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I hate burning my fingers....

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mountain:

A lot of people fail to tin both pieces. After applying solder to both surfaces, add solder to the tip of the iron. Hold the two pieced together and touch the iron to both surfaces at the same time. Once they reach temperature the solder will flow. Once the solder flows remove the iron and wait a few seconds for the solder to cool before you let go.

The biggest tip for soldering can be summed up in two words - heat transfer. The best way to get good heat transfer is to tin the tip of the iron before trying to heat up the surface (wire). Hold the iron to the wire and apply solder to the area of the tip closest to the wire. When the solder melts it will flow around the tip and the surface at the same time. Try to make contact with the most area of the tip as possible. If you are trying to heat up the wire and the area to be soldered with the very tip of the iron, it can take a long time. The longer you hold the iron on there, the two pieces become hot and the heat travels up the wire and burns you. The problem is, it might not be hot enough for the solder to flow. Using the most surface area along with effective heat transfer by tinning the wire and the tip, you should be soldering like a pro in no time.



ringram:

keep a damp sponge or rag nearby. Do a quick swipe of  the tip of the soldering iron on the wet sponge to clean off the oxidized solder. Then add a bit of solder to the tip of the iron, this will make a solder bridge when heating up the parts/wires which will give better heat transfer. Pre-tin the wires. Add a bit of solder to the connection when the pre-tinned parts start to flow. Pull the soldering iron away in a a sweeping motion to avoid any solder bridges. Use only just enough solder, too much is too much. Don't over heat the traces on the pcb, otherwise, they will lift up. Practice.

Kaytrim:

I have tried one of those cordless models recently and they work very nicely.  One thing to remember, DON'T PRESS DOWN HARD or you will break the tip.  Here is a link to the shack.    Best thing is you almost can't burn you fingers with this thing. ;D

TTFN :cheers:
Kaytrim

KenToad:

Yeah, with soldering, it's all about practice and knowing that speed matters, since the stuff oxidizes and I guess the flux burns up quickly, so you should pretin the wires and the contacts on the PCB, then position them and finally, wipe the tip of the soldering iron with the damp sponge just before you apply the heat to the joint.  Then make sure that you stick the solder itself where you want the joint to be formed, not on the tip of the iron. 

Good luck. 

Level42:

The trick to soldering is to let the solder (tin) do the work.....

I NEVER use a wet-sponge, I hate it, it get's messy and cools down the tip.

If I ever have access solder I "throw" it away by sweeping the iron. Of course pointing at a spot that's harmless :D

Also, if you ever need to de- or re-solder old solderings, add a little NEW soldertin first. The flux has gone from the old solder so it won't flow even if you heat it to oblivion....by apllyng A LITTLE bit of new tin, the flux will get the old solder flowing...

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