Part VI — The Real Shop Toolkit · Chapter 19
Equipment and Tools: What to Buy, Station by Station
≈ 8 min read · Print / save as PDF
A working shop is organised into stations. Each station has its own tools. This chapter lists every tool at every station, with the specification to check before you buy, real example models technicians use, how many you need, and a column to write today’s local price. Buy Level 1 to open, add Level 2 within the first months, and Level 3 when board-level work pays for it.
How to read the tables
- Level 1 = needed on opening day. Level 2 = add within 1–3 months. Level 3 = board-level and specialist work.
- Example models are real products widely used by repair technicians. They are examples, not endorsements — any product meeting the specification works. Beware of counterfeits of famous brands (especially flux, solder and multimeters): buy from official stores or reputable sellers.
- Reference price is what the item was listed for internationally in late 2026 (USD or EUR, from retailer listings). Local prices on Shopee, Lazada, and in Manila tech hubs (e.g. Gilmore for PC parts; Greenhills and Raon/Quiapo for phone and electronics parts) differ — write your own quotes in the last column.
Station 1 — Intake counter
| Lvl | Item | What to check before buying | Example models | Qty | Your price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Computer or laptop for job records and invoicing | Reliable, backed up daily | Any; repair-shop POS such as RepairDesk or RepairShopr, or a spreadsheet | 1 | |
| 1 | Phone/camera for intake photos | Good close-up focus | Your own phone | 1 | |
| 1 | Known-good chargers and cables | USB-C PD 65–100 W; 20 W phone charger; USB-C↔︎C (5 A e-marked), USB-C↔︎Lightning, micro-USB | Original Apple, Samsung, Anker, Ugreen | 1 set | |
| 1 | Universal laptop charger with tips | 90 W, 19–20 V, many barrel tips + USB-C | Any reputable brand | 1 | |
| 1 | USB-C power meter | Shows V, A, W and PD protocol | FNIRSI FNB58 (or similar) | 1 | |
| 1 | Job tags, zip bags, labelled bins | One bag per job, numbered | — | 100+ | |
| 1 | Printed Job Order and Release forms | Appendix B | — | 1 ream | |
| 2 | Label printer | Thermal, prints job numbers | Any | 1 | |
| 2 | CCTV covering the counter | Records intake and release | Any | 1 |
Station 2 — Disassembly bench (module-level repair)
| Lvl | Item | What to check before buying | Example models | Qty | Your price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Precision driver kit | Hard S2 steel bits: PH000–PH2, T2–T10, Pentalobe P2 (0.8 mm) & P5 (1.2 mm), Tri-point Y000, hex, flat | iFixit Pro Tech Toolkit (64 bits; ref. ≈ US$75–81), Mechanic, 2UUL, Qianli | 1 per bench | |
| 1 | Opening tools | Thin flexible blade (e.g. Qianli iFlex type), nylon spudgers, 0.3–0.5 mm picks, suction handle | iFixit Jimmy/spudger, Qianli, 2UUL | 2 sets | |
| 1 | ESD tweezers | Straight fine, curved fine, flat-tip | Vetus, iFixit, Qianli | 3 | |
| 1 | Magnetic screw mat / project tray | Grid you can write on | iFixit Magnetic Project Mat or similar | 1 per bench | |
| 1 | ESD mat + wrist strap + grounding cord | Strap with 1 MΩ resistor; mat grounded | Any ESD-rated | 1 per bench | |
| 1 | Heat plate / screen separator | Adjustable 50–150 °C, large enough for tablets | Any phone-repair heat plate | 1 | |
| 1 | Heat gun (optional to heat plate) | Adjustable temperature | Any | 1 | |
| 1 | LED magnifier lamp | Bright, cool light | Any | 1 per bench | |
| 1 | Screen clamps / press | Spring clamps for curing adhesive | Any | 6 | |
| 2 | Battery removal clamp / roller | Presses new battery adhesive evenly | Any | 1 | |
| 2 | Back-glass laser machine | Only for iPhones with bonded back glass | Specialist — research carefully | 1 | |
| 2 | Riveted-keyboard repair kit | Screws + small drill bits for laptop keyboard swaps | Any | 1 |
