Flux, how important is it?

[IG-88]

I'm going to be starting a keyboard hack using the tutorial found at Spystyles's site (http://spystyle.arcadecontrols.com/index79.htm) and I have all the components except the flux. Does this make the soldering easier or can I go ahead without it?

[BobA]

For solder used in electronics flux is most often in the central core of the solder itself.

[JustMichael]

I'm going to be starting a keyboard hack using the tutorial found at Spystyles's site (http://spystyle.arcadecontrols.com/index79.htm) and I have all the components except the flux. Does this make the soldering easier or can I go ahead without it?

You can go ahead without it.  Rosin core solder has the flux inside the solder.  Make sure wherever you solder is very well ventilated.  The fumes given off while soldering are not good for you.

[subcriminal]

Just a tip....To get a clean joint heat the wire for a couple of secs then apply solder so it flows around the wire then do the same to the part you want to join it to then put the two together and heat them. That way you use less solder and it'll look tidy. If you just put the two parts together and try to melt the solder on to them you'll just get a big messy blob and a poor joint. It's called tinning and if you have lots of wires to join tin everything first then join them.
Just in case you've never soldered before  As bobA said use Rosin core solder. No flux needed.

[Grasshopper]

It's essential. But as others have said if your solder wire already has a flux core then you don't need to buy it separately.

[miles2912]

My thoughts..  if you don't have any of the tools mentioned on the page and have to buy all of the componets listed, you are in about 40 with cheap tools and pushing 70 with nice tools.  Not to mention the hours and hours of soldering involved assuming you don't mess up with that micro soldering you are doing and have to buy a new PCB and start over.  This doesn't look like a beginner project to me. 

Look into an ultimarc mini-pac.  All relevant keys are ready plus a spinner and a trackball.  The beauty is you can save 30 or so buying a 'normal' trackball and not have to spring for a USB one.

Just my thoughts.

Don

I'm going to be starting a keyboard hack using the tutorial found at Spystyles's site (http://spystyle.arcadecontrols.com/index79.htm) and I have all the components except the flux. Does this make the soldering easier or can I go ahead without it?

[IG-88]

Well, I went ahead and tried Craig's keyboard hack. I had most everthing I needed except for the flux. So I tried it without. It didn't work. I went and bought some $1.29 flux at the hardware store and that did the trick. I had to tin both the board and the wire to get them to stick together like subcriminal said, the leads on the board would not take any solder without the flux. With that said, it was a real pain-in-the---I'm attempting to get by the auto-censor and should be beaten after I re-read the rules-- getting all 24-28 wires put on 'em. Yup I said boards, cause I tried about 8 of them. (I HAD

[IG-88]

My thoughts..

[SirPeale]

It was a good exercise in soldering which I hadn't done in 20+ years. And I think I may have 2 encoders that I can use for future projects.

See, that's your problem right there.  You were out of practice.  Should have gotten a junk circuit board and practiced before going to the real thing.

The first keyboard hack I did I had a crazy idea.  I took a wire drill bit (it's just a very fine bit) and drilled holes on each lead on the PCB.  Inserted the wire, and attempted to solder that way. 

Well...it didn't work.  And since my soldering skills (at the time) were sub-par, it REALLY didn't work.  Like you, most of the traces lifted,

Tried it again with a second keyboard with similar results.

Third keyboard I didn't drill the holes, but still managed to lift a lot of traces because I still hadn't grasped the concept of 'solder flows UP'.

On the fourth one (and after practice soldering some monitor chassis') it went the way it was supposed to.