I got a soldering iron

[McSpunckle]

Well, the soldering surface itself is gonna be the same size. The layouts can be smaller with perf. The layout on the site I posted is quite a bit bigger than it needs to be.

Perf: http://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Bus ... 5j5g%3d%3d
Vero/strip: http://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Bus ... 52bcHp8%3d

They're pretty big boards (you could do 4 Muffs and have enough left over to do a few smaller circuits). But you has to cut 'em.

Here's the cheaper stuff at Smallbear:

http://www.smallbearelec.com/Categories ... rototyping

[Big Mon]

Well, the soldering surface itself is gonna be the same size. The layouts can be smaller with perf. The layout on the site I posted is quite a bit bigger than it needs to be.

So how do I salvage my poorly soldered components?

[McSpunckle]

Well, the soldering surface itself is gonna be the same size. The layouts can be smaller with perf. The layout on the site I posted is quite a bit bigger than it needs to be.

So how do I salvage my poorly soldered components?

That's a bit complicated. Cleanly getting a component out of a board is kinda tricky.

The way you have to do it without proper tools is to basically either try to heat all ends of the component at once and lift the component out, or heat one side at a time and gradually work it out. This is a terrible way of doing it, but it works when you don't have any tools.

Then,there are two desoldering methods. Braids and pumps. With a desoldering braid, you basically just load up your tip with fresh solder (for heat transfer) and drag the braid between the tip and the component, and the solder will flow into the braid. With a pump, you use a pinch of fresh solder to melt the solder joint, then use the pump to suck off the solder. The braid ends up heating the component for longer and it's harder to do. The pump is faster, but for double-sided holes, it's more likely to leave solder in the hole if the component is still in. I tend to use a pump to get the bulk of it, and a braid to clean it up.

The absolute best thing to do is just forget that component. If you need to salvage the board, clip off the component, then use a desoldering pump. It'll suck up the solder in the hole along with the component lead that might be stuck in there (or at least draw it up and you can do a couple more pumps to get it the rest of the way).