Station 3 — Soldering and microsoldering
| Lvl | Item | What to check before buying | Example models | Qty | Your price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Soldering station | Cartridge tips (C210/C245/T12 style), heats in seconds, 200–450 °C, ESD-safe | Sugon T26/T26D (C210 tips; ref. ≈ US$139–155 / €151); JBC CD series (premium); T12 stations (budget) | 1 per bench | |
| 1 | Tips | Fine conical + small knife/chisel + large chisel for ground planes | Matching your station | 3–4 | |
| 1 | Hot-air station | 100–500 °C, adjustable airflow, stable temperature, nozzles 3–10 mm | Quick 861DW (1000 W; ref. ≈ US$218–299); Sugon 8620DX/8650 | 1 per bench | |
| 1 | Fume extractor | Activated carbon filter | Any | 1 per bench | |
| 1 | Flux (no-clean, syringe) | Genuine, from official seller | Amtech NC-559 (many fakes exist), Mechanic, Relife | 3–5 syringes | |
| 1 | Solder wire | Sn63/Pb37, 0.3 mm and 0.6 mm, with flux core | Kester, MG Chemicals, Mechanic | 1 each | |
| 1 | Desoldering wick | 1.5 mm and 2.5 mm | Goot Wick, Chemtronics | 2–4 | |
| 1 | Brass tip cleaner | — | Any | 1 per bench | |
| 1 | Kapton (polyimide) tape + aluminium tape | Heat shielding | Any | 1 each | |
| 1 | Practice kits / scrap boards | Through-hole and SMD practice | Any | Many | |
| 2 | Stereo microscope | 7–45× zoom, trinocular (camera port), boom or pillar stand, LED ring light, 100+ mm working distance | Mechanic D75T, AmScope SW-series, Relife, generic 7045 (ref. ≈ US$295–450) | 1 per board bench | |
| 2 | Microscope camera + monitor | HDMI camera for teaching and documenting | Any | 1 | |
| 2 | Board preheater | Adjustable bottom heater | Any | 1 | |
| 2 | PCB holders / fixtures | Universal clamp + phone-board fixtures | Any | 2 | |
| 2 | Solder paste | 183 °C (Sn63) and 138 °C low-temp | Mechanic, Relife | 1 each | |
| 2 | Enamelled jumper wire | 0.01 mm and 0.02 mm | Any | 1 each | |
| 2 | UV solder mask + UV lamp | Secures jumpers, protects traces | Mechanic, Relife | 1 | |
| 3 | BGA reballing stencils | Model-specific | Amaoe, Qianli | As needed | |
| 3 | Stacked-board (sandwich) separation fixture | iPhone X and later | Specialist | 1 |
Station 4 — Diagnostics
| Lvl | Item | What to check before buying | Example models | Qty | Your price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Digital multimeter | Auto-range, true-RMS, fast beep, diode mode, CAT safety rating | Fluke 101/115/117 (pro), UNI-T UT61E / UT89X, ANENG (budget) | 1 per bench | |
| 1 | Fine needle probes | Sharp, thin | Any | 1 pair | |
| 2 | Bench DC power supply | 0–30 V / 0–5 A minimum, 1 mA current resolution, current limit, 4-digit display | Sugon 3005D / 3005PM, Yihua 305D (sold by Philippine electronics retailers), any 30 V 5 A lab supply (ref. ≈ US$140–180 for good units) | 1 per board bench | |
| 2 | Phone boot cables | Model-specific battery connector to banana plugs | iPhone and Android boot-cable sets | 1 set | |
| 2 | USB-C PD trigger / decoy board | Requests 20 V from a USB-C charger for laptop testing | Any | 2 | |
| 2 | Thermal camera | Close-focus macro for boards | InfiRay P2 Pro, Qianli Super Cam series, FLIR ONE | 1 | |
| 2 | Freeze spray / rosin | Alternative short-finding | Any | 1 | |
| 3 | Oscilloscope | 2–4 channels, ≥ 50 MHz | Rigol DS1054Z / DHO800 series, Hantek | 1 | |
| 3 | SPI programmer | 1.8 V and 3.3 V support, SOIC-8 clip | CH341A (budget, add 1.8 V adapter), XGecu T48 | 1 | |
| 3 | Repair-information subscription | Schematics + boardviews | ZXW, Wuxinji, Borneo Schematics (choose one, check licence) | 1 |
Station 5 — PC and laptop bench
| Lvl | Item | What to check before buying | Example models | Qty | Your price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Test monitor + HDMI/DP cables | Shows output when the internal screen fails | Any | 1 | |
| 1 | Keyboard and mouse (USB) | — | Any | 1 | |
