A handy tool tip from Ladyada on using diagonal flush clippers to cut headers (m4v).
Adafruit publishes a wide range of writing and video content, including interviews and reporting on the maker market and the wider technology world. Our standards page is intended as a guide to best practices that Adafruit uses, as well as an outline of the ethical standards Adafruit aspires to. While Adafruit is not an independent journalistic institution, Adafruit strives to be a fair, informative, and positive voice within the community – check it out here: adafruit.com/editorialstandards
Stop breadboarding and soldering – start making immediately! Adafruit’s Circuit Playground is jam-packed with LEDs, sensors, buttons, alligator clip pads and more. Build projects with Circuit Playground in a few minutes with the drag-and-drop MakeCode programming site, learn computer science using the CS Discoveries class on code.org, jump into CircuitPython to learn Python and hardware together, TinyGO, or even use the Arduino IDE. Circuit Playground Express is the newest and best Circuit Playground board, with support for CircuitPython, MakeCode, and Arduino. It has a powerful processor, 10 NeoPixels, mini speaker, InfraRed receive and transmit, two buttons, a switch, 14 alligator clip pads, and lots of sensors: capacitive touch, IR proximity, temperature, light, motion and sound. A whole wide world of electronics and coding is waiting for you, and it fits in the palm of your hand.
Have an amazing project to share? The Electronics Show and Tell is every Wednesday at 7:30pm ET! To join, head over to YouTube and check out the show’s live chat and our Discord!
Join us every Wednesday night at 8pm ET for Ask an Engineer!
Join over 38,000+ makers on Adafruit’s Discord channels and be part of the community! http://adafru.it/discord
CircuitPython – The easiest way to program microcontrollers – CircuitPython.org
New Products – Adafruit Industries – Makers, hackers, artists, designers and engineers! — New Products 11/15/2024 Featuring Adafruit bq25185 USB / DC / Solar Charger with 3.3V Buck Board! (Video)
Python for Microcontrollers – Adafruit Daily — Python on Microcontrollers Newsletter: Open Hardware is In, New CircuitPython and Pi 5 16GB, and much more! #CircuitPython #Python #micropython @ThePSF @Raspberry_Pi
EYE on NPI – Adafruit Daily — EYE on NPI Maxim’s Himalaya uSLIC Step-Down Power Module #EyeOnNPI @maximintegrated @digikey
Adafruit IoT Monthly — The 2024 Recap Issue!
Maker Business – Adafruit Daily — Apple to build another chip at TSMC Arizona
Electronics – Adafruit Daily — Low power?
Get the only spam-free daily newsletter about wearables, running a "maker business", electronic tips and more! Subscribe at AdafruitDaily.com !
7 Comments
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.
Thanks for the quick tips.
I can’t tell you how many female headers I have destroyed by not using this simple technique.
BTW, I saw you wandering around Maker Faire RI. I wanted to introduce myself and say “Hi”, but when I later looked for you I couldn’t find you. Maybe next time…
After cutting, you can clean up the female headers with an exacto — I find it makes for a prettier edge. When I’m being really tweaky I use a sanding block, too.
Just a couple tips on cutting female header.
* Save your diagonal cutters and pull the male pin out of the female header first. Use a pair of needle nose pliers for that. Why cut into metal if you don’t need to? Also easier to figure out where to cut, where the missing male pin is.
* After nibling down the edge a bit, sand it smooths with a couple swipes on some gritty sandpaper. Always keep some at the left side of your desk for such things.
Great video, thanks for this!
@dataman: agreed.
I’m a fan of removing the metal pin before cutting into the header. Doesn’t take much more time and it saves your cutters from getting notched / going blunt prematurely.
Thankyou Ladyada, it’s a great tutorial about one of the many uses for a versatile tool.
Ladyada, have you ever tried laser cutting the female headers to see if you can save both pins?
I don’t know if it’d work, but it would be fun to try.
abs plastic doesn’t laser well
also, not sure why taking out the pin is that beneficial. the cutters are specifically made for cutting the kind of metal that headers are made of. after using them to cut thousands of leads i am not convinced they will notch when cutting through a header pin. 😉
Nice tip – I’ve been doing the same thing for quite some time.
I would add one thing though from the other comments. Skip the sanding paper altogether. No one wants to buy sandpaper when they can have a permanent tool for the job: a diamond fingernail manicuring board works wonders and cuts through most materials really quickly. I’m a guy and I have at least two of these in the house because they’re just so useful for small sanding/cleaning jobs.