful to save money: the spool of solder, the flux and the desoldering wick. Never ever buy generic and cheap ones, because they are the best way to wrongly convince yourself that you are an idiot, buy quality ones and you will really begin to understand that the disasters you caused were not always your fault (personal experience)
Great advice!
FYI there's this small cracking sound in the audio every 1-4 seconds. It's pretty bothersome for me (sensory overload). It persists through the whole video, but it's particularly noticeable around 5:20. I switched over to Spotify to make sure it wasn't my headset, and I checked on both Android and PC to ensure it wasn't the UA-cam app.
I'm still gonna watch the whole video, but just wanted to let you know in case your microphone or its cords are going bad.
Keep up the good work!!
man i did go insane and thought it's my issue because I already have latency issues with yt android...
yeah i cant keep watching
@@pandavova I went back and checked on my PC and it seems the crackling is throughout the whole video. It's possible that UA-cam encoded/decoded the audio incorrectly (I don't know how that stuff works), but I haven't come across any other videos with the crackling. Oh well. If it happens in the next video, I'll make another comment haha.
Really appreciate the heads up on this! I'm not sure how it happened but I'll work with youtube support and try to get it fixed ASAP
Love my Bambu printer. Great to focus on design and prototyping vs printer troubleshooting.
I received mine (A1) two days ago, yesterday I was able to print a small part 3 times in one evening after making some design errors, it's amazing to just hit print and not have to worry about the printing process!
Since you're talking about things a new maker would be interested in... I would really appreciate some discussion of the things you *don't* make yourself. What does one need to know about ordering custom PCBs? When do you order professional 3D prints versus rolling your own? How do you weigh buying a pricey off-the-shelf component versus building a cheaper alternative?
I'm particularly interested in PCBs now, but the project I'm mulling over would involve all of these questions.
I spent 3 months in EasyEDA tweaking a PCB design for a potential project, tested a cut-down breadboard version if it and printed a paper copy to scale to check if the components I had would fit, then one day I finally ordered it (default settings except colors) and because I spent so long tweaking the details I had no issue ^^
If you're on the fence about using such a service, and you have the money (about 35€ in my case, with shipping and some extra PCBs) I would say just spend 2 hours re-checking your design and go for it
I have to say this is the best recommendations video I've seen yet. These things are actually very useful.
Would be super cool if there were timestamp chapters showing the tools :)
I can do that! Just gotta sort out this audio glitch first
Torque Test Channel rated the Denali electric screwdriver higher than all others including Dewalt, Milwaukee, Makita, and others. It's a little beast of an electric screwdriver. I will not call it "cordless" because a regular-ol' screwdriver your grandpa used on the farm is cordless too.
That's where I first found out about it and bought it right away.
Been modding iPods lately and there is quite a lot on this list that Id like to pick up so its helpful you have done a lot of the shopping for me. Thanks so much!
Man, i wish this video came out sooner. A little too late for Christmas. Dang it! Thanks for the list. Amazing suggestions.
For silicone mats ideally get one that is grounded, or check the reviews. cheap silicone is very staticky. You can get a silicone mat with a grounding wire for $25 usd.
@GamersNexus have a good one.
You are 100% correct you don’t need name brand products to do your diy project. I did micro soldering on my tablet and i used a cheap soldering iron and my iPhone xr as a microscope and the only problem i had is I didn’t have flux, and after I got flux i fixed it immediately.
For the electronic Screwdriver, I could suggest one with tongue settings like the Bosch one so you always have the same tightness :)
I finally learned to use the TORQUE limiter on my drill installing a bunch of fans this year. Turns out fan blades are now cardboard basically. So, if you don't limit the torque, you're going right through that blade and ruining it. Also helps with balancing it as well.
Great list! Agreed, those automatic wire strippers are so good, I've been using the same pair I bought 20 years ago.
I was always team TEETH, before them.
Precision screwdrivers are a life changer!