| 1 | SATA and NVMe to USB adapters | USB 3.x / USB-C, NVMe + SATA M.2 support | Ugreen, Orico | 2 | |
| 1 | USB drives (32 GB+) | One with Ventoy toolkit, one Windows installer | SanDisk, Kingston | 3 | |
| 1 | Thermal paste | Non-conductive | Arctic MX-4 / MX-6 | 2 tubes | |
| 1 | Thermal pads | 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0 mm | Gelid, Arctic | 1 each | |
| 1 | Electric air blower / duster | Replaces canned air | Any | 1 | |
| 1 | Known-good test parts | DDR4 + DDR5 SO-DIMM and DIMM, SATA + NVMe SSD, 650 W PSU, GPU | Mixed | 1 each | |
| 2 | PSU tester | Reads 24-pin, EPS, PCIe rails | Any | 1 | |
| 2 | POST code card | PCIe or M.2 | Any | 1 | |
| 2 | External optical drive / USB-LAN adapter | For older machines | Any | 1 |
Station 6 — Phone specialised tools (Level 2–3)
| Lvl | Item | Use | Example models | Your price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | iPhone battery / display / Face ID programmer | Reads and writes battery health data, transfers True Tone/display data, assists Face ID component work on supported models | JCID V1S/V1SE, i2C programmers | |
| 2 | Screen protector cutter / kits | Accessory sales | Any | |
| 3 | OCA laminator + separator (glass-only refurbishing) | Replace cracked glass while keeping the original display | Specialist |
Station 7 — Cleaning and liquid damage
| Lvl | Item | What to check | Qty | Your price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Isopropyl alcohol 99% | ≥ 99%, not 70% (70% contains water) | 1 L | |
| 1 | ESD brushes, toothbrushes, cotton swabs, lint-free wipes | — | Many | |
| 2 | Ultrasonic cleaner | 2–3 L, timer, heater | 1 | |
| 2 | Board cleaning solution | Made for electronics ultrasonic cleaning | 1 L |
Station 8 — Safety
| Lvl | Item | Qty |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Metal bucket with dry sand (battery fires) | 1 per room |
| 1 | ABC or CO₂ extinguisher | 1 per room |
| 1 | Heat-resistant gloves, long tongs | 1 set |
| 1 | Safety glasses | 1 per person |
| 1 | First-aid kit with burn gel | 1 |
| 1 | Surge-protected power strips; UPS for flashing PC | 1 per bench |
Software toolkit (install on the shop PC)
| Software | Use | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Ventoy + ISO files (Windows 11, Ubuntu, Memtest86+) | Bootable multi-tool USB | Appendix F |
| CrystalDiskInfo, HWiNFO, OCCT | Health, sensors, stress tests | Appendix F |
| TestDisk/PhotoRec, ddrescue (in Ubuntu) | Data recovery | Appendix F |
| Apple Devices app (Windows) or Finder (Mac) | iPhone update/restore | Microsoft Store / built in |
| 3uTools (Windows) | Read iPhone info and logs (use only data-safe functions) | Official site |
| Android Platform Tools, Samsung USB drivers, Odin | Android diagnostics and flashing | Appendix F / Samsung |
| OpenBoardView + schematic subscription | Board-level work | Appendix F |
| Manufacturer diagnostics (Dell, HP, Lenovo) | Hardware tests | Manufacturer sites |
Buy the multimeter, screwdrivers and soldering station at the best quality you can afford — you use them every hour. Save money on items you use rarely (oscilloscope, laser machine) by buying them later, used, or not at all.
Opening budget worksheet
Fill this in with your local quotes. Add 10–15% for things you forget (extension cords, shelves, lights).
| Group | Items | Your total |
|---|---|---|
| Station 1 — Intake | ||
| Station 2 — Disassembly | ||
| Station 3 — Soldering (Level 1 only to start) | ||
| Station 4 — Diagnostics (multimeter first) | ||
| Station 5 — PC/laptop | ||
| Station 7 — Cleaning | ||
| Station 8 — Safety | ||
| Starter parts stock (Chapter 20) | ||
| Registration and permits (Chapter 17) | ||
| Rent, deposit, signage, furniture | ||
| Working capital — 3 months of costs | ||
| Total |
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