I have a soldering question.

  • Thread starter Thread starter MatchBookNotes
  • Start date Start date
muttley600 said:
All good advice, but seriously just get a good variable weller iron.
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Yup, I've got two - one for the shop and working on guitars, and one for home and working on amps.

The best investment I've ever made, for electronics work.

Also, get a couple of sized tips, so you can use the big ones for heat sinks stuff like pots, chassis, and ground lugs, and a small one for everything else.


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi
 
Soldering is another of the many things which takes a little practice to get the hang of. If you are new to soldering, get a nonworking electronic device (old radios are good to practice on) and remove a few parts, after you get the hang of removing parts try reattaching some. As mentioned irons stay hot but generally are easier to control in small or tight spaces. One of the best tips I ever recieved is to keep the tip of the iron (or gun) clean, a quick wipe across a slightly damp, all cotton cloth, while the tip is hot usualy does the job nicely. If your tip gets pitted from use and age, use a file to reshape it then retin the tip before use.
 
crazydoc said:
It's the mass of what you're soldering that determines the power you need to heat it up to a temperature to take solder, in the 350F degree range for 60/40 solder. If the temperature is too high it can oxidize the tinning and destroy the flux, making the parts difficult to impossible to join.

In any case, you should match the size of the iron to the mass of the component. A soldering iron of 25-50 watts should take care of almost all electronic work, including the lugs on pots. Soldering to the case of a pot or a metal chassis will take the higher powered (100W+) gun.

Here's some reading:
http://www.elexp.com/t_solder.htm
http://www.talkingelectronics.com/projects/Soldering/Page1.html
http://www.geofex.com/Article_Folders/how_to_solder.htm
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this is what i was trying to say above....

i also have both an iron and a gun.

i dont recommend using a big gun for delicate soldering, but i refuse to sit around with my pencil iron (with a smallish tip for f-in with PCB's in pedals) trying to solder a ground to the back of a pot, or a larger gauge wire to a speaker terminal. i personally know someone who f-ed up a guitar speaker by trying to solder the speaker in with a cheap pencil iron and the wrong kind of flux (plumbers type). he thought he could solder since he had been soldering and brazing for years in his trade as a plumber. apparently, the voice coil overheated and deformed, causing the coil to rub in the gap. speaker still "worked", but was useless. at least, that is *my* theory on what happened.
a
 
By the way, if you have a soldering iron with more wattage than you need, you can put a diode (such as 1N4003 or equivalent for irons rated less than 100W) in series with one leg of the mains supply to cut the wattage in half. I bought two 40 watt irons from the dollar store and did that to one of them. Now I have a 20 watt and a 40 watt iron for $2 (I had the diode on hand.)
 
thanks for the links, guys. Between the reading and the vids, i think learning will be fun, now all i have to do is gather the supplies.
 
okay, so i should get an adjustable iron in the range of 25-50 watts, use 60-40 rosin core solder, but what gauge wire do i use?
 
MatchBookNotes said:
okay, so i should get an adjustable iron in the range of 25-50 watts, use 60-40 rosin core solder, but what gauge wire do i use?
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Assuming you're just practising, anything lying around will do. Zip cord (regular ~18-22 gauge household appliance cords), telephone wire ~24 gauge), wires out of any junk appliances or electronics. If you have old junker amps, radios, tv's, etc., take out the printed circuit boards and practice taking off and resoldering the components (resistors, capacitors, transistors, IC's, etc.)

Then buy a kit of something you want to make and put it together.
http://www.paia.com/index.asp
http://www.apogeekits.com/index.htm
 
wow, those DIY synths are exspensive.
I was thinking possibly picking up one of those cheaper DIY pedals, its still guitar related, but what i want to know is what guage wiring is used in most guitar applications ie the pickups to pots, and pots to jack.
 
MatchBookNotes said:
wow, those DIY synths are exspensive.
I was thinking possibly picking up one of those cheaper DIY pedals, its still guitar related, but what i want to know is what guage wiring is used in most guitar applications ie the pickups to pots, and pots to jack.
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Anything around 18 to 22 will do, either solid or stranded. A lot of guitar wiring will need shielded cable (a central conductor with a peripheral shield that is connected to ground.)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shielded_cable
http://www.electronicplus.com/images/products/COLRG174U.jpg
 
Something else that everyone who solders should have is a solder sucker.
 
Zaphod B said:
Yep. It makes "un-do's" a whole bunch easier.
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And redo's, too, like repairing a mic cable or salvaging a connector. It's important to be able to suck all the old solder and bits of broken wire off the lugs and start fresh.
 
ggunn said:
And redo's, too, like repairing a mic cable or salvaging a connector. It's important to be able to suck all the old solder and bits of broken wire off the lugs and start fresh.
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And it's pretty much impossible to un-solder and remove ICs without one.
 
ggunn said:
Something else that everyone who solders should have is a solder sucker.
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I think a solder sucker and solder wick if you are working on tight areas of circuit boards-a solder sucker is fine for repairing/replacing guitar wiring and XLR plugs.
 
"Warning! Do Not Suck Solder When It Is In Its Liquid State. May Cause Serious Injury Or Death."
 
Zaphod B said:
And it's pretty much impossible to un-solder and remove ICs without one.
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I've never been able to remove ICs with one. Solder suckers are the hardest way to get anything done. You have to get the solder hot enough to stay liquid while you slam the solder sucker down on the pin and push the release. That and sensitive electronics don't mix, IMHO.

Solder wicks work so much better. You get the thing hot and the solder flows right off the pin and onto the wick. Since I started using solder wicks, the sucker stays in the toolbox.
 
MatchBookNotes said:
okay, so i should get an adjustable iron in the range of 25-50 watts, use 60-40 rosin core solder, but what gauge wire do i use?
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22-24 is fine, though if you want to go a little heavier that's fine. And though there are times where shielded wire is nice to have, it is never really necessary. It's usually more effective to shield the guitar anyway, as it is more complete.

Solder Suckers are good for a lot of stuff, but for circuit boards, solder wick is much better.


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi
 
I recommend getting a book like "Electronic Projects For Musicians".

http://www.amazon.com/Electronic-Projects-Musicians-Craig-Anderton/dp/0825695023

It would be a good idea to read a little in there (or another book like it) Before selecting tools.

+1 on the variable iron. I've used Wellers in the past and agree that they're a great choice. I'm currently using a Hakko and have been happy with it. Choose one that allows you to buy replacement tips and for which you can get a variety if tips. You'll only use a couple of types for guitars and amps but everybody has their own preferences. I never use a gun for electronics.

If you use an iron much the tip will eventually need to be replaced. If you keep your tips tinned they will last much longer.

22 or 24 gauge wire is fine for guitars and most pedal applications and can be used in some places in amps, but wire size is determined by how much electricity is passed through it. Make sure you know what the circuit is doing before you choose the wire.

To stress a couple of things that have already been said but are very important:

Always use rosin core solder for electronics.
Clean up the joint before you resolder.

Hope this helps
 
arcaxis said:
Soldering experts, can you identify the tool shown below and what it's used for? If you have a government/military soldering certification you should know this right away.

It is not a holding device for the next image.:cool:
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It's a heat sink, isn't it?
 
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