Hi Zac fellow Canadian... For board holder you should buy 2 Hakko Omnivise you won't be disappointed, big or small board no worries, you can also adjust the height they are small but heavy your board wont move half a millimeter while doing micro soldering and its ESD safe... I use chemwick to desolder like every electronic tech the brand not the Chinese knockoff but for desoldering pump i love the engineer SS-02 solder sucker, japan made with a silicone tip, the new model is the SS-03 i don't know what is the difference, also it comes with replaceable tips !!
Adonstar microscopes are small and very useful also good quality i used to work with those for a long time but after sometime i was annoyed with the working height and also the small table so i bought a trinocular microscope with moving arm combined with an HDMI cam ... Although its expensive and not for everyone if you don't use it in a repair shop you better stick with the Andonstar the new AD409 max would have been awesome when i started.
Another useful tool you didn't mention is an adjustable power supply at least 30v dc with adjustable knob for the voltage and the current with the option to set constant voltage or current, the first one i bought 5 or 6 years ago was a Kaisi 3005D+ and it still working today my employee are using every day i think they still made it and he are not really expensive, very useful for testing or doing diagnostics, before i bought this i was using for like 5 years a 20v power supply for tattoos that i had modified loll . Take care
I dont own a Bambu P1S, but i have had to luxury of trying one and it is amazing! Its quick and a lot of annoying calibration is automated and so on. The only complaint is the error messages seems like random messages but they all correspond to specific issues, as they are googleable
Pinecil is 25 bucks and works perfectly
I'll have to try one of those!
To be fair, you'll need to add another $25 or so for a high-powered PSU
Love your consistency bro, you’re my new favourite DIY/Electronics channel on UA-cam!
oh wow, that soldering iron set is a lot cheaper than I thought it would be. Cheers!
Zac posts 2 times in a week 🎉
End of the year revenue push. All of YT is doing it. I watched my favorite car channel push a hair dryer to us yesterday. I literally can't stand it all but they are making money so,...
Boah the audiotranslation in german is too bad 😖
Stimmt
Ich probiere die nicht mal, da er super zu verstehen ist in Englisch.
Kannst es ja glücklicherweise in den Einstellungen umstellen.
That's because German grammatical form is insane compared to almost every other language on the planet except a handful
@Balsksks sorry, this is a new feature youtube is rolling out and I have no control over it. I only do English audio and English subtitles. Everything after that is AI generated slop unfortunately
Thanks for sharing all of these. I just bought a good handful of these things a few weeks ago, including the microscope you recommended. Looking forwarding to taking on some vita mods as well as controller mods soon!
"Such is the duality of being a Canadian"
So much truth to this, I do it all the time.
As a person who works with electronics, making the jump from just a multimeter to also having a cheap oscilloscope is equivalent to the jump of getting a multimeter in the first place. Not only are you able to see what voltage something has, but you're able to see the quality of the voltage, which can first of all give significant insight into how electronics work, but also tells you if something is malfunctioning. Something you wouldn't be able to see with a multimeter alone.
I've just purchased a larger silicone mat from the Gamers Nexus store. It hasn't been dispatched yet but it looks great quality so definitely worth a look as he also does some incredible work holding tech companies to account and it was a great way to support their work!
legit all the stuff I'm currently working on getting and/or upgrading. a poor man pays twice and i never thought some cheaper quality things i got would matter. and tweezers being one of those damn things for me too! haha. Love your vids zac , always excited to see what projects you are getting up to ! :D
Looking at my electronics bench, I'd say all your suggestions are really good... the only ones I don't have are the 3D printer and the thermal camera... but I do have a couple of other things that I think are really handy, like an electric vacuum solder sucker, a bench power supply, and an oscilloscope.
Great video! I want to pick up a few things like a precision screwdriver and a powered screw driver. Keep up the great work bro!
Perfect timing. I was debating the wire strippers, and was looking for a PCB holder to replace defective PS5 joysticks with HE. Ordering both tomorrow.
Was thinking about doing the same thing sometime, but aren't the dualsense ones TMR rather than HE?
