Decide on a project and assemble the components necessary to build the circuit. If you are new to building electronics devices, try simple circuits first, acquainting yourself with the techniques of using breadboards. Stomp box projects such as treble boosters and basic amplifiers are good places to start.
Plan your component layout on the breadboard. A full-size breadboard will have three or more sections in columns. On one or both sides, bus strips run the length of the board for distributing power. Some boards indicate a break with red and blue lines beside the bus strips to show distinct power sections. Two terminal sections, between 30 to 65 rows long, are arranged on the board with a notch between them. Each row of five openings are connected, with the notch indicating no connection. Integrated circuit (IC) chips are placed across this notch.
Place your IC components across the notch. Springs in the breadboard will connect the pins of the IC to the remaining four openings in the row, which now act as connection points for each pin.
Use needle-nose pliers or tweezers to set component leads and jump wires on the breadboard as required by your circuit. Work systematically to avoid confusion. For example, start building out from Pin 1 on the IC until it terminates on the circuit diagram, then repeat for the remaining pins in sequence. In some cases, perforated board or printed circuit board (PCB) diagrams may help you determine physical location of components.