5 Ryobi Tools Useful For Electronics Enthusiasts

Different kinds of physical tasks demand different kinds of tools. You probably wouldn’t be able to bust out your usual toolbox full of hammers and drills if you were looking to repair your smartphone, for instance. Working with delicate electronics like phones, PCs, and even circuit boards necessitates specialized equipment with a greater emphasis on precision and portability. It’s not like pounding a massive-gauge nail into a wall — you need tools with focused points that can work in small confines, all while allowing you to keep a firm, confident grip.

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If you’re interested in building, repairing, or otherwise tinkering with electronics, you may benefit from a visit to your local supplier of Ryobi-branded hardware products. While Ryobi’s main bread and butter are battery-powered jobsite tools like drills or leaf blowers, the brand also has quite a few products on offer that would be great for any would-be tinkerer. Whether you need precision implements, focused heat delivery for building and repairing circuit boards, or even just a little extra clarity at your desk, there’s a Ryobi product for you.

Electronic devices of every shape and size are absolutely lousy with all kinds of screws and fasteners. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that little screws are the bones that hold your devices together. Of course, if you’re planning performing any kind of maintenance on a device, or assembling one from scratch, that means you’ll need a reliable means of removing and fastening these screws. They’re too small and varied to be tackled with an ordinary screwdriver from your toolbox, though, so you might want to try Ryobi’s Precision Screwdriver Set instead.

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This 38-piece set, all packed up into a nifty carrying case, includes a padded comfort handle and a multitude of different screw bits for every occasion. You name a fastener, there’s a bit for it, including Phillips bits, slotted bits, star bits, hex bits, pentalobe bits, and even nut drivers. The rear of the handle has a rotating point, so all you have to do is insert a bit, push the handle down, and spin the point to fasten or loosen. The lid of the carrying case doubles as a deep tray to safely store any bits you’re working with, and in the event you drop something, you can also use the included magnetic pickup bit to easily recover it.

When working with small electronic devices, it’s of the utmost importance that you keep a firm grip on the situation. You can’t go dropping components, either onto the device you’re working with or behind your desk, or else you might end up breaking something sensitive. Not only that, but you also need to be vigilant for rogue static charges from your chair, carpets, or other soft surfaces. A little static charge might not seem like much to worry about, but if you accidentally discharge it into a sensitive component, you run the risk of frying it. If you’re looking to solve both of these problems, Ryobi’s Precision Anti-Static Tweezers might just do it.

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This tweezer duo is made of sturdy stainless steel, ensuring their resistance against corrosion and general wear and tear. One pair has a straight tip while the other has a curved tip, so you can grab and securely hold small components with confidence. All of that is great in itself, but the real clincher here is the special anti-static ESD coating present on both tools. This coating completely blocks any electrostatic discharge that may come from your hands, protecting whatever small components you’re working with from sudden jolts.

While the larger components of an electronic device are held in place with various fasteners, when you get down to the more minute elements like loose wires and small pieces on a circuit board, then it’s all about the soldering. These kinds of components need to be firmly soldered in place to ensure that they don’t move around at all. Ryobi does have a few different solutions as far as soldering tools are concerned amongst its craft-centric offerings, but if you’re looking for an attractive combination of precision and portability, the USB Lithium Soldering Pen might be just what you’re looking for.

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Unlike some soldering tools, which require a separate stand or cradle, this Soldering Pen is all-in-one; just plug one of Ryobi’s compact USB Lithium batteries into the handle, and you can generate pinpoint heat of up to 900 degrees Fahrenheit in less than two minutes. When you’re done working, just reinsert the tool into its tip cover, and the heating mechanism will automatically shut off. Even if you forget to put the tip cover back on, the tool will also shut off on its own after 10 minutes of use for that extra bit of safety. For an extra bit of convenience, there’s a work LED built right into the handle, shining directly ahead while the tool is in use.

While the assembly of electronic components does necessitate heat fairly regularly, it doesn’t always need to be full-blast 900 degree heat from a soldering iron. Let’s say, for example, you’ve got a tangle of unruly wires sticking out of your latest creation that you want to bundle together. That could be accomplished through some heat shrink tubing, but trying to work that stuff with a soldering iron would be overkill. Instead, try a less intense heating tool like Ryobi’s 18V ONE+ Heat Pen.

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This little gizmo is perfect for delivering a controlled blast of heat wherever it needs to go, good for applications that require a bit of cooking without going full-blast. The integrated control dial allows you to switch between low and high modes, delivering 450 and 750 degrees Fahrenheit of heat, respectively. The pen receives power from its integrated stand, where you can plug in any of Ryobi’s 18V ONE+ battery packs. As an added bonus, the pen comes with a pair of attachable deflector and spreader nozzles. The deflector nozzle can be used as a hook to hold up heating targets like the aforementioned heat shrink tubing, while the spreader nozzle can gradually spread heat out to a larger area.

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So, you’ve got all of your precision tools for working with electronic devices, but there’s one problem: you can’t see what you’re doing. Working with small, delicate components means needing to work in cramped, occasionally shaded confines. Anything that could potentially obscure your vision could prove dangerous for your project’s health, so you’d do well to get a little extra clarity on the subject. For both an improved view and a little extra illumination, try attaching Ryobi’s 18V ONE+ Magnifying LED Clamp Light to your worktable.

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You can learn pretty much everything you need to know about this tool from its name: it’s a combination magnifying glass and LED spotlight mounted to a sturdy clamping mechanism with a flexible neck for positioning. If you need a better view of your project, just position the magnifier over it, turn on the light, and voila. The majority of the lens offers 2.25X magnification, alongside 5X spot magnification for a little extra clarity. The light, meanwhile, has a two-setting switch for 250 and 500 lumen illumination. With the help of an attached 18V ONE+ battery pack, you can get up to 20 hours straight of light, more than enough for a day’s work.