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Soldering

B

Bassman203

Mar 29, 2008
347
3
32
Chicagoland
www.myspace.com
#1
I've had some trouble with soldering, so I'm hoping the talkbass community can answer my questions.

The main one I have right now, is everyone says that you heat up the object, not the solder, when soldering. For me, unless the iron is touching the solder as well as the object, it takes a really long time to heat up. I'm using a 25w soldering iron, but I wouldn't think that would matter with the size of the components I'm soldering. What I'm having the most trouble with is 1/4 in. jacks. Any suggestions? tips? solutions?
 
#2
I think you may want to consider a hotter iron. Also, the tip must be clean, and it must be "tinned". I use a 45-watt iron, but I don't consider myself an expert. I do a very good job though. Let's hear the experts weigh in on this one. There are a lot of them out there. But with a good clean tinned tip, you should be able to do it, but I'm not sure if 25 watts is enough to hold its own heat up against (essentially) a heat-sink which is what those jacks and pots can turn out to be.
 
#3
Bassman203 said:
I've had some trouble with soldering, so I'm hoping the talkbass community can answer my questions.

The main one I have right now, is everyone says that you heat up the object, not the solder, when soldering. For me, unless the iron is touching the solder as well as the object, it takes a really long time to heat up. I'm using a 25w soldering iron, but I wouldn't think that would matter with the size of the components I'm soldering. What I'm having the most trouble with is 1/4 in. jacks. Any suggestions? tips? solutions?
Click to expand...

Your iron is a bit lite weight for doing jacks. Jacks have a lot of surface area, therefore they disapate heat quickly. Get about a 45 W, tin the iron (google it), heat the object. Use a decent 60/40 rosin core lead tin solder. I like to let the iron heat up until it'll melt the solder when you touch it to the tip. Then clean the iron off on a damp piece of sponge and remelt some solder on the clean tip. Let it set for a moment, then sloder your joint. Remember, you are after a good structural joint as well as an electrical connection and as my teacher used to say, treat the solder as if it were gold. A big old globby joint isn't anygood.
 
#4
A clean tip and flux was the answer to my soldering woes anlong with always pre tinning wires, components, etc. This means that when you heat the area to be soldered it all flows much quicker. Sometimes you juat can't the component hot enough and you have to add solder to the wire and component at the same time. I built a valve amp using point to point and used whatever method worked best for that joint, all worked very nicely. To repeat, clean tools, flux and tinning.
 
#5
rcarraher said:
Your iron is a bit lite weight for doing jacks. Jacks have a lot of surface area, therefore they disapate heat quickly. Get about a 45 W, tin the iron (google it), heat the object. Use a decent 60/40 rosin core lead tin solder. I like to let the iron heat up until it'll melt the solder when you touch it to the tip. Then clean the iron off on a damp piece of sponge and remelt some solder on the clean tip. Let it set for a moment, then sloder your joint. Remember, you are after a good structural joint as well as an electrical connection and as my teacher used to say, treat the solder as if it were gold. A big old globby joint isn't anygood.
Click to expand...

+1... this is the ticket.
 
#6
one thing u should remember. don't use the tip of ur solder iron because it doesnt make the heat, use the side surface. touch the copper surface you want to solder by that side surface, heat it up but do not too long!! put the solder wire on the copper surface, let the solder melt. it will naturally covers the surface along the hot copper.

*it was my problem when i was a noob at soldering.
 
#10
FWIW, soldering iron wattage is an indicator of heating capacity, not a scientific figure for how well the soldering job can be done. You have wall power heated irons and you have low voltage or "transformer" driven iron. The later are best for controlling the heat properly, the wall power by design take a long time to heat up and when they do heat up tend to then run too hot to allow learners to solder properly. Though they do work if only needed a few times in a life.

The low voltage irons need to maintain about 300-400C on the tip, Tin/Lead 60/40 with resin core solder of say 1m/m melts at 240C, as the iron tip contacts the job then then the tip temperature drops. It is this drop that brings problems for new solders.
The bigger the metal area to be soldered the greater the drop and more prolonged as the tip tries to heat the metal mass. Also you need to"wet" the soldered items on the joint this wetting has two functions one to aid in final job integrity and the other is to allow a better heat transfer tip to job ie the wet solder is a larger heat contact point than the often seen newcomer "dry" solder technique.

