Where Did You Learn To Solder?

[jasper383]

I can do basic setups, but am still at the mercy of repairpeople when it comes to soldering.

Where did you learn to solder? Are there classes for this sort of thing? Did you teach yourself?

[BenFiglio]

Soddering is very easy once u learn it u never forget. OK I taught myslef and i do a very good job. Its as simple as buy a soddering iron. buy sodder (with flux). then when u go to sodder the wires make sure the are in the postion u want them. then apply the tip of the sodder to the connection point the touch ur soddering iron to it and let the sodder flow but not to much.

[datsgora]

I just did it myself....go to radio shack, get an iron some solder and some wire......cut en to little pieces and go at it.....you get the hang of it quickly......

[Cap'n Video]

My dad actually taught me originally, but I didn't become proficient until I went to electronics school. Our teacher had us make a grid of different size wire. We started with something like a #8 wire on the left and got progressively smaller going to the right. Then we used the same size wires from top to bottom to form a grid. This means that you are soldering every gauge of wire to every other gauge. it really helps you get a feel for what techniques are needed for each combination.

[MoD_Scotty]

A buddy of mine showed me a couple soldering tricks while I was doing a motor swap on a 240SX. Since then, I've done the wiring for like 5 or 6 more motor swaps. It's pretty easy, just requires a little patience and a steady hand.

[tZer]

Soldering to the back of pots is an art unto itself and I have yet to figure out how the hell anyone does that...

Soldering wires to each other and to well-established contact points is not too challenging. But trying to get that resistor or wires stuck to that damn pot is an exercise in futility!!! LOL

[James Hart]

my Dad taught me to solder circuits and wiring. My Grandfather taught me to be artistic with one. He was a stained glass and glass weaving artist (as well as a guitarist)

[Cap'n Video]

Originally Posted by tZer

Soldering to the back of pots is an art unto itself and I have yet to figure out how the hell anyone does that...

Soldering wires to each other and to well-established contact points is not too challenging. But trying to get that resistor or wires stuck to that damn pot is an exercise in futility!!! LOL

That takes some patience. One thing that helps is to scuff up the area on the body of the pot you want the solder to stick to with a fine file or some sandpaper. Lay the tip of the iron (or gun) on the spot, an apply just enough solder to make a little ball appear. Continue to hold the iron in place until the ball flattens out into a pool and "takes" to the pot. Then you can get the wire or resistor lead to stick reliably.

[nastyn8c]

Pretty much taught myself this past fall for school. We had to make a working siren in an intro to engineering class. It's a lot simpler than people make it sound.

[tZer]

Originally Posted by Cap'n Video

That takes some patience. One thing that helps is to scuff up the area on the body of the pot you want the solder to stick to with a fine file or some sandpaper. Lay the tip of the iron (or gun) on the spot, an apply just enough solder to make a little ball appear. Continue to hold the iron in place until the ball flattens out into a pool and "takes" to the pot. Then you can get the wire or resistor lead to stick reliably.

Where were you last month!! LOL - Thanks, man. I will be sure to do that next time I am re-wiring my frankenbass!

[steve66]

I learned to solder and weld in jr high school automotive shop class. That was before they took the money away from those programs.

[dcr]

Tech school.

One semester of soldering, desoldering machines, solder braid, nutdrivers, torque wrenches, proper nut/bolt sizing, and basic hand tools.



dcr

[Jim Carr]

My Dad taught me, and then I did it on my own for a while, and years later got a summer job assembling large circuit boards and power supplies for an electron microscope company (AMR) through a friend of a girlfriend. Got pretty good at it and then pretty sick of it....

The pot advice (above) is dead-on. You need to "tin" a sanded/dulled surface to get a good joint btw the wire and the pot without cooking the pot. In fact, "tinning" can often make all the difference. It just means heating the lead of each part enough to have it take up a small reflective dot/coat of solder. There are no doubt a zillion web pages....

BTW, Use small/medium size solder, with a flux/resin core. Be careful not to lay on too much solder or heat...but you must have just enough. It takes a little practice.

My hands were never that steady, but I got used to bracing my soldering hand with a finger or two planted on the work bench, and also supported the work (wires/parts/cards) with clamps, pliers, jigs, blocks, card vices, heat sinks, etc. With care you can do it! Be prepared to burn a few pots/wires/caps/finger tips/work surfaces along the way.

Just protect anything nearby (like your bass, tools, or furniture) from heat, stray solder splatter, and a misguided soldering iron/pen.

[Cap'n Video]

Originally Posted by tZer

Where were you last month!! LOL - Thanks, man. I will be sure to do that next time I am re-wiring my frankenbass!

Happy to be of service!

[lug]

A bit it Tech School but really at NASA. After finishing their course, I could solder upside down in a volcano on Mercury wearing a blindfold after drinking a fifth of Crown Royal.

[Scott in Dallas]

I started doing it professionally at 15 working for my father's company. I literally don't remember the first time I did it. It's amazing how much better I got after wiring a guitar a dozen times. I'm much more patient in my old age.

[kipsus]

Self taught, have been keen on DIY electronics since.. 12 maybe. Actually I'm more of a tech than a bassist..

[fryBASS]

I took this stained glass class during the summer 2 years in a row. You have to use solder to keep the pieces of glass together, so it was something that we really needed to know, and it was taught.
It is pretty simple, as others have stated

[sjb64]

If you purchase a soldering iron it will have instructions. It's not hard. Practice on something first. I learned to solder in a junior high school electronics class.

Some tips:

-Always heat the parts to the point that they (the parts) melt the solder.

-Keep the tip of the iron clean. Use sand paper on it (when it's not hot) to clean it.

-Keep a damp sponge close by. This can be used to clean a hot soldering iron tip as you work.

[kipsus]

Originally Posted by sjb64

-Keep the tip of the iron clean. Use sand paper on it (when it's not hot) to clean it.

Never ever do that to a coated tip. Better use cloth