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Grrr... I am still a suckass solderer

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ChadTower:

So, I hit a new level of solder sucking today.  I couldn't even get two wires properly soldered together.  I'm trying to replace a pinball coil, and damn if the two wires didn't really want to solder together... and then never to the coil lug.

I seem to be retarded when it comes to soldering no matter what I try.  The tip of the iron gets filthy immediately and then won't get hot enough to melt solder even if I leave it there for ten seconds.  I clean it off and try to retin it, but then in minutes it is filthy again and won't conduct the heat. 

I have read all the tutorials and advice and have two soldering stations and a pencil.  I still can't even manage to solder two damn wires together to make a connection.

Tonight, trying to replace a pin coil, in 15 minutes of trying, I got exactly zero connections made, burned my left index finger pretty good, and managed to have to snip/clean one of the wires so many times that now I have to extend/jumper the thing because it won't reach the coil anymore. 

 :-[

eccs19:

--- Quote from: ChadTower on December 06, 2005, 09:32:59 pm ---
So, I hit a new level of solder sucking today.
--- End quote ---

RayB:
No kidding... securing what you're soldering really helps.

Brax:
How many watts is your iron? Mine's one of the lower wattages and while I'm a pretty good solderer it would be easier if I had a hotter iron. -Of course, then you have to be quicker or you could peel up the traces too.

Without seeing what you're doing.. Here's a few tips to avoid common mistakes:

Place the heat where you want the solder to go, apply the solder to the wire (or trace) - not the iron.

Use electronics solder with the flux imbedded in it.

Your finished solder should have a nice shiny look to it. A dull look is a cold solder and won't conduct very well. (If at all.) Melt it again to get it shiny.

And.. practise, practise.

LPZ:
OT, but I tried to repair a water pipe in my house that was leaking from a solder/sweat joint and the pipe didn't want anything to do with the flux and solder.  Sometimes older wires/pipes have a hard time conducting flux/solder flow.  I didn't do any research on this extensively, but I talked with a plumber buddy of mine and he runs into this all the time with older houses.  Maybe that's the case too, with the older wires.  Just take you time and maybe you need a hotter iron.

LPZ

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