I love my Denali screwdriver! Got it for like $15 after torque test channel tested it 👍
If I may, I think I'd recommend the Bambulab A1 for a beginner's printer if you're going for a good price:quality ratio without breaking the bank too much
I just got one with the AMS and it's so much more comfortable to use than my old Sovol Sv06 Plus(Which, for the record, isn't a bad beginner printer, as it can teach you a lot through trial and error about how printers work, but it's too slow and clunky for my liking)
100% Agree and if you look in the video description that's the "cheap" option I posted if the P1S is too expensive.
Those wire strippers look amazing, gotta get me one of those!
Something you should also recommend when buying a soldering station is a fumes extractor. You really don't want to be breathing those fumes in! You can get simple ones with a carbon filter for cheap.
Very true! And truth be told this is something I actually still need to get for myself. Might end up 3d printing one too...
I second your list of tools aside from the branding.
Pinecil by pine64 is the best soldering iron I've ever owned and it runs off of USB C ! and all for $25! Get yourself a fume extractor fan too
Precision screwdriver: better to support ifixit that is heavily involved in right to repair rather than ltt
3D printer: a creality K1 is 1/3 the price of a bambulab printer and does 90% of the same things
other than that, 3D print your own PCB holder with built-in phone holder and use that as a PCB soldering station (with 3x or 10x mag depending on your phone!)
For me, it's Molex connector crimping tool. Devine thing to make your own cables and connectors
There were so many ad scares 😅
Wonderful recommendations nonetheless
NEVER buy a soldering station that integrates something else inside it (hot air gun, multimeter, power supply, tweezer). ALWAYS buy separate parts.
I typically follow this sort of advice when buying anything-if it does one thing, it usually does it better than something that tries to do more things. But I’m interested why you feel it doesn’t work well specifically with soldering equipment. I don’t have any experience with these combination units.
@@blackhawkthepirate those items are usually sold to newbies who won't use them so much so they also won't argue when something is badly built. the insides are usually crap. and if one part breaks you're stuck with both on your desk anyways and it's annoying. plus the power draw from one part will influence the other and if you run both at full blast with weaker units it can burn out the power supply. anyways think of it as a sporknife. useless in all situations.
Thanks for the list, added a couple of your aff links to my cart.
I've been doing electronics for 50 years, here's a list of tools off my bench.
Wick Techspray 1803-25f
Dumont Tweezers Style 00 Antimagnetic
Canadian! I'm so proud.
I think I'd probably add a tool, myself: a lightbox. You can even make these yourself with some high-gauge printer paper, an LED, and a box from amazon, or just buy one of the ones they make for taking pictures of products from Amazon itself, but multi-directional, diffuse light is an ABSOLUTE game-changer compared to overhead spotlights. Work-lighting is an underrated thing that I think UA-camrs ignore because they have studio lighting. The other one, for me, is
I've seen like 5 different thumbnails on this video lol
I would add one of the chip suction tools, even the low end ones work well and are much safer than grabbing your chips with tweezers.
Also, if you are modding within the existing cases. Flush cutters, small files, and a nice little dremel set can really save time in the long run.
you should try carbide solder tip.
I'll look into it!
Thinking about it now and I honestly can't name a single tool that I regret not buying sooner. For me when I have a need I look for something that will fulfil that need and I get it. I don't sit around reading reviews and hemming and hawing asking "Do I REALLY need this?" or "Which one would (insert name here) recommend?". I see a need, find something that will solve that need, buy that something and then move on. When a tool breaks or wears out I'll do the math and weigh price/durability/quality and in some cases I'll buy a better one but in others I'll buy a cheaper one. I'd rather buy something for $20 twice than $50 once. I also don't get caught up in the hype of "influencers" or people who get caught up in image. I have my grandfather's 80W soldering iron he used to use on ham radios when he was in the London underground during WWII. The tip is 3/8" wide and solid copper and has NEVER needed any form of repair. I challenge anyone to find a modern soldering iron that could claim this. It gets HOT and stays hot for a long time. It's ugly and has no temp control but I can say with absolute certainty that for soldering jobs that need a lot of heat and don't need to be pretty this is my go to.
