"Tim Shoppa" wrote in message
...

LQFP32 is not ridiculously fine pitch (I do 0.65mm pitch parts by hand
all the time), and 1206 is just enormous in the SMT world.

I do both by hand all the time - just a Weller WTCPT with 0.015"
solder. No solder mask for me (I use ExpressPCB cheapo boards) but
pretinning does help. Sometimes flux comes in handy but is not really
necessary. Just lay the solder down across the leads, melt on with the
soldering iron, go back and clean up any blobs with solder-wick.

Toaster oven is great for BGA's but if there's only a few leaded SMT
parts it seems like way overkill.

Tim N3QE

Thanks for the reply.

You are correct, a 1206 is a large SMD component and I will try to use them
wherever possible. However, smaller (0402 and larger) may also be used. It
is encouraging to hear about successful fine pitch results with hand solder
techniques. In addition, it will certainly be useful for parts placed on
both sides of the PCB.