When I have to prototype a double sided board and have pads on the top
that I need to connect to, I just solder where I can on the top. Large
components, I just don't push them all the way in and use a solder
pencil to reach under the component to the pad. Of course mechanical
g-forces may work on the component but adequate for prototyping. Another
trick I use, as long as there aren't too many, is that I take a very
thin 30 ga wirewrap type wire and push it thru a hole, lay the wire
tight against the pad and touch a small amount of solder to the pads on
both sides to the board as long as the hole is big enough to insert the
component. An example would be an IC socket.
Rick

PicDude wrote:

> Building a circuit that depends on the component-mounting
> pads to pass signals from bottom to top, like vias would.
> However, the holes are not plated thru.  My worry is that
> some of the components are flush-mounted to the board (like
> large caps) and some holes are tight enough that solder may
> not get thru to connect the sides.
>
> Is there something I can do to help fix this *before* I
> start mounting the components?  I'm going to pre-tin the
> holes on the component side, and the components close to
> the body, but not sure that will be a full solution.
>

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