Soldering is hell
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Gear_Junky
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- Posts: 624
- Joined: Thu Aug 20, 2020 12:08 pm
I agree, I also hate soldering. One of the most annoying and irritating chores to me. Now, how do we remember that when ordering pickups and components?
Try soldering with these. It's how we soldered gutter downspouts and copper panels on thehttps://www.kappalloy.com/copper-soldering-iron-2-lbs/ job.They'd get tinned at the shop to make it easier on site. https://pacwestsales.com/products/50-50 ... gKg8fD_BwE
I just like breathing the fumes.....
I have a cheap Ayoue $25. station. Works great for several years now.
I use the gold mesh tip cleaner and gently wipe into it then tin the tip before making a joint, or a few that are ready in a row, etc.
Like anything else, good technique, understanding what you are doing and some seat time experience will bring good results.
One of the only things I find a bit harrowing is 9 pin tube sockets. Lots of traffic there.
On a similar note, I did get flash burned yesterday when my welding hood failed to darken on a MIG setup / practice bead before welding the corners of an amp chassis. I didn't even realize it for a few/ several seconds.
It was a low voltage (comparatively) deal so its not bad today.
Seems the Harbor Freight hoods have coin type batteries in them, but the cheapest black one is supposed to be solar.
I got a lot of use out of that hood.
A closer look is that they are solar with battery assist; not sure what that means.
I have a cheap Ayoue $25. station. Works great for several years now.
I use the gold mesh tip cleaner and gently wipe into it then tin the tip before making a joint, or a few that are ready in a row, etc.
Like anything else, good technique, understanding what you are doing and some seat time experience will bring good results.
One of the only things I find a bit harrowing is 9 pin tube sockets. Lots of traffic there.
On a similar note, I did get flash burned yesterday when my welding hood failed to darken on a MIG setup / practice bead before welding the corners of an amp chassis. I didn't even realize it for a few/ several seconds.
It was a low voltage (comparatively) deal so its not bad today.
Seems the Harbor Freight hoods have coin type batteries in them, but the cheapest black one is supposed to be solar.
I got a lot of use out of that hood.
A closer look is that they are solar with battery assist; not sure what that means.
Old AGF since Feb. 2015; refugee of the Great MOMO Purge of May 2020.
deeaa wrote: ↑Wed Dec 02, 2020 9:04 am Yeah, a good kit always helps...the thing is these seem to be pretty expendable. I've ruined a couple just within a year. I had a decent Weller iron, and burned through its own power cordanother one just broke; apparently the ceramic stuff inside the heater snapped. Maybe those heads could be better - I never seem to be able to keep them clean no matter how much I rub them to the wet sponge or use flux.
This works even on cheap tips.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Soldering-Gun- ... SwmwFcYeWm
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RayStankewitz
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- Posts: 23
- Joined: Wed Jun 03, 2020 4:45 pm
When I was still working, I was a comm tech for a school district. They had this worn-out Weller 15W soldering iron that was the bench iron. The tip was gone, south for the winter (before I arrived at the district) so somebody had found a piece of heavy wire out of a big cable like an MCM650 and threaded it on one end, then shaped it on the other. It literally would disappear before your eyes.
I brought my own setup so I could fix things, a small 25W Weller station that I finally left behind when I retired. I had worn it out fixing things that should have been replaced. Everyone else would either try to use the crappy iron or ask me to solder it. For whatever reason, nobody asked to borrow it.
for serious work, I have an Ungar iron #37 element 1,000° with a PL133 tip. I use it with a handmade station that has a rheostat to control tip temp, mounted to a board with the iron holder/sponge holder. I idle it at just hot enough to melt solder. Punch it wide open, do my soldering, then back to idle. Learned about that slot car racing in the late '60's, needed that high performance iron to solder slot car chassis but it would solder wire just fine at idle temp. Works real well for back of pots.
I have three(!) Weller soldering guns, used them quite a bit when I worked in traffic signals inside the cabinets. There is an art form to using one without burning stuff up. I have a Hakko station around here somewhere that has ate umpteen elements and tips. It gets good and hot but it just doesn't perform like it should. I suspect it's a knock-off Hakko but it has all the right markings on it. I also have a Radio Shack 25W(?) iron that I have one tip left for it after the one on it pukes. Not sure what I'll do after that one goes south. Wall hanger, maybe?
I learned to solder in the Air Force but it's probably my least favorite thing to do. I almost contemplate burning a finger before starting, just so I get it over with. And I have a Strat pickguard to do. 3 GFS Pro Alnico II pickups, Oak-Grigsby 6-way switch, Fender CTS pots, TBX tone ckt and somehow have the bridge pickup have a tone pot. Yay me!
I brought my own setup so I could fix things, a small 25W Weller station that I finally left behind when I retired. I had worn it out fixing things that should have been replaced. Everyone else would either try to use the crappy iron or ask me to solder it. For whatever reason, nobody asked to borrow it.
for serious work, I have an Ungar iron #37 element 1,000° with a PL133 tip. I use it with a handmade station that has a rheostat to control tip temp, mounted to a board with the iron holder/sponge holder. I idle it at just hot enough to melt solder. Punch it wide open, do my soldering, then back to idle. Learned about that slot car racing in the late '60's, needed that high performance iron to solder slot car chassis but it would solder wire just fine at idle temp. Works real well for back of pots.
I have three(!) Weller soldering guns, used them quite a bit when I worked in traffic signals inside the cabinets. There is an art form to using one without burning stuff up. I have a Hakko station around here somewhere that has ate umpteen elements and tips. It gets good and hot but it just doesn't perform like it should. I suspect it's a knock-off Hakko but it has all the right markings on it. I also have a Radio Shack 25W(?) iron that I have one tip left for it after the one on it pukes. Not sure what I'll do after that one goes south. Wall hanger, maybe?
I learned to solder in the Air Force but it's probably my least favorite thing to do. I almost contemplate burning a finger before starting, just so I get it over with. And I have a Strat pickguard to do. 3 GFS Pro Alnico II pickups, Oak-Grigsby 6-way switch, Fender CTS pots, TBX tone ckt and somehow have the bridge pickup have a tone pot. Yay me!
"Where are we going and why am I in this hand basket?"
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redman
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- Joined: Wed May 27, 2020 3:22 pm
- Location: Asheville, NC
- Gearlist: Gibson LP, Agile PS900, SX Tele, SX Strat, PRS SE Zach Myers Yamaha FGX830c, Yamaha LL16, Yamaha LL26, Eastman E10D, Tobias Bass, Squire CV 60's P Bass
@mozz you are corect not good to file or sand your tip and like any other job you do the right tools matter as well as the right solder solder wick and so on. My work bench is also my kitchen table so limited space so a lot of my tools await in the floor until their turn at bat. Another thing I am prone to do is remove all the pots and switches desolder everything that requires new solder and and start clean if I find the eyelet is to small for multiple wires I take a length of wire and make a jumper .
This is my soldering setup
This is my soldering setup