Soldering Tips

[MikeVistaBlue06]

A good high wattage iron is needed. I have a 50 watt Weller.

Get yer soldering iron and while it is cold, take a file to it and remove any corrosion off of the tip. Down to the shiny copper is best.

Then heat the iron up and "tin" it by allowing some solder to melt on the tip and wick around the entire tip.

Parallel wrap the wires to be soldered, then apply a bit of solder on the iron to form a small ball. Touch the ball of solder to the back of the wires such that the solder ball is firmly against the wire and iron. Apply solder to the top of the wire (not the iron) and let it run and wick all the wires. Keep the iron against the wire until it is hot enough to melt the solder, and until you finish. When it gets all silver looking (tinned), remove the iron, and viola, you have a good solder joint.

The key is using the solder ball to get the heat transfer into the wire, and then tinning the wire on the top with the solder. This method will prevent you from having a weak or cold solder joint.

If your iron gets corroded/black from the rosin, get a wet sponge and rub the tip on it to remove the black shit, and yes you do this when the iron is at full operating temp.

Always use rosin core solder for electronics, and never use acid core for electronics, because the acid will lead to joint corrosion.

Congratulations, you are now a graduate of the Donald E. Kincaid, Ph.D Clemson University, Professor Emeritis Physics, North Georgia College and State University, and my undergrad friend, mentor & advisor, school of soldering!!

Hope this helps and happy soldering!

Mike

 

[TexasBlownV8]

Having worked years as a professional solderer, I can add a few suggestions.

First, a good, strong mechanical connection of wires (or wrires crimped to a connector) is important for strength. So make sure any wires being spliced are twisted together firmly before soldering.

Second, you don't want to file your soldering iron/gun tip unless absolutely necessary. Instead, let it heat up, wipe it onto a damp sponge or rag, and get the tip shiny that way; then as mentioned, add a little solder to the tip to keep it shiny. Periodiocally wipe the tip and apply a little bit of solder to keep the tip clean while plugged in, and do it again right before unplugging it.
If the tip is no longer shiny, filing while it is cold might help, but not for many soldering irons; I would not recommend filing a tip unless as a last resort. The 'shiny' tip surface conducts the heat a lot better, where as a dull tip will not cause heat to transfer nor solder to flow as well. The shiny surface erodes away over time, and eventually, the tip will need replacing.

Third, the trick to soldering (as mentioned) is to get the connection hot enough to melt the solder, then feed enough solder into it until it coats the wiring. Putting the iron tip underneath (or from the side) and feeding solder from the opposite side is best.
Sometimes you do need to get more of the heat transfer to initially take place by putting a little solder onto the tip while the tip is up against the wires, but that's usually only needed if the tip is dirty or too small to heat up the connection properly. Do NOT simply melt the solder on the tip and let it run onto the connection; that will lead to a "cold" solder joint that may fail.

Finally, inspect your connection when finished. A good, solid, shiny-with-solder connection is what you want. If the connection is dull, and especially if it is jagged from uneven solder flow, then you probably have a bad joint and need to reheat it and reapply solder.


With wiring, a larger-wattage iron or gun is usually needed to get larger gauge wires hot enough. For most electronics and small gauge wire (such as 18 gauge and smaller), a smaller 30 watt iron works just fine.
For larger wires, such as 8 or 10 gauge, a larger 50-watt or larger iron or solder gun will likely be needed.


And lastly, *** WEAR EYE PROTECTION, and DO NOT BREATHE IN ANY VAPORS*** Solder can pop and fly, especially if any moisture is present, but even under normal dry conditions. If seen little spats of solder go flying in the air for no reason when soldering, and you don't want that to go into an eye.

Happy soldering!

 

[Hawgman]

Another good tip. Don't whack yourself in the forearm with the hot soldering iron like I did last Saturday with Mike sitting there watching me.

 

[don_w]

Another good tip. Don't whack yourself in the forearm with the hot soldering iron like I did last Saturday with Mike sitting there watching me.

LMAO...

Well, I guess I could add a tip like that, too. I was soldering a tailight wire on my trailer a couple weeks ago, and I had on a pair of flip flops. Can you guess where a drop of hot solder landed?

 

[cekim]

Can you guess where a drop of hot solder landed?

Do we have to have the "proper garage footwear" talk Don?

Ouch... (though I think Doc wins with his self branding attempt...)

 

[don_w]

Do we have to have the "proper garage footwear" talk Don?

It wasn't in the garage... the trailer was parked out on the street. So there!

 

[C-Liz-Go]

Bet you said "fuck" really loud too....

 

[don_w]

Bet you said "fuck" really loud too....

You could hear that all they way to Houston???

 

[cekim]

You could hear that all they way to Houston???

You'll live...

Now burning styrofoam - that is some serious hurt when it drips on you...

Who knew that stuff even maintained a flame? I just figured it would melt in the flame...

To be fair I was very young - 12? Been a long time, but I still have the scar...

Boy am I glad I have daughters

 

[bronxbomba63]

Don't forget to add flux to the wire or whatever it is that you're going to solder. This will help transfer the heat faster, and allow for a better solder connection.

 

[srt2stang725]

I have never soldered before, but i recently bought a gun because i know the day will come when i need to (i hate wiring). It came with flux, it looks like a little can of grease....how do you apply that? Do you wipe it off the wire before you solder? I really have no clue...sorry for the stupid question

 

[Green08BulliTT]

i use a small brush to apply a light coat on the wire. no need to wipe off. then just solder as normal.

 

[srt2stang725]

cool thanks!

 

[Herknav]

Make sure you clean the wire before and after soldering... even newly stripped wire can have foreign substances on it. After soldering, makes sure you clean off the flux residue, as it can cause corrsion. Rubbing alcohol works fine.