5:43 is that new preview of the next video?
Maybe.... (good eye!)
According to Torque Test Channel, that Denali has been renamed to Amazon Basics and is made by Skil… even though it outperforms Skil’s own self-branded powered cordless screwdriver.
@@emmettturner9452 i thought it was made by skil? Unless skil is a subsidiary of bosch?
I misremembered. Fixed! Thanks. :)
Just a good list!!
if you want a good work mat try the gamers nexus one . I have it , its huge and well made .
Well now Im excited for the GBA SP Video
It's already out!
Thx, please make more content.
If you don't need the volume, and aren't too fussed about it. the Bambu P1A is also pretty stellar. Its a very small 3D printer but it might be enough for you needs. But, it is Open Air, meaning it doesnt have and enclosure of its own, but it is like 300 dollars, so spending a few bucks on a 3d party one if you want one may not be a terrible idea.
The A1 and little brother A1 Mini are great starter printers. Don’t pass them over just because they’re cheaper. Most hobbyists don’t need an enclosed printer.
Got me bro, I skipped the first launch of this video with a different title/thumbnail😂 Though I must admit it was useful and informative.
I really need that wire stripper. These days, my go-to strategy for stripping wires is by using my bare hands. My nails have suffered enough.
Title should be. 12 tools needed for every MODERN build
I like it, and I will test it.
@ZacBuilds I live vicariously through you and your projects. Thanks for making such great content.
Oh man you need to get a better multimeter. For just a little more you get so much better
Love your videos!
"Such is the duality of being a Canadian." - Out of context, that sounds so profound. In context, all I've got is, "Yep."
With all of the stuff you do you really should consider a (knockoff) JBC soldering station. They are absolutely amazing, there's no contest at all.
itd have been nice if the sequence was in some way cost to bang for buck regret , like silicon mat and tweezer , and maybe PCB holder .
3d printer opens up a vast array of opportunities but everyone has some idea of why 3d printer would be useful, but the mind blowingness of good soldering tips is not even imagined until one actually uses the good stuff, till then 'its good enough' keeps them trapped.
same with the electric screw driver of which the magic isn't known till one actually has it and has to work on 20 screws to open something.
wire strippers also in similar basket, I have the other style of cheap automatic wire stripper which looks like seahorse (knipex style maybe ) which was eye opening, and id definitely buy a good one next when this breaks.
just get the pinecil soldering iron, those station heatin element seperate from the tip take ages to heat up, cartridge type soldering iron is much easier for newbie
On the theme of small screwdrivers/drills I cannot recommend enough wowstick drills and micro electric screwdriver. And also battery powered Dremel (I can't recommend chinese copies because not once their cutting disks exploded in my hands). And oscilloscopes gotten pretty cheap also, particularly Owon and Hantek, quite reputable brands.
lol I love that the bit you had in the electric screwdriver was bent xD
the sponge that you are using is microfracturing your soldering tips, i'd recommend switching to a copper wool solution
Oh wow, the bearings on your electrical screwdriver are toast. This can also wreck screws.
As for using a regular ("pistol shaped") battery powered screwdriver - many of these come with adjustable torque limits nowadays. You set a low value and the clutch/ratcheting mechanism will simply disengage before you have any chance of destroying the screw head.
Admittedly, don't own or use, but the Bosch Professional Bosch GO Cordless Screwdriver - is the best bang for buck electric screwdriver out there.
