I always seem to be losing my solder whenever I’m soldering a circuit together so I decided to do something about it.

I needed to have something that could be moved easily and attached to a shelf so I came up with this ‘ible. I have made a couple of improvements to it since I made this ‘ible which I will also share as well.

I haven’t lost my solder since :)

Step 1: Parts and Tools

Parts

1. Small “Quick Grip” type clamp like this one I picked up at Bunnings (Hardware store)

2. Flatpiece of aluminium. I used a 20mm x 3mm piece – same as this one from Bunnings

3.Small screws and nuts. I think I used M3 like these ones from Bunnings

Step 2: Making the Bracket

You might be able to just buy a bracket that is the right size. I had this piece of flat aluminium lying around so I decided just to make one

Steps:

1. Cut a piece of the aluminium about 220mm long. The length will depend what type of solder you are using. I’m just using some from a small tube that I buy locally. If you are buying in bulk and it’s on a larger reel, then you will need to make your clamp bigger in order to fit it

2. Bend one end by holding it in a vice and bending the aluminium. The bend should be long enough to hold the solder away from the base of the bracket

3. Bend the other end. The solder should be able to fit easily between the bends

4. Round off the edges of the bracket

5. Drill a couple of holes in each end for the rod that will hold the solder

Step 3: Attaching the Bracket to the Clamp

Steps:

1. Mark the middle of the clamp and drill 2 small holes for the screws that will be used to hold it into place

2. Place the bracket onto the handle of the clamp and mark out where to drill holes into the handle

3. Once drilled, secure the bracket to the clamp with a couple of screws and nuts. If the screws hang too low and impede the use of the clamp, just trim them with some wire cutters

Step 4: Adding the Rod for the Solder

I initially used wingnuts to hold the rod in place for the solder. I found that they were too loosely screwed to the rod and when the rod turned the wingnuts started to come loose. I used normal nuts and this seemed to do the trick. I'm thinking of using a thinner threaded rod then the 5/16" one I used then then adding some aluminium tube through it so the solder spins better. However, using the rod works fine as well.

Steps:

1. Screw a nut on one end of the rod and put the end of the rod though one of the holes in the bracket

2. Push the solder onto the rod. The solder I buy already comes as a coil so it's easy to just push the rod through the middle. if you are using solder on a reel - then it would probably be even easier (plus the solder would come off very easily.

3. Attach another nut to the other end of the rod and do it up so the rod can still spin.

4. Clamp the solder holder to a shelf and your away