project board

Dumb question. What is the best way to wire up a project board. I have tried & could be doing it wrong. I start & it soon gets messy.

I assume by "project board" you mean something like a breadboard or a piece of wiring board, (strip board, veroboard, perf board) for a finished project.

I usually try and lay the components out in a similar way to the circuit, so that there is a logical flow to the layout.
Usually with the best will in the world you can still end up with a mess of connecting wires.
Experience is the best teacher. You learn by your mistakes and think "I wont do it that way again!"

JimB

I mean the single sided etched board with the holes. Do you keep your wires on the top with the parts or on the bottom or both? Thanks

If the wires are intended to go from hole to hole, put them on top with the components.
If they are "bodge wires" to repair broken tracks or the fix track layout errors, put them on the bottom with the tracks.

JimB

Keep in mind that layout and wiring can become critical as frequency increases (maybe beyond 30 mHz?). In high gain applications wiring might also be critical. These things, among others, might require you to improvise somewhat.