Gamers Nexus has an excellent silicone mat I use all the time for PC building, repair, and painting minis. Much bigger and great utility. Highly recommend. Also, I deeply feel the pain of not having that E torx socket as a Supra (aka a BMW Z4) owner. LMAO
I'll definitely look into the GN mat! I cant remember what I was trying to change on the car but I got halfway, found an e-torx and had to go order a set and wait 3 days to finish the job lol. Also, B58 gang, represent ;)
@@ZacBuilds Ya, I had to go drive around with a buddy to about 5 different places to find an E20 Torx to lower my Supra. LMAO
BY the WAY, As a man who has bought 4 different thermal cameras for phones, FLIR is EASILY the WORST OF THE BUNCH, NOT EVEN CLOSE TO BEING GOOD. 1) Temp range is freezing to boiling, 2) flir watermark plagues everything, 3) can't use a USB C extension cable on it. 4) EXPENSIVE FOR LACK OF QUALITY, 5) 8FPS 6) EXTREMELY LOW RESOLUTION. Best one for the money and around the same price, TOPDON, more than double the resolution, 3x the FPS, less lag, can use it on your PC, can use a USB Extension cable with it, 1200F top range and -10F bottom range, usually on crazy sales, and all around GREAT. Only negative, doesn't have the cool adjustable height USB C.
The other cool thing about using it on PC is you can graph values, so you can point the camera at a PCB and get a graph of the temperature on specific areas. Unfortunately the US has regulations on thermal camera frame rate so most stuff from FLIR is capped at 8fps, the higher frame rate of the Chinese units is much nicer.
@@slinkytrips I bought mine on Amazon. And yeah I heard about that weird "CAP ON FRAMERATE" which doesn't make sense. Radiation issues? I don't understand what the restriction is there.
Hey. How about DIY projects of making your own tools(like digital microscope).
That's a fun idea! I'll definitely consider it.
🤘🤘
Do you have a separate channel for your car videos, or were those just clips made for the video?
In the future it's definitely something I'd like to do (maybe even motorcycles) but for now it's just a few clips I shot for this video.
@@ZacBuilds I would love to see your car builds! Your electronics builds are amazing.
Great video! Can't seem to find the links anywhere though, what am I missing?
That's odd, they arent showing up in the video description?
@@ZacBuilds There are some links to your sponsors, your insta and your homepage and such, but nope, no links to the products!
@@lennartcordes7605 Very odd.. are you on mobile or desktop?
@@ZacBuilds I just checked on both, it doesn't show up anywhere. Maybe it's got something to do with the automatic translation? I'm in Germany, and UA-cam shows me a German video description, which I assume is automatically translated. Maybe some links got lost in that process?
@lennartcordes7605 ahhh that may be the issue! Didn't know they auto translated the description too. Because I can see the links just fine and double checked on a few other devices. Can you try switching to English and see if that fixes it?
11:57 expected the name of your 3d modelling software (the browser based one) here. 🙁☹️☹️😞
@@bharattata my bad, it's fusion 360!
6:04 Yeah, please do NOT do that! Especially if you aren't using lead-free soldier. This is where you put the dishes where you eat from, man! You are going to end up with microscopic lead dust on your dishes; it doesn't matter how much more dense lead is compared to water. The pressure, heat, and abrasive particles in the tabs will fling the residue EVERYWHERE.
The only thing we'd probably disagree on is the drill. I really really don't like those types of drills that you recommended. They're a "pipe nightmare" for me. They're uncomfortable for me to use, they're difficult to switch directions (Depending on the model) and they're sometimes just as unfriendly to screws as the over powered ones, and sometimes they're just not strong enough when someone puts lock tight on the screws (I don't -- Never owned a bottle -- But I've come across server drives that DO have that lock tight on the threads and holy cow...).
I much prefer the style of the regular looking drill or hammer drills rather than those longer ones. Fits my hand better, gets me more pressure when needed, gravity is typically the only pressure needed, when you get one with a VERY loose clutch on them they won't over torque the screw, and they're so much easier to handle the directions with the flick of your fore finger or thumb. I'll lightly hold the drill in my hand, tight enough so I don't drop it, but loose enough so that when the screw gets to the end that the drill jerks and my finger "falls" off the trigger.
