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How to solder, a picture tutorial :)

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PL1:
To amplify on Mgb's post, one of the reasons to avoid using the iron to transfer solder is that the flux core found in most types of solder boils away before you can touch the iron to the items being soldered.

A little solder on the tip helps with faster heat transfer by increasing the surface area making contact with the leads/wires.  It also helps protect the tip from corrosion that decreases heat transfer.

By letting the leads/wires melt the solder, you ensure that:
1. They are hot enough to avoid creating a cold solder joint.
2. You don't heat the components for too long -- when the solder melts, stop applying heat.
3. The flux core cleans the leads/wires as it boils away, ensuring a better bond.
------
The one soldering function where you want to use the tip to mostly transfer solder instead of mostly transferring heat is when tinning wires.

The stripped wire strands should be slightly twisted to keep them together and the end either dipped in liquid flux or smeared with paste flux. (toothpicks are great for working with paste flux)

As you wipe the wire on/across the top of the solder-laden tip, the flux boils and wicks up the molten solder.

Wire tinning video from the Starbase74 Solder 101 tutorial .

When done properly, you should still be able to see the individual strands in the tinned wire.


Scott

CheffoJeffo:

--- Quote from: PL1 on December 22, 2012, 12:09:59 pm ---I like this kind better than any of the bulb varieties.


Even though I prefer a solder-sucker like this, most of the time, I just use wick.

--- End quote ---

This. Although, depending on the board in question, I tend to use my soldapults to remove the gobs of solder and then clean up with a braid.


--- Quote from: mgb on December 25, 2012, 01:01:13 am ---Hey Merry Christmas everyone,
This is a pretty informative topic for those who may be a bit scared to try soldering.

--- End quote ---

It seems that soldering (at least for board work ... if you are scared about soldering controls, then I can't help you.) is like discharging a monitor -- everybody is scared until they do it once.

BadMouth:
I'm not as experienced, but I used the $13 radioshack desoldering iron when removing all the analog controls from an xbox360 pcb and it was worth the the price for the time it saved on that job alone.  It was nice to be able to hold the pcb in one hand and the tool in the other instead of trying to reposition it in the helping hands every few joints.  For the price, I think it's worth having in addition to the other types.  The tip is pretty big, so it isn't for tiny joints or cramped areas.

There are tutorials to convert it to a hot air pencil by running tubing from the bulb to a fish tank aerator pump.
http://hackaday.com/2009/10/23/hot-air-pencil-for-under-20/

mgb:
I also like using a solder sucker.
I find the wick to be a pain, but from other things I've read about the wick, I believe I just haven't been doing it right. I just find a solder sucker to be the easiest for me.
I also use a 40 watt radio shack bulb type sometimes.

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