Manhattan-style construction is based on using small pads as connecting points for circuitry that is built over a conductive substrate.  In most cases, the conductive substrate is a piece of printed circuit board material.  However, it could also be a piece of flashing copper, or cardboard with an adhesive backed conductive and solderable material affixed.

The pads are usually made from small bits of PC board material, in either a round or rectangular shape. Round pads can be made using a simple hand punch, available from many tool supply houses. Rectangular pads can be made using a hand nibbling tool, such as the ADEL, or snipped off of narrow pieces of PC board material using side cutters or a tin snip.

Pads are attached to the substrate using any of the commercially available "super glues", which sets in seconds and will afford a very durable bond if the substrate surface is clean and free of grease or oil. This method is similar to "ugly construction" where the parts are soldered together and to the substrate, but more organized and easier to modify if the design needs changing, or to trouble-shoot if problems arise.

I've developed some methods for mounting sockets, surface mount integrated circuits, and the like. These methods allow integrated circuits to be easily used, and interconnects to be employed.