If the job is too hot the resin burns away, you no chance of a proper solder joint in electrical performance or appearence. If you can find some resin disolved in methylated spirits or liquid flux then use this as an aid to solder. can clean the activated resin away after the job is completed for best practice.

Tip to job for heat up of joint, then apply solder to the joint. Tip to job time should be around 3 seconds and solder application about a further 2-3 seconds. Beyond that time the job will burn. If that happens clean the burnt parts and remove burnt plastic, reflux the job with liquid resin and try again with proper tip temperature on the job. If the tip is too hot the resin burns away very quickly, if too cold the solder will not reach 240C to go plastic state which is before free flow ie if the solder is plastic then the job temp is too low, the solder joint looks grey not silver.

Flux is your friend and correct tip temperature a smile on your face.
HTH Regards
 
#14
I would recommend a variable power soldering station. Circuit specialists has a nice one that I got for about $40 or so and it has done me right thus far. You can control the heat for different applications, which is nice.

BTW, I like using a 63/37 or eutectic solder. There is no "pasty" stage to it and it goes from liquid to solid immediately. No cold joints due to moving the part because you don't have enough hands...

Ox.
 
#15
Foamy said:
On case you're serious, no. "Wet" the items with solder.
Click to expand...

Thank you for rescuing the "wet" inference, did not see that coming and have taught soldering for 30 years, first time heard it taken literaly, very funny actualy, no insult intended to anyone...can see why it was taken as wet with water, what else would wet mean in normal conversation...chuckling away to myself....:D Regards.
 
#16
Much of the advice here doesn't apply to surface-mount soldering, if you're considering that...you do mention pedals and they're going that way these days. It's a completely different world.

I used to do soldering on P2P audio (and some PCB) for a living. The important things are cleanliness, flux, enough heat and where possible a good mechanical connection between the parts being soldered. I worked with a very hot iron and moved extremely fast, which gave me excellent results. That takes practice.

There are various soldering tutorials on YouTube. You may want to do a search there.

Good luck!
 
#17
thanks for all the advice. I'm not insulted by anyone laughing at the wet thing. I figured it meant something else but I looked it up and didn't see anyone else use the term, so I wanted to be sure. It wouldn't seem right to me that water would help in anyway.

To be sure, what you mean is to apply some solder to both pieces before soldering them together?
 
#19
Ok, since so many people here have problems with this:

Here is me soldering a pot with a 3-year old 25 watt Radio Shack iron that saw many hours of use before being tossed in a box and thrown in the basement for about a year. I didn't even bother to clean it up and it worked just fine.



Not saying thats the best tool for the job, but its not hard to get a really good joint with a 25-watt iron as long as you give it enough time to heat up.

Steps:
A good pre-heat on the iron. (never use an iron's ability to melt solder directly as an indication of temperature)
While the iron is heating, clean/sand whatever non-wire things you are going to be soldering.
Work your way from largest surface area to smallest. (This is going to use the heat more efficiently and keep you from using a 'cooler' tip on bigger things)
Tin everything first. (makes it easier on you in the long run)
 
#20
Bassman203 said:
thanks for all the advice. I'm not insulted by anyone laughing at the wet thing. I figured it meant something else but I looked it up and didn't see anyone else use the term, so I wanted to be sure. It wouldn't seem right to me that water would help in anyway.

To be sure, what you mean is to apply some solder to both pieces before soldering them together?
Click to expand...
I was also chuckling at your question.. a small gaffe to be sure, and quite enjoyable. "Wet" it with melted solder..yes. Sure its a good idea to tin both surfaces you intend to mechanically and electronically bind together. Cleanliness is the real key to a: . . 'once, and only once' soldering technique. "Practice" was also mentioned.. just like any technical skill you may want to master, soldering is no differant.
 

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