Although I have a soldering station with a temperature gauge, the soldering iron side is not digitally controlled. It's an analogue dial. It works, but I am eyeing the exact model you showed on Amazon. Great price, just haven't pulled the trigger because I'm typically dealing with wires and buttons more so than PCBs and ICs and such, but the digital control... So nice
Having the AD-Break right after calling out companys being dicks was the funniest thing to me today 😂
A shame that you didn't mention any fume extractors while working with solder.
Handsome baby Zac 😍❤️
For the automatic wire stripper: get the one from Jokari. For around 10€ it’s awesome. I also got the Knipex 1240200 and that thing is a piece of shit. The blades don’t rip the isolation mostly apart, so you have to push it more together with your fingers at the tip.
3 thumbnails in 12 hour😅😅
get a proper dual eyes 👀 microscope for electronics, it is HUGE different. I used to use the lcd microscope for nearly 5years bcos I refused to spend more on the dual eyes microscope, last year i decided to get one and it is so much fun and so much easier to work with especially when come to micro soldering bcos u can see 3d view and get a sense of "depth" with dual eyes. definitely must have imo, it is getting cheaper now too.
Bambu A1 with AMS Lite is a better entry level option.
Hi zac, for the ps2 mod, did you use 1mm thermal pads or 1.5mm thermal pads?
LTT mentioned ✅
Believe it or not, Gamers Nexus has a solid solder mat. IDK I'd its large enough, but try them : )
In the early 2000nds this video would list as teleshoping 😂
Hell, I feel like in front of one of these cheap tvs in the home depot shop where the praise the new tool for cleaning pipes. The best thing ever for just 39.99 if you call right now 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
Hey, around 5:55 you tell people they could throw their solder mat in the dishwasher but you should be careful about leaded solder contamination if used. I don't know about you personally if you use ROHS solder but not everyone. Leaded still plenty common personally.
I could easily see a situation where it could contaminate the future dishes and thats bad news.
Q. How many thumbnails are required?
Zac. All the thumbnails.
I Love This
Still feels weird seing LTT sponsor on other's video 😅
To be clear, LTT did not sponsor this video. They sponsored another one of my videos and sent me the screw driver. I just really like it so I included it in this list.
I can't see all the links in the description. I'm looking in the wrong place or they simply aren't there?
Good video. But there's lots of cracks and pops in the audio for some reason.
I'm working on getting that fixed, something weird happened on the back end
Keep some solder on your soldering tips, it will make them last far-far longer.
Try a stereo microscope.
Quality soldering tips are indeed super-important, but there's no explanation here for how to tell good tips from bad. The Jungle Site listing in the description appears from our perspective to be just another generic set of tips. Sixteen bucks for a full set is ridiculously cheap, though it's good that this channel is giving them a good review here.
Yes, the listing says it's "high-quality" and uses "imported, oxygen-free copper", but that's just standard marketing for Chinese sellers; it means nothing. The worst tips you can buy may include that same text as they might have copied it from some popular listing; it's easier to copy English advertising that's known to work than to translate your own.
Price is also not a good measure as the prices on Amazon have nothing to do with the quality of most products; they sell for whatever they can get and products that become popular *stay* popular even after price increases because most customers have so little information that they simply look at the popularity and ratings on Jungle Site; a feedback loop of ignorance.
The only viable alternative is to buy tips directly from Hakko, JBC, or other established brands. Unless sold through a legitimate store on Jungle Site, even stuff claiming to be from those brands there is likely to be counterfeit. The tips will be overpriced from the real brands, but at least they'll be legitimate.
Don't believe store-hosted reviews when it comes to technical products as most buyers wouldn't know a good product from a bad one if their life depended on it; they either give a product 5 stars if it works at all and 1 star if it doesn't. If Michelin stars were given out by the general public, Hardees would be a 3-star restaurant.
When Amazon first expanded beyond books I thought that online reviews would greatly improve the consumer products market, but I was incredibly wrong; I greatly over-estimated the competency of the average human :(. That's uncomfortable to say, but it's true.
1 tooll i regret buying is definitely a cheap 3D printer it sucks a lot and to get it working properly you spend as much as a nice one