It always bugs me not being able to see the under/back side of a solder joint. It may look good from the front, but it may be nasty/bare on the back. I found that using one of those dentist mirrors you can easily see these hidden areas.
You can get one wherever they sell dental/orthodontic stuff.

This may erk you, but I always flick a solder joint to get off excess solder.

From 1967 GC catalog.

I've been using these on the bench for years, and a set of dental picks, too.

And no, I don't take insurance .

Larry

Guess I'm not as clever as I thought I was........... Yes I've got a set of dental picks as well, those are GREAT for just about everything. Sometimes if I can't get every bit of solder off of a terminal, I heat the terminal and stick a pick through the lug, wiggle it around, remove the heat, and you have a nice hole for a new lead.

Another trick for cleaning solder out of a lug is to put a drinking straw in your mouth and blow on the melted solder.

I Have a dental mirror in the drawer on my bench, and almost never use it.

AFA as a "pick", that's why God made sewing needles, lol!

I like a round tooth-pick for that, especially good on PC boards.

I've got a 8x8 inch mirror just leaning against the wall at the back of the bench; it's good for checking on people trying to sneak up on you

Very occasionally it comes in handy when working on the back side of something. You can keep an eye on what you're doing with that probe or twiddle stick, and use the mirror to watch the front mounted meter go to full scale or the warning light come on, etc. I suppose TV guys use such a mirror all the time.

Not just TV guys. I keep a hand mirror, about 5x5," handy at all times. I often need to look "behind" one piece of gear or another, when they can't readily be pulled out of their places. I have an 8x10" mirror also, mounted on an adjustable tripod floor stand.

Larry

If you need dental picks just ask your dentist for them. You will be surprised as to what they throw away.
Stan Ski

Absolutely! - Got some a few years ago from my old dentist.
He said they would sharpen them until they got too thin.
Being they are 'double sided', its a good idea to grind
one end of the pick so you don't poke your eye out.

~ Mitch ~

Last I checked, they throw them away every day. They come shrink-wrapped to be used ONCE on one patient, then in the sharps bin they go....