Weird assembly problem?

[pranabindu]

After I soldered terminal 5 of PT-7 A, I clipped the diode leads protruding from  terminal 5 and 37U.  A piece of clipped lead, about 1/3 of an inch long, fell into PT-7 A in that crevasse that runs between terminals 5 and 10.  Turning the unit over to let it fall out did not work, because it seemed to be stuck to the surface.  Trying to use thin tweezers to pull it out only jammed it deeper.  I can't get needlenose pliers to grab a hold of the jammed lead, and it seems that the more I try the more jammed it gets in there.  I don't think it's possible to remove at this point.

Will this cause any problems with the operation of the preamp once I finish building it?  What should I do?

Thanks for any help you might be able to provide.

[Dnorris]

As a last resort, try a small drop of Superglue on another piece of wire lead such as from a resister you trimmed and hold it to the trapped piece. After it has bonded (should be 30 seconds or so -read the glue label) you should be able to pull it out. Be careful not to touch anything other than the trapped piece or you could glue both of them to the PT.

[Paul Birkeland]

That piece of wire may just stay there forever, and is unlikely to give you much grief down the road.

[pranabindu]

Thanks for the responses.  I don't think I will risk the glue idea, though it is pretty clever.

I will finish the build, and if I measure or hear something strange (ever in its whole existence) I will blame it on the little piece of metal stuck in one of the transformers.

Drat!

[Paul Joppa]

My first thought (after I looked closely at a PT-7) was dental floss.