Bigman80
Grandmaster
AA Founding Member & Bigbottle Audio Creator
Posts: 16,071
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Post by Bigman80 on Jul 10, 2019 15:15:38 GMT
This is a subject you never see a thread on, so I figured I’d change that. I’d love to hear some dos and don’ts from DIYers here. Lots to cover such as.... What tips to use for what. What irons to use. Are cordless ones any good? Rosin flux? Soldering speaker cables....how powerful an iron do you need? What solder is good for what? Where to apply heat? What accessories? Helping hands or a potato, like Malcolm Steward  Tinning How to avoid applying too much heat to phono plugs and melting the plastic Probably loads more, but as I have only soldered cables and switches, I’m probably not even savvy enough to know what else I need to ask. |
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Post by nonuffin on Jul 10, 2019 19:04:15 GMT
The best tips I can throw into the pot are:
1. Never buy cheap soldering irons. A low power iron quickly goes cool on you, so you hsve to hold it on the job for longer while it drags itself up to temperature again and will sure as heck ruin RCA plug isolation material in the process. As for soldering speaker cables with a cheap low power iron, don't even THINK about it. Invest in a good quality soldering station with variable heat control.
2. The only "cordless" irons any of use are butane gas torches which are great for soldering speaker cables 2.5mm and above.
3. Modern lead-free solders are shite. I bought 4 reels of the old stuff and it does what I want it to do. Silver solder is OK provided you have an iron that goes hotter than normal solder, so the cheap pencil irons are just not good enough.
4. The wet sponge isn't there to stick down postage stamps easily, it is there to keep the soldering tip clean as possible so the solder makes perfect contact with the tip. A dirty tip may not melt the solder, so it is vital to wipe the tip before each operation.
5. Use speed combined with the right temperature and plenty of confidence, as practice makes perfect.
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Bigman80
Grandmaster
AA Founding Member & Bigbottle Audio Creator
Posts: 16,071
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Post by Bigman80 on Jul 10, 2019 19:10:06 GMT
Lots there which is helpful to me, thanks, I think better understanding of soldering is the key to me trying a build of something,
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Post by nonuffin on Jul 10, 2019 20:13:15 GMT
Lots there which is helpful to me, thanks, I think better understanding of soldering is the key to me trying a build of something, The key is plenty of practice to give you the confidence Andrew. Go to a DIY store and buy a metre or two of cheap mains cable, then chop it up into short lengths. Put them into a pair of helping hands and solder away to you heart's content until you get the wire joined together with beautiful shiny adhesion and you cannot pull them apart. If they do pull apart you haven't used enough heat or enough solder, or you didn't tin both wires before putting them together for the final joining.
Practice really does make perfect |
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Jul 10, 2019 21:40:03 GMT
I used old circuit boards from anything broken. Practised desoldering the components cleaning up the holes and component legs and then solder back in again. It took me quite a while to get to an acceptable level.
Always clean the legs of components before soldering in. I use a stanley knife blade and run it along the legs all the way around them.
Desoldering is where the real fun starts when you are trying to keep the component and not ruin the pcb.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Jul 10, 2019 21:48:08 GMT
Cleanliness.
Cleanliness.
Cleanliness.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Jul 10, 2019 22:03:22 GMT
Started saying something I thought was astute here. Then realised I was waffling and gave up. I can solder well though. (tip: if you need to solder to a steel equipment case, which can be necessary sometimes, use big iron and a drop of Bakers Fluid, but clean off all residue with a wet cotton bud to avoid corrosion and wash your hands after as it's toxic) |
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Post by alit on Jul 11, 2019 6:53:42 GMT
Good advice so far. I’d echo a decent iron is a good investment. I use WBT silver solder which isn’t the cheapest but I find works well and isn’t a faff like cheap silver solder can be.
Keep the iron hot, I always see mine at max temp so I’m keeping heating times to a minimum.
As said, practice is the key.
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Post by nonuffin on Jul 11, 2019 10:40:12 GMT
Watch a couple of videos on Youtube for some basic tutorials.
Quite helpful but the yanks constantly saying "sodder" drives me nuts.
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