I don't have any trouble doing surface mount work. You just need the
right tools, and one of them is a lot of patience. If you rush the
job you will screw up. So make sure you are in the right frame of
mind when doing it.

The actual work is easy enough and yes, an 8th grader could do it
with proper coaching and some practice.



Where do you find 8th graders with patience, let alone a "right" frame
of mind? :^)



Ed