I have built a some smd Steve Weber ATS radios by hand. I made a "doofus"? hihi from a piece of coat hanger wire. It has some fishing weights in the middle and a sharpened end that you use to hold the part in place. The other handy tool is a toothpick with some beeswax on the tip. Its great for holding tiny parts. You also need very fine solder and a very sharp pointed soldering tip.
I now use a converted toaster oven with a controller I built with a kit from Sparkfun (several years ago..it has a serial connector). You always have to do some touch up but it generally works well. I'd like to see that K1FM board converted to parts on one side and no 402. I'm not sure how well my oven would work on upside down boards.
Oh..and a ginormous magnifying visor
Good luck 73 Jim VE3PRO
