a reciprocable member for inserting the leads of electronic components into preformed holes of circuit boards and the like is provided with a hold - down means cooperative with an inside former whereby portions of the leads are predeterminedly positioned and clamped during trimming and stand - off formation and then , at a later stage of an operating cycle , allows the member to insert the cut leads up to the stand - off formation . a mounting machine also desirably includes an inside former of improved configuration inducing lead retention in an outside former , and mechanism whereby the bodies of successive overlapping tape - fed components to be mounted are uniformly positioned for such lead clamping , forming and insertion .