Don Garrett, WA9TGT first became interested in radio back in the mid 1960s, building several breadboard crystal sets and later moving on to more advanced radio projects. His shack includes an Elecraft K2, K1, and at least one DSW-II. He lives in Muncie, Indiana with Carol his XYL of thirty-four years. Don is a member of the ARRL, ARCI, and is ECI-QRP #001.

The $5 PC-Board Holder

by Donnie Garrett, WA9TGT

Recently, after purchasing a new PanaVise Model 333 (Rapid Assembly Circuit Board Holder), I decided that I wasn't very happy with it. It seemed to be too robotic in design and I found it somewhat awkward to use (Not Good!).

After a couple weeks regretting that I had just spent $59 for this new device, I decided to homebrew my own circuit board holder. I decided it should meet the following requirements:

Hold PC-boards securely during their construction
Be adjustable in width for different size PC-boards
Allow for 360 degree rotation of the PC-board during construction
Cost no more than $10 to build

I just happened to have a few pieces of 3/4" pine board in the storage barn but 5/8" plywood could also be used in place of the 3/4" pine. In the following pictures you will see my simple but efficient PC-board holder. Once you obtain the materials the whole project should take less than 2-3 hours to build. And that includes the wood staining and finishing which is the final step.

Follow the pictures and instructions below, and you'll end up with an excellent helper for your next PC-board assembly project--and the best part is, that it will only cost you about five bucks!

Figure 1 -- Base and Axis Support

I first cut the above pieces of wood on my table saw. The base is 9-1/2" wide by 7-1/4" deep. The vertical axis support boards are 2" wide by 4-1/2" high. Both the base and the axis supports are made out of 3/4" white pine. The two grooved fingerboards were ripped from a piece of 3/4" oak and they both measure 3/4" square by 4" long.

NOTE: The above suggested dimensions for my $5 PC-board holder will currently allow for its use with the PC boards that are used in the Elecraft K1 and KX1 kits as well as the Small Wonders SW and DSW series. If you wish to build this PC-board holder to accommodate the larger K2 RF board then you should make the baseboard 12-1/2" wide instead of 9-1/2" wide. Also change the the two axis boards from 4-1/2" high to 5-1/2" high. You may also increase the length of the two finger boards to 5" in length. --WA9TGT

Figure 2 -- Closer View

Oak was chosen for the fingerboard stock due to its strength. I cut a 1/8" deep slot the thickness of my saw blade down the center of a 9" long 3/4" x 3/4" oak board. This was done prior to cutting the two boards to their proper length. This slot will provide a groove for the PC-board to rest in. After cutting the slot, I then cut each board to it's proper length of 4" and drilled a 3/16" hole in the center of each board. I counter sunk the hole on the slotted side of each board. This was to allow for the counter sunk head of each 10-24 x 4" machine screw I used as an axis bolt. All drilling was done with my drill press to ensure that all the holes were drilled at 90-degrees.

CAUTION! Be very careful when working with a table saw! Make sure you take all necessary safety precautions, including the use of safety glasses when using a table saw to prevent any accidents.

Figure 3 -- Fingerboard Close-Up

Here is a close-up of one of the fingerboards, which shows the countersunk head of the 10-24 x 4" machine screw head seated below the slot in the board. This is done to prevent the bolt from interfering with the PC-board.

Figure 4 -- Fingerboard With Hardware

Another look of a completed fingerboard with all the hardware attached.

Figure 5 -- Complete Assembly

Prior to assembly, two 9/64 pilot holes were drilled through the base on each side about 1-1/4" apart in order that two 2" drywall screws could be screwed in from the bottom to secure each vertical axis board in place. After sanding all the boards prior to final assembly I applied one coat of oak stain to each board. After allowing the stain to dry I applied 2 coats of clear finish to the project. When the finish was dry I installed a 10-24 x 4" machine screw through the hole in each grooved fingerboard. I then secured it with a flat washer, a lock washer and nut. Then I installed another nut, lock washer, nut and a flat washer on the screw threads just prior to inserting the threaded screw assembly through the pre-drilled 3/16" hole in each axis support board. (See figure #4)

I then installed another washer, nut and a wing nut on the end of the machine screw that is sticking through the axis board. The use of the double nuts provides a variable means to be able to adjust the fingerboards for various width PC boards. With the PC-board slid into the slots of the 2 fingerboards, the inside axis nuts can be adjusted outward until a slight amount of side pressure is produced against the PC-board to secure it in place. The two nuts on each side can then be tightened together just enough to ensure they don't move or back off during the PC-board construction.

Figure 6 -- Finished Project In Use!

My next project currently under construction, a DSW-II for 40 meters